Attempted sexual assault is present, so proceed with caution.

Chapter Five

The Man in the Mills

Yes, his brother-in-law ran the village. Secret was out.

And his sister hadn't been home with her man she claimed to love so much because she was...afraid, she said. Hideo Hashimoto wasn't known well to the Oto public eye, having shut much of himself away, so in a way, Kabuto was relieved that he and his friends and loved ones weren't alone in not knowing the mysterious man he had a strange feeling about.

But Manami wasn't ready to talk, so he never made her. And if her husband had wanted her to come home, he would have done so a long time ago. And he still doesn't know she's a little...exhausted.

Just like he was, at the moment, from everything. But he was also distracted because of the memory of Hanaru being here, smelling her sweet and spicy lily-of-the-valley fragrance from a distance, and didn't regret admitting he did fancy it more than any other sweet perfume a girl would cherish.

As a consequence, he ended up dropping the dish he was drying, cursing himself and causing Orochimaru to chuckle at his apology. "That was your property, not mine," the man reminded him. "Let me dry while you wash."

"I need another drink," Kabuto mumbled, but what he needed was his worries to end, and there was only one thing to do, which was something only Orochimaru could suggest.

"Not applying for exhumation, my boy, but we're going through with it as soon as no one is aware. We start tonight," he stated, yellow eyes glittering with excitement, but the younger man was overcome by a cold shiver up his spine at the idea of getting out of this house while the ladies and Ren were out like logs, and heading to the graveyard for the freshly buried grave of none other than Jurou Matsuda. He was the freshest they could have for an autopsy to be performed, and as soon as the job was done, they would return him to where he would continue resting.

Kabuto didn't like this idea of committing illegal means, but what other choice was there?

Whatever this malady is, Itachi ended up being the first one, and then the four men in Ame with him, then getting all those here in this village.

~o~

She went off to check on Ren while the men were cleaning the dishes for her. And as expected, he was laying on the other side of the bed. They hardly shared a bed unless he had nightmares. He was up with the light on and with a book; still wanted his mom to read to him.

But there was Manami doing that job for her. It was an old manga for children that she and Naruto loved when they were kids, and then she read it to Ren when he started getting old enough to understand words. When they heard the door open, they both smiled. She returned it and set about finding her sleeping gear in her bag she had yet to unpack for the stay.

"Well, night, big boy," Manami told the boy as she closed the book and slid off the bed. "You'd better get your sleep if you want to start the day tomorrow. See if any of the villagers would show you and your mom how to have a good time."

But if I see that Matsuda jerk, he'll know better than to insult us again.

If Hanaru knew that kind, she'd say he would get really drunk off his tail because he lost the brother he clearly loved so much. Or maybe she could sit his ass down and talk to him about manners regarding a mother and her child, and see if he could relate if she told him she lost her husband, knowing what it was like to lose family.

"I'll be right back, honey," she told Ren who slipped further under the covers and reached up to turn the shoji lamp off. That was when she followed Manami to the bathroom which was the only one in this house. She waited outside, the door opened, as her friend did the ritual of washing her teeth and talking about her husband more.

"Why aren't you with him at the present?" Hanaru asked curiously, and for a moment, there was a pause.

"Well, because of the trouble, he let me be with my brother. He's also got enough on his plate as it is that we both thought it best we be separated for a while."

Hanaru frowned; that sounded suspicious enough. Wasn't Manami so in love with Hideo Hashimoto that they seemed almost inseparable? Well, not like I know him well, either. And Kabuto always said he was arrogant and overbearing.

Water stopped running and Manami came out, this time with a tired expression. "I have to go to bed now. Night, Hanaru." But the blonde woman wasn't going to have it.

"No, wait...are you trying to tell me something else?"

Her question seemed to cause the silver-haired one to freeze and then jerk as if jolted by an invisible electroshock. "N-no, not at all. I just have to go to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning."

That was enough to make Hanaru decide that she was going to hide and then follow her friend out of this house. If the men were busy doing whatever they were doing, if they would stay and watch Ren, she could slip out and see what the deal was, for she hid behind the bathroom door and watched as Manami grabbed her sweater jacket and walked towards the stairs, tiptoeing down enough to not make any noise.

She was a soldier's wife - well, widow - so, of course she had a gun on herself for protection, because you never knew what kind of creeps were there. Even those men on the horses. They could get a load of a small woman with athletic strength and a GUN in one.

There were a few people outside at this time, but a middle-aged few. She did see a few numbers of young men and women around, telling her the majority of the victims were male. That was a strange pattern, but didn't that priest say the "gods are punishing us for our sins"?

Hanaru took the car and decided to drive out, seeing that there was a road which led out to the woods, and she did follow Manami in that direction...until she lost her, and cursed herself for this happening so fast. But the dark was also to blame. And these damned headlights which had to start blinking out on her at this time!

Grabbing her flashlight, too, Hanaru parked the car on the side of the road, locking it and going in the direction her friend had gone. How the hell am I gonna find her out here?! What if Ren wakes up and notices I'm gone? Orochimaru and Kabuto won't know -!

She was calling the woman's name, getting no response - until one did finally come in the form of a familiar face popping before her and reaching for her. She could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath as he lunged closer, snarling that he knew her. She dropped her flashlight in the heat of the moment, reaching out and striking him in the face enough to make it red.

And miraculously sending him down to the ground, where he hit his head against that tree trunk.

But damn it all, there were now horses galloping. Damn her and send her straight to hell...

Those horses all cornered her, and raising her gun at them didn't do any good, nor did firing a shot only to miss - and one of the men grabbed her arm and hauled her up onto the horse, right in front of him and keeping her close to prevent her from escaping.

They took her across the fields and to a clearing which led to a great estate not far away, ignoring her protests that she had a child waiting for her, and the man holding her snapped at her to shut it. That man happened to be the one who threatened her.

Hanaru wound up pulled down from that horse and into the estate, where she was thrown onto a floor covered with lush, scenic carpets. She lost her wits then and there, screaming, "LET ME GO, YOU BLOODTHIRSTY PIECES OF SHIT!"

Her language and defiance earned a slap which made her flesh wave like the ocean, and onto the floor she went only to be cornered at all costs by the three while their leader helped himself to a drink in a quick, single swig. Snarling through her teeth, Hanaru thought to swing her legs to swipe one of them off his feet and then jump up on both of hers, but her legs ended up caught and held together, forcing her to wiggle about like a fish flopping on dry land. She had never been so scared, but she was going to keep fighting if she had anything to say about it. If only her gun wasn't taken by one of those bastards!

Goddamn it, what have I gotten into? Oh, God, they're going to...!

"Daisuke, this one's one feisty vixen in the cage, isn't she?"

Daisuke...that was the name of their leader. He chuckled and put down the last of his brandy glass. "Indeed. Now, who should have her first? Oh, yes, let's draw cards and see who has the smallest..."

"ENOUGH! WHAT THE DEVIL IS GOING ON?!"

That voice which roared into the air - that was the one she never thought she would hear. And it happened to be the owner of this estate. My God...these animals WORK for that man! "Leave her alone, I say," Hideo Hashimoto raged, stalking down the stairs and going right for Daisuke, and he, too, sent a blow to the face before barking at all of them to get out of his sight.

And when all of them were gone, she was left alone with him. Tall, dark and handsome, of course, but he certainly wasn't Itachi. "Mrs. Uchiha," the man said with a nod of the head. "It's been ages. I never thought our paths would cross again like this."

She swallowed and answered steadily, relieved she was back to normal despite being nearly made into a plaything by those creatures. She stood up from the floor and dusted herself off, fixing her ponytail back into place. "Neither did I, Mr. Hashimoto," she answered. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Please, I'm your dear friend's husband. Hideo will be fine with me." He then sighed. "I know it's pointless to ask for my friends' forgiveness. They can be even more out of hand than I want them to be."

"Out of hand"? They nearly tainted and stained me for life! "So, you didn't know what was going on," Hanaru stated, earning a solemn and sincere shake of the head.

"None at all. But if it's any consolation, I can let you walk out of here now, unscathed, and you can return to your vehicle - wherever you've left it." He shook his head as he led her back to the front door. "Understanding that you do still have it, but I have no idea why you would be out here and alone at this time of night. I suppose it's not really my business."

"You're right," Hanaru answered. "It isn't, but I thank you anyway."

He opened the door for her, still watching her closely. He was so unreadable, but the more she looked at him now, somehow she saw a little bit of her...husband in him. But Hideo Hashimoto had no slanted lines beneath his eyes, and his hair was cropped and slicked around the ears. "Then before I let you go, would it hurt if I ask you how you have fared since your husband's death, if it's not too personal?" he asked her.

Hanaru was taken aback a little by the question. He had sent a wreath of the same funeral flowers, writing a "sincere condolences" note in the process which she did find was thoughtful enough. "I've done just fine, and so has Ren. And he's also expecting me to return at this moment. A mother should never leave her child alone for very long."

"Yes, you are right. Good night and please take care. Suppose I see you again, Mrs. Uchiha?"

She lifted her chin at him. "Maybe I will. And you can call me Hanaru."

So he let her go, not before promising that she shouldn't go to the police and report her near attack. Because he was bailiff, he was responsible for the welfare of everyone in this village, and if this got out, the scandal attached to his name would mean a disaster in that the common folk would no longer respect him the same way. Scoffing at the injustice, Hanaru bitterly agreed to not report...for now.

Hanaru had seen one of the spots Daisuke and his men took her on the way to the Hashimoto Manor, and she would take that direction to the car so she could get back to Kabuto's place, but not before she would finish looking for Manami, wherever she was now.

Thank God she got her gun back and found her fallen flashlight on the way, seeing as the batteries weren't going to die out. And thank God she didn't run into the drunken Toshio Matsuda again. He must have been clonked out good.

When she got Manami and they got back into the car, she would engage in meditation with her friend to relieve the stress of tonight's events. And hopefully she would be able to sleep after that...

Hanaru happened across a piece of land that appeared to be a mine work. But she had no idea what was beneath the ground. It also didn't appear to be functional, but she suspected it was on Hashimoto land, which must mean the man owned it himself. She could ask Manami about it -

She halted when her ears were greeted with a noise that she heard behind her as she raised her flashlight before herself, trying to find where it was coming from. At first, it started off being a simple snap of a twig on the ground. Then, in the distance as her senses stretched, she could hear that it was something akin to beating...drums?

Why the hell are drums beating around these parts? They don't even sound like they are native...

And that wasn't all, for as she felt the crystal around her neck pulsing as it sensed a physical presence - and such a NASTY aura surrounding it - she gasped in horror and nearly dropped her flashlight as its beam shone on the monstrosity that stood above her head, against the backdrop that was an unmoving wheel.

At first glance, she would have mistaken the man in the old shroud to be her husband, but the features didn't match him at all. Nor did the maniacal leer, baring rotting teeth and uttering of a croaking cackle as "he" released the immobile human form in gray hands, letting it roll down the small hill until it landed face up, staring up at nothing in particular and covered around the neck and mouth with some bright red blood.

Hanaru shrieked at the sight of the person she came all the way out here for, not seeing the horrible man - no, he can't even be human! - walk away as if it didn't faze him. Now she dropped her flashlight only to pick it up again and run towards the corpse of her friend, getting no pulse in either the wrist or the jugular at the throat.

"MANAMI!"

~o~

It hadn't been easy to get out of the house after making sure the village was deserted. As soon as the moon was at its highest, he and Orochimaru were with their shovels and making way for the cemetery.

Irony in that: he wondered if he would end up seeing the face of his best friend again, which he told his mentor and guardian about before they came here. There were some days he thought he imagined it all, but Itachi would be far away but clear for his eyes, and the description clearly imprinted was that of nightmares and old legends.

Walking corpse was the best way to describe: gray-skinned, rotting, and in a ratty shroud unfit for a living person. And those eyes...

There were no police patrolling, but in this village, you could never be too careful. There were a few men in uniform and badge in Oto, and all good, too. They didn't blame Kabuto Yakushi for the mysterious deaths of these young men, for the son of one of the policemen was among the first in this village, having not gone out to serve in Ame.

Now that the two men found Jurou Matsuda's resting place, it was time to get to work, but Kabuto still had a terrible feeling about this. He wasn't a religious man, but there was such a thing as respect for the dead in the earth where they should be.

They dug the grave well into the late hours of the night, and it was as if an eternity passed by before it was laid bare for them, but just as Orochimaru was prying open the lid, there was a stern voice catching them, ordering them both to stop what they were doing. Damn, we've been caught!

"You gentlemen just step up a moment. This is a serious charge that will be in the morning - for grave robbing."

Sergeant Samon Sano and of course Senior Officer Chiba at their services. If you must know, the former was the one whose son died under Kabuto's care, before the others followed.

Kabuto gulped as he thought of the hell they were in now; he should have been firmer when he said no, but Orochimaru was ever insistent when he said they had serious work to be done and couldn't afford any more delays, so he whirled around and threw open the lid against the sergeant's shout to halt - only to be greeted with a strange but mortifying vision.

The coffin was empty.

Dun dun dun...that was frightening as hell. :O Hanaru goes out to find her friend only to get kidnapped and almost raped by the men on horses only to be interrupted by her friend's husband, and he lets her go...only for her to find Manami's corpse as well as a scary man. And Kabuto and Orochimaru get caught by the police only for them all to see the dead man's grave vacant.

What exactly the HELL is going on? Damned good question that will be answered very soon.

Oh, and the sergeant's first name comes from Samon Yotsuya of the famous Japanese legend "Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan" (he is the father of Oiwa).

Reviews appreciated. :S This was so scary to write especially before bed for me.