Before I begin, there's something you should know. I have to let you know now, or you'll probably misunderstand and jump to the wrong conclusions. You see, in my non-shinobi villiage that was located over 100 kilometers north of the nearest potential source of danger, the worst thing that every happened to anyone was catching the flu, or a broken bone. No one ever really got ill. Nothing bad really happened.

So when my little sister was diagnosed with haemophilia, things got pretty crazy. The single doctor who lived in our villiage… I think he got pretty angry at her. Mostly because he was the kind of person who hated being confused. Hated it. He recommended that we just be real careful around her. Keep an eye on here, ya know? Then when she turned 16 her teenage rebelliousness won out, I guess. She made me take her to Iwagakure so she could see a 'real' doctor. The nin-doctors up there gave her some of those blood-clotting pills that Shinobi use, and told us that we had to take them to her doctor and he'd dilute it so they wouldn't hurt her.

I don't think that Doctor Iwamura diluted them as much as he just powdered them and said that he'd diluted them. You know, there's a reason, that citizens aren't supposed to take those things!

Too bad we didn't figure it out till Natsumi became a mass-murderer.

(Earlier)

"Eiji, where were you last niiiiight?"

I rubbed my temples and sighed. "I've was here the whole time, Natsumi. And you'd know that if you were here."

Natsumi tilted her head with a quiet, uncomprehending face. "Oh. Okay."

Sometimes, I really hate my sister.

I dropped my pen and flicked the papers in front of me to the back of the desk. "What were you doing out that late last night, anyway! You could have been hurt! You can't just run around whenever and wherever you want to Natsumi. You're not well and you know that!" She just kept tilting her head, left to right. "And there's that thing going around… A lot of people have been having heart attacks lately and Doctor Iwamura reckons it's something in the air."

She started humming and braiding her hair. "Don't worry, Eijiiii, only the bad people are dying. Soon there won't be aaany left and it'll be safe for me to go whereeeever I want to…" she ended the sentence in another soft hum. Did she just… Did she just imply what I think she implied?

Man, I wish she'd leave her hair alone. She had our mother's hair, straight and black and pretty just the way it was. It's not like I could tell her this, though. Natsumi had no perception of beauty.

"You mean… you know something about this?" I slammed my fist into the desk. She just smiled whimsically and leaned against the wall.

"Na naaa," she made her 'correct!' noise (I don't know what game show she watched to get that), "I'm getting rid of all the rubbish, big brotheeeer! The world'll be clean soon!"

I hate Natsumi. I know sibling quarrel and say that too many times. But I really, really hate my sister.

I lowered my voice. "Natsumi, what's going on? Please don't tell me you're somehow involved in this." In the background of my words was Natsumi whispering "Yaaaay, won't that be lovely!" to herself.

A few minutes passed before the girl registered that I'd even spoken.

"Of course I'm involved in iiiit big brotheeer! All I havta do is but some'a my mediciiiine in their tea! And they drink it right up! And then they have a heart attack and they die." She said it as though she was talking about the weather.

(Elsewhere)

Three silhouetted figures stood in a loose circle. One had ripple-patterned eyes, one had red eyes with three tomoe in each one and the other was insanely tall. Had Natsumi been there, she probably would have described them as oil spills or something.

The ripple-eyed one glared at the other two men.

"Find out what's happening in that village. We can risk no threats to our cause."