The rainy morning of June 5 greeted the downtrodden survivors, sequestered in a hidden bunker underneath the charred remains of one of the townhouses in the square.

While the wet weather was welcomed to help put out the last of the smoldering remains, it also meant cold and dampness, something that affected even the youngest of them. They were miserably sitting together, children without parents, men and women alike without their families, and the elders without their children.

The children cried, missing their families, and although the remaining adults tried to console them, their tears only awakened their own sorrow over having lost everything they had. Misery hung over them like the rain clouds outside, heavy and stubbornly clinging to them in blankets.

Most of the remaining prayed desperately for help. They prayed for someone, anyone, even Mimei to come back and chase away the royal guards, to help them rebuild their resources and return to some semblance of normalcy… well, as normal as you could get with your entire home destroyed beyond possible repair.

Some of them cursed angrily, cursing the capital, cursing their own ignorance, and cursing Mimei. Some argued that their affiliation with the rebels had brought this misfortune onto them. As much as they were admonished for this viewpoint, their pessimism brought some level of reality to the situation; they'd been attacked when they were most helpless, and now they could never get help as long as the guard remained. They would be forced to stay huddled together in that bunker until the figurative - and literal - storm passed, with no contact to the outside world.

This, indeed, was hell, quite unlike anything the village had ever seen before.


Two hooded figures finally stepped atop the summit of the mountain, scanning the area below. Their cloaks rustled in the wind and their eyes gazed sadly at the broken, burnt remains from the plateau above.

It truly did look like a massacre.

One of them clucked her tongue and shook her head sadly at the remains of the village below. "Quite the sorry sight, isn't it?"

"Indeed." The second agreed with a heaving sigh. "I wish we could have arrived in time."

"We did all we could, Tsunade." The younger woman placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We're here now. Once the guard leaves, we'll be able to do our duty."

A beat.

"I hope they leave soon. Before… before Plan A."

"I do too."


"I just don't get it," Shikamaru sighed heavily as he walked with Lee. "Nothing makes sense. I've- I've gone over it fifteen times, and I just can't figure out why. Why there? Why in a spot where the smell would be more pronounced for ninken to discover quicker?"

"The smell is indeed terrible, but as far as we know, there weren't any recent notifications of the dead," Lee replied with a solemn frown. "The key being 'as far as we know'. Perhaps they're hiding something from us? I know Gai hasn't heard of any, and if he had, he would have immediately told me."

"It just- It just doesn't make sense," Shikamaru sighed harshly. "I get covering up a wrongful death so you don't have to pay consolation sums to the family, but why would someone go that far just to hide the body near-"

Shikamaru was cut off when he accidentally bumped shoulders with a large, cloaked figure. He looked up and into dark, guarded eyes. They seemed familiar, somehow, but he shrugged off that eerie thought and bowed his head, apologizing.

The man waved off the apology before turning and walking off with his partner, a taller man with beady eyes and a strange coloration under his hood.

Shikamaru watched them leave with a thoughtful face. The man, while expressionless, seemed to emanate something familiar and warm - but what was it?

Lee nudged his arm gently, bringing his attention back. "Perhaps we should get back," he advised, glancing over at the two men. "And leave things be for now."


A/N: Please tell me what you thought!