Chapter 7:
~3rd POV
Nanako and her students walked up to the gates marking the entrance to the village. Clouds covered the sun, dimming the daylight overhead. They paused at the entrance, taking a look around.
Some villagers were going about their day. Mothers shopped with their children. Some men were working, others were playing with their sons. Friendly chatter was being made among the villagers. None seemed to take any interest in the newcomers, though some did smile kindly and wave a greeting.
"This is strange behavior?" Ryoma asked, folding his arms.
Yoshiko glanced around, waving back to some villagers. "Nanako-sensei, are you sure this is the village?"
Nanako nodded. "According to the map Lord Hokage gave me, this is it." She unfolded a piece of paper and studied it. "A small village on the coast to the south."
"Should we wait here for the elder?" Ryoma asked. "Or do we look for them?"
"Hmm." Nanako hummed to herself, looking around. She walked over to a market stand and began speaking to the woman behind it.
The three students stayed put.
"Do you think they faked it?" Yoshiko asked. She pouted. "I hope not. I was really looking forward to this mission. And who fakes something like this to begin with? It's a pretty low thing to do. I mean, seriously-"
"You're rambling again, Yoshi," Ryoma sighed.
"Oh! Sorry." Yoshiko giggled to herself.
"But you are right," Ryoma agreed. "If this was a hoax, then someone has a sick sense of humor."
"Not sure whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing." Nanako walked over to her students. "The lady over there said we could find the elder just further down. Apparently they had the stomach for some food and couldn't wait." Nanako smirked as she said this. "Shall we take a stroll?"
Nanako and her students walked along the road, looking around as they went. While they enjoyed seeing such livelihood, each of them was on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.
"Neh, Tsuki, you haven't put in your two cents for a while," Yoshiko said. "What do you think is going on here?"
Tsuki looked at her and started signing. "Perhaps they quarantined the ones acting strange."
"Makes sense," Ryoma said. "If they're concerned about the sudden behavior changes, they could have isolated those who've shown signs."
"We'll soon find out." Nanako led her students to a cart selling fried fish. They saw a short old man purchasing some from the cart vendor. "Are you Elder Karagi?"
The old man turned around, looking up to Nanako and her students.
"That would be correct," he said.
~Tsuki's POV
"You must be the team from the Hidden Leaf Village," Elder Karagi said. "I apologize for not greeting you formerly at the gates." He smiled cheerfully. "But sometimes an old man can't help himself."
Nanako-sensei chuckled. "That's quite alright."
I took a look at the Elder. He was fairly short, a few inches below me. His graying hair was pulled back into a short tail. He wore clean robes that were red and blue. And he had the most excited look in his eyes. I could tell he's a very happy man.
"Welcome to my little village," Elder Karagi said. "I hope your journey here wasn't troubling."
"Not at all," Nanako-sensei assured him. "But I would like to get right down to business, if you please. My students here are very eager to complete their mission."
Next to me I could Ryoma mutter under his breath. "Well she doesn't waste any time."
Yoshiko giggled behind her hand and I smiled, amused.
"Follow me."
We followed Elder Karagi through the streets. So far, everything looked absolutely peaceful. Normal. Even with the gray sky hanging over us, the villagers seemed cheery and bright.
"So what exactly is going on around here?" Ryoma asked him.
"Yeah, everything looks to be okay," Yoshiko added.
Elder Karagi nodded. "Indeed. Around this area, people are unaware of the happenings in the village. This is our safe zone."
"Safe zone?" Yoshiko repeated.
Elder Karagi led us further into the village. Not long after, he switched directions and took us to the outskirts.
"This is the area where things are going wrong." Elder Karagi had a grim look on his face, very different from his cheery self.
"And what exactly is happening?" Nanako-sensei inquired, folding her arms.
"Tread carefully through these streets. It's mostly harmless but anything could happen."
As we walked slowly down the street, I immediately noticed a change. "Where is everyone?"
Elder Karagi looked at me strangely, obviously confused.
"She doesn't speak," Ryoma provided. "She asked where the people are."
"Ah, I see. Well, my dear, I'm afraid that's just it." He rubbed his head lightly, a worried look appearing on his face. "Most of the people in this part of the village have disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Yoshiko looked worried, so I put a hand on her shoulder.
"What about the strange behavior?" Nanako-sensei said.
Elder Karagi looked around, and then zeroed in on a figure not too far away. "Observe."
The figure was coming closer, and I was able to make out a person. It was a woman. I could see her robes loose on her shoulders, but not enough to fall off. Her hair draped in front of her face, nearly impairing her vision, I imagine. But what struck me was the fact that her eyes were dull, practically lifeless.
She kept walking, paying us no mind. She walked through us as we moved to the sides, clearing a path. I could faintly hear her mumbling to herself, but couldn't make anything out from it. I found that I couldn't turn away from the woman, even as she walked further away from us. Something about her behavior was scarily familiar.
"Did anything happen before that would have led up to this sort of behavior?" Ryoma asked. "Anything out of the ordinary?"
"I don't recall," Elder Karagi said.
"So it just started happening out of nowhere?" Yoshiko pouted, folding her arms. "That's so weird."
Elder Karagi began walking again, so we followed behind him. We were going deeper into the area affected by the phenomenon. As we continued, more villagers came into sight. They were all acting strangely like the woman before. Some were wandering around slowly and quietly. Others were standing in place, staring at the wall or nothing at all.
"Even children…" Yoshiko trailed off, her voice wavering slightly.
I turned my gaze to the left where she was looking. There were a couple of children sitting against a building. If I didn't know any better, I'd assume they were dead by the lack of movement. The sight broke my heart.
Nanako-sensei groaned and brushed her hair back in frustration. "What the living hell is actually going on here?" she muttered. She turned to face us, her eyes clouded with wariness. "You three stay sharp. Tsuki, stay close to Ryoma and Yoshiko. If you get separated from us, you won't have a way to communicate with us."
I nodded, understanding what she meant. I'm the most rookie of all the Leaf Village Genin, and was put onto an already advancing squad. If I got separated from them, I wouldn't be able to call for help, and my chances of handling any situation on my own right now isn't likely.
Yoshiko and Ryoma gave me reassuring looks.
"Just stick with us, Tsuki," Yoshiko said. "We got your back!"
"Sensei, maybe we should start looking for clues," Ryoma suggested.
Nanako-sensei nodded in agreement. "You three stick together. Stay vigilant and contact me if anything happens. Ryoma, you still have that radio?"
Ryoma pulled down the collar of his shirt. A small radio was strapped around his neck like a choker. He pulled the earpiece up and put it in his ear.
"Good."
"No fair, how come Ryoma gets one?" Yoshiko pouted.
"Because I don't talk Sensei's ears off," Ryoma replied.
Yoshiko glared lightly at him. Nanako-sensei and Elder Karagi laughed.
"I'll escort Elder Karagi here back to the safe zone," Nanako-sensei continued. "You three, be careful. Ryoma, you're in charge."
We all nodded and watched as Nanako-sensei and Elder Karagi left.
"So what do we do first, Ryoma?" Yoshiko asked.
"First," he said, looking at me, "I want to know something. You've had this worried look on your face for a while now, Tsuki. Is something wrong?"
I was startled. I hadn't even realized I had a look this whole time. I couldn't help but wonder if Nanako-sensei noticed.
I shook my head and sighed. "I've seen this behavior before. I just don't remember where."
"But how?" Yoshiko questioned out loud. "For the past few years you've been-"
Ryoma quickly covered her mouth with his hand, sighing in annoyance. "Yoshi, please watch what you say to your friends."
Yoshiko realized what he was talking about and pushed his hand away. She grabbed my hands and started apologizing rapidly. I just smiled to reassure her that she hadn't offended me.
"Come on," Ryoma ordered. "Let's start searching. We'll have to meet back up with Nanako-sensei soon."
We walked through the streets, searching for any type of clue that would give us useful information. The further we went, the more villagers we saw. This started to seem like a sort of plague.
I kept thinking about what Yoshiko said. She hadn't offended me, sure. I even agreed with her. I was locked away for years. Where could I have seen this behavior before?
I was brought out of my thoughts suddenly. A sound brought my attention away from my teammates. I stopped walking, looking around to pinpoint the sound. I could faintly hear my teammates calling my name, but the sound was getting louder. I could feel my breath quicken; I was panicking. The sound was coming from every direction it seemed like, so I couldn't detect the source.
I covered my ears, my gaze switching between villagers. Was it one of them making this sound? They were all somber, dull, and practically lifeless. I snapped my eyes shut, and I curled into myself, feeling my knees hit the ground. I felt hands reach out to me, but I could only hear one sound.
The hissing of a snake.
~3rd POV
"Tsuki!" Ryoma and Yoshiko caught Tsuki before she fell.
"What's wrong with her?!" Yoshiko exclaimed.
Ryoma took Tsuki in his arms and examined her. "She's unconscious. I don't understand. We were with her the whole time. What could've happened?"
"Ryoma, look." Yoshiko pointed to Tsuki's face, worry rushing through her. "She was crying."
Ryoma looked and saw there were unshed tears in Tsuki's eyes, hanging off her lashes. He looked around warily, searching for any signs of attack. But he saw nothing other than the wandering villagers.
Ryoma reached up and turned on his radio. "Nanako-sensei. We have a problem."
They waited for their sensei to respond, and so far Ryoma could only hear static.
"…Go ahead, Ryoma."
He breathed a sigh of relief and gave Yoshiko a nod. "Tsuki's fainted," he said. "Something happened but we don't know what."
"Go back the way we came," Nanako ordered. "There's an inn Elder Karagi provided for us to use during our stay here. Bring Tsuki back and stay alert."
"Got it." Ryoma switched his radio off and started lifting Tsuki up. "Help me out here?"
Yoshiko stood up and helped Ryoma maneuver Tsuki onto his back. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Tsuki's legs, leaning forward so she wouldn't fall.
"Take the lead, and be careful," he said. "Whatever happened to Tsuki could happen to us."
"Right." Yoshiko took point, taking a few paces ahead of Ryoma to clear the way.
Ryoma followed his childhood friend silently, thinking to himself. 'Tsuki's connected to whatever's happening here. She was terrified. Could it have something to do with her years being a captive?'
Ryoma made a mental note to discuss his thoughts with Nanako when they returned.
