"Tokuma," Shisui whispered hurriedly at the boy, breaking the eerie silence. He clenched his hands into fists, shaking. "There's no one."
They were hiding in a partly damp and destroyed alleyway, waiting for any sign of life other than them.
"I need to think." Tokuma mumbled, staring at the rising fire with wide and blank eyes. He swallowed heavily, repeating himself. "I need to think."
"Tokuma." Shisui hissed. He grasped the Hyuuga's shoulder forcefully. The boy was too out of it.
"I need to think!" He angrily shrugging Shisui's hand off away with a livid expression, turning to glare at him. "I. Need. To. Think."
"Listen to me." Shisui insisted, his voice breaking. "Why did you come to us? What happened? Before there was an attack, before everyone disappeared, what do you remember? What were you doing?"
"I was with my parents, all right?! At home! I was just sitting in my room, and the fire started! And then!-... And then... I-... I..."
"And then?"
"And then, I found no one. Absolutely no one in the whole damn compound! I saw some people's chakra in the village, but they kept disappearing one by one."
Shisui gritted his teeth in frustration. "But you found us?"
"You and Izuna were the only ones to remain as far as I could see." Tokuma muttered under his breath, closing his eyes shut. "At least, by the time we came back from the Hokage Rock, there was no one else."
"But before you reached us, there were other people?" Shisui bit his lips, shaking his head from left to right. "This doesn't make any sense."
"My parents are dead, and all you can say is that this doesn't make any sense?"
"There are no corpses." Shisui snapped at the boy's pessimism, his breath picking up its pace. He was not going to let himself believe that they might be the only people left alive in the whole village.
He was not allowed to do that.
He was not allowed to.
"They could be in a ditch anywhere, you bastard!" Tokuma fisted Shisui's collar in his hands, pulling the boy closer to his face and mocking him. "What else would their Chakra disappearing mean? Going on a holiday?"
"In case you didn't notice, that would mean my parents are dead too." Shisui's gaze turned cold. He was taken off guard when Tokuma punched him straight in the face.
"Denying it wouldn't change the fact that they're dead!" Shisui threw his fist at Tokuma's face, breaking his nose. The boy wasn't in his right state of mind.
"Would you stop being so selfish and actually help us?"
Tokuma hauled his body at Shisui, bringing the two boys on the ground. He raised his fist to beat the boy again, but Shisui switched their positions without a second thought, a Kunai glinting in his hands as he raised it above his head in warning. Shisui hesitated. Maybe he was going mad too.
Tokuma took the chance and got a Kunai of his own, aiming it at Shisui. Shisui brought his Kunai down without hesitation.
Two clashes resounded throughout the dark alley.
Izuna stood beside them with her arms crossed in an 'X' shape, her claws blocking the assaults of her teammates. She forced Shisui on his back and sat on the stomachs of the two, her claws aimed at their throats. It was a clear warning.
"What are you gonna do? Kill me like my brother?" Tokuma gave out a crazed laugh. "In case you didn't notice, I'm already dead."
'Can you read my lips?' Izuna mouthed. The Hyuuga's brother was younger and he was able to do that; why wouldn't the elder brother be able to?
"What the hell do you want?"
That confirmed it, at least.
'Everyone is dead.' Izuna hesitantly moved her mouth, the words rolling off her tongue oddly. It had been too long she last communicated like that. 'Not just your parents. Not just Shisui's parents. Everyone.'
Izuna growled soundlessly at the boy, ignoring Shisui's confused look. She quickly let him in on what happened with the Shinobi code. At least Tokuma was beginning to consider their situation more thoroughly. She collapsed backwards on her bum, a cloud of dust forming around her as her claws retreated into her skin. She didn't mention anything when the boys pulled themselves into a sitting position.
It was silent for a while, all of them contemplating what just happened.
Izuna hated the silence.
Konoha was never silent.
Never.
And now, all that resounded throughout it was the cackling of fire.
She thought she had nothing more to lose, but she was so, so wrong.
She had everything to lose, and she just did.
Everyone was dead.
All that remained were the two in front of her.
Izuna tugged on Shisui's sleeve, her eyes glistening with tears. When he turned to look at her, she pointed at the fire shakily.
"You think they could burn all those bodies?" Shisui tugged at his hair, trying to relieve the stress and fear. "Even if they could, there is no stench."
"So you're saying everyone went out silently? No bang? No fight?" Tokuma uttered. He swallowed heavily. Once. Twice. Thrice.
"Of course not. The village is burned to the ground; look at the place. There are traces of a fight everywhere."
"But there is no one who could have fought!"
Shisui fell silent, contemplating everything.
There was a fight, but there were no fighters.
There were victims, but there were no corpses.
They weren't alone, but there wasn't anyone.
"I-..." The words died in his mouth. Shisui cleared his throat loudly. "Do you know where the Hokage was last time-"
"No." Tokuma replied immediately with a defeated look on his face, shaking his head sideways. "No..."
"...Everyone disappeared after two in the morning, about thirty minutes ago. You were able to find only us. We don't know what happened to everyone else. We know there was a fight, and we know there are enemies scattered out there. We know we can't reach a safehouse without stumbling on them. We know they have to at least be Chunin and Jonin level, and against two Genins and one Chunin who haven't been on a mission once together, they would destroy us. What else do we know?"
Izuna stared dumbfounded at Shisui's summarization of their situation. It looked worse now that it was said like that. She whimpered, her fingers picking at the skin of her lips mercilessly. The pain was a much needed relief, and so was the blood. It replaced the sting of her dry mouth.
"We know we can't see the enemies with our Dojutsus, but we don't how that is possible." Tokuma mused with a pitiful smile that didn't fit the tense atmosphere. He lowered the tone of his voice to match Shisui's. "We know there were no casualties unless their bodies were taken out of the village. We know that the fire keeps appearing at random places at random moments, but we don't know how."
"Is that really everything?" Shisui whispered in disbelief. His shoulders hunched over as he looked at the ground. He bit his fingernails, trying to direct the stress elsewhere. Who would have expected for the day to take such a wrong, wrong turn?
Izuna shook her head hesitantly, her face turning awfully hopeful. Her hands shook as she signed. 'There is no one in the radius of ninety meters, but there could be others further away. The air is filled with Chakra, too.'
"The air is what?!" Shisui sprang to his feet with wide eyes, his Mangekyo Sharingan flaring to life. "Izuna, what are you talking about?"
Tokuma took a step back at the sudden change in Shisui's demeanor. His heart pounding in his chest, afraid of whatever Izuna said that made Shisui like t h a t.
But try as he might, Shisui couldn't see the change.
And he never would.
'I am a sensor, and I can tell you its different. Its spiked.'
"You think there's a Genjutsu?" Shisui believed in her abilities, but he also knew that the Mangekyo Sharingan and the Byakugan would have been able to alert them of that.
Izuna frowned, not even knowing the answer herself.
"That's impossible." Tokuma dismissed with narrowed, tear-filled eyes. "With our Dojutsus, we all would have been able to break free from it at the very beginning."
What scared him most was that Tokuma was right.
Could someone have a hold of a Genjutsu that strong?
He didn't know which was worse.
For it to be an illusion or real.
For the enemy to have that much power over their minds or over their bodies.
And he didn't want to know the answer.
Shisui glared at the ground, loathing what he was going to say.
He needed to, but he still hated it.
"We need to move-"
"Are you insane?!"
'Absolutely not.'
Tokuma and Izuna stared at him with eyes full of anxiety. Maybe he really did go mad from the stress.
"Either they find us first, or we find others who can help us!" Shisui raised his voice over the protests of his teammates. "We can find others; we can help them! And even if that doesn't happen, we can call for reinforcements from Sunagakure and Kusagakure. What other choices do we have?"
He didn't like this.
He didn't like how he had to take charge.
He didn't like how he was responsible for anything bad that followed.
He didn't like how he would be the one at fault for getting them injured.
He didn't like it, but he had no choice.
He had no choice.
He had no choice.
"Tokuma, Izuna, we are a search and rescue team." Shisui offered them a pitiful attempt at a smile, knowing that this might be the last time he saw either of them. "I know this isn't an ideal first mission for us, but its our mission."
"It's going to be our last mission too." Tokuma deadpanned, taking a deep breath to mumble out what he knew was going to happen. "We are going to die."
"I know."
Izuna offered them a small tense smile, standing up from her place on the ground. She was tired, but she was going to rest forever in a while. Better finish her job quickly. 'Lets go then.'
At least she would get to see her brother and sister, and they would be so proud of her.
"What are you waiting for, Shisui?" Tokuma mocked, hiding the despair that he could feel clawing at his heart. He wiped his eyes with his fingertips silently, his voice breaking as he laughed. "Scaredy cat..."
At least he would get to see his brother and sister, and they would be so proud of him.
Death wasn't going to come to them; they were going to their deaths.
Sweet, sweet death.
---
Izuna bashed the man's face with her legs, his nose spluttered blood that landed on her feet as the metallic scent hit her nostrils full force. His body flew towards Tokuma who snapped his neck with a sickening crunch.
Izuna caught the woman Shisui kicked to her and stabbed her claws in her eye sockets. Blood splattered onto her eyelashes and lips, but she didn't have time to ponder over her screams. Izuna backflipped off of her shoulders, a thumping noise following suit when the dead body hit the ground. She shot at another Shinobi and sliced through his throat viciously. He gurgled and choked on his own blood, spitting it in Izuna's mouth. She hated the bittersweet taste of the fluid.
Shisui plunged his Tanto at the kneecaps of a Shinobi behind Izuna, piercing through the bones. He didn't cringe when he heard them shattering as the man crumpled to the ground in a heap. A sharp glint of silver was the only warning before Tokuma drove his Kunai in the back of the man's head. "Shisui! Izuna! I can see two Chakra signatures about eighty meters ahead!"
The Hyuuga's resolve didn't waver when the Shinobi's skull cracked. He reeled back from the sword aimed for his head, stumbling on the uneven dirt beneath him. The Kunoichi attacking him retreated, but he charged forward towards her. He wouldn't let her do Ninjutsu. He pounded his fist against her skull, inserting his Chakra in her using his Gentle Fist.
Tokuma dodged a Fireball from Izuna; the Kunoichi didn't. He didn't bother looking at her charred form. The smell alone turned his stomach and made a bile rise in his throat. He screamed at Shisui in warning. "Behind you!"
Shisui weaved through the hand seals for the Fireball Jutsu and disabled the Water Bullet Technique aimed at him. His mouth dried up as soon as he let his hands fall from the seal position. The cackling of fire was too loud. The Shinobi fled in time to let Shisui burn the building behind him.
The man fled, towards the trap. Tokuma hauled the wire strings towards himself with a small grunt. He didn't beat an eyelash when the man's decapitated head rolled beside him. The boy licked his dry lips and cringed from the taste of dust and sweat. "You alright?"
"I am." Blood dripped down his mouth, but Shisui only gave a nod. He didn't look away from the burning house. "You?"
Tokuma's vision blurred as he pulled out a Kunai from his shoulder. Blood pooled down his arm; it hurt, but he would live. "Cool. Izuna?"
Izuna watched the fire eating away intensely at the building before them. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she was in hell. She coughed out slightly, the smoke burning her lungs.
Fire engulfed the building from all sides. There was fire everywhere; the roof was on fire, the doors and windows were on fire, fire was even coming out of the house through various openings. The flames burned deep red and amber. Nothing inside was likely to survive the fire.
Her hands pulsed uncontrollably; she had never gone this long on low Chakra while using her claws.
Flames licked up in the air with the wind, trying to catch something else on fire. Finding nothing but air, it disappeared into the windy night, disappointed.
It looked like most buildings in the village.
Her breath hitched in her throat.
'Shisui.' Izuna's hands shook heavily, but she didn't care. She could almost cry out in happiness at this point. 'The fire.'
"Izuna?" Shisui gripped his Tanto tightly, his knuckles going white. Why was she crying?
'Look.' She took a deep breath, trying to steady her hands enough to get her point across. 'It was you who burned the house; who do you think burned the other houses?'
"...What?" He whispered breathlessly. His eyes widened in disbelief and joy, catching on to what she was saying. "You're brilliant!- oh my god- I- They were fighting! They didn't go down with a fight!"
"Huh?" Tokuma mumbled, tilting his head at Shisui.
"Look at the fire." Shisui grinned, wiping away at the tears and sweat that formed on his face. "I caused it. The enemy mostly had water nature Chakra, and the only people who had fire nature Chakra were Konoha Shinobi."
"Shsiui! Do you know what that means?!" Tokuma hissed in horror, his face turning white. "The enemy cancelled their Jutsu at the last moment!"
Izuna licked her split lips, the taste of the blood calming her nerves down. She hugged herself tightly, trying to get any sort of comfort from the action.
From a source where she could find none.
"...They burned themselves. Our Shinobi killed their comrades." Tokuma continued, blinking rapidly to stop the burning tears in his eyes from falling. "That means the enemy didn't do this."
Shisui stared blankly at Tokuma.
"We did."
This was hell.
"We are burning our own home."
No one talked for a few moments.
Because even if he wanted to be wrong, Tokuma couldn't.
He spoke up after a while again. "And even if we are wrong, why would the fire keep appearing and disappearing at random when there is clearly no one?"
Shisui shook his head aimlessly. He didn't want to think about it anymore. "W-... We need to move... Come on..."
He halted in his tracks.
"Where did the bodies go?"
Izuna's eyes widened in disbelief.
The corpses disappeared.
The three immediately huddled together back to back. Their eyes scanned over their surroundings, but she didn't find anyone; she couldn't even feel anyone.
"There! There is one there!" Shisui gripped Tokuma's forearm tightly, hauling him backwards. "The hell, Shisui?!"
"It could be a trap."
Izuna shook her head at the boy's words. The body didn't have any Chakra; it was dead. 'Its safe.'
Shisui nodded cautiously, going forward alone. Izuna stayed back along with Tokuma. If the body was a trap, she would have to be available to save Shisui. She was the medic after all. If the body was the distraction, Tokuma would have to protect her against any sudden attacks.
She stayed rooted to her place, awaiting further directions.
"Izuna. Tokuma." That was their all clear to go forward.
Her eyes widened in disbelief at the man lying on the ground.
He was wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
A Konoha forehead protector.
"A spy?" Tokuma looked up at Shisui, afraid.
"I don't know." The Uchiha looked mildly uncomfortable. "Can you save him?"
Izuna only shook her head slowly at Shisui; the man was already dead.
"But- But- We fought him. Why did he try to kill us?" Tokuma swallowed heavily. Once. Twice. Thrice.
They didn't know.
Izuna pulled at Shisui's sleeve; they were going to die, might as well get it over with. 'Can you tell Tokuma I'm sorry for killing his brother?'
"Tokuma, Izuna is sorry for killing your brother." Shisui mumbled under his breath.
"Oh. Tell her I accept her apology and that I'm sorry for blaming her."
"Izuna, Tokuma accepts your apology and he's sorry for blaming you- hey! Why am I being the messenger? Tell her yourself, scaredy cat."
Tokuma facepalmed with a roll of his eyes at Shisui's glare. "Izuna, I accept your apology and I'm sorry for blaming you."
Izuna nodded at him, her eyes scanning the body for one last time.
"Come on guys, we have to move." Shisui took a step back from the corpse, his teammates following suit.
The three froze in their steps at the sound of an explosion.
A red flare was sent out in the sky.
That was the declaration of war.
But who sent it?
"What?..."
"Those might be the people you saw earlier!" Shisui quickly made the connection. "We need to hurry!"
---
Izuna's body shuddered in relief once she saw bright golden chains a few feet ahead of her. Kushina looked alright, if only a bit disheveled and angry; Izuna gulped down her saliva once she realized that they blew up the house on the woman.
Kakashi. Kakashi was there too. So was Kurenai. They were fighting alongside the Uzumaki, protecting her as much as they could. They
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