It was a day before Sasuke prepared to travel to Kirigakure when he was called to the southeast when the updated news of four mysterious deaths of three journalists led him to the thriving city embedded in the forest-cladded hills of Kusagakure.

On August 27th, The Kusagakure police announced today that 39-year-old Toma Horoda, who was arrested on the 20th of August for the brutal murder of his journalist partner, Taishi Ikuta committed suicide in his jail cell early on the morning of the 27th. According to the police statement, he used a soup spoon to stab himself in the neck, severing his carotid artery. By the time the guard discovered him, Horoda was dead from blood loss, the spoon buried two inches in his neck. Hours before his death, he was reportedly distressed and wrote an unfinished letter to his sister, Suma Horoda that declared his innocence.

At about 11 PM on the 4th of September, 40-year-old investigative journalist Suma Horoda waiting on the platform at the Shabana Street station jumped onto the tracks and was decapitated by the arriving St. Shabana College-bound train. The female journalist died instantly. The police have determined the death was a suicide, as witnesses reported that the victim did not look inebriated and reportedly jumped off the platform deliberately. Authorities believe that the death of her brother could have been a motivation.

Seven months later, on January 16th, her husband, 42-year-old investigative journalist Daiki Horoda was found dead in unusual circumstances last month and died of heart failure, medical examiners reported yesterday. He was discovered in his mansion in the early hours of Monday in his bedroom at his home by his live-in housemaid.

His body was discovered on the bedroom floor in a kneeling position, head resting on the wall, deceased.

Despite the baffling circumstances of how the former journalist was discovered, Horoda's body did not show any signs of violence and there was no signs of struggle or forced entry, according to investigators with the Attorney General's Office. An autopsy had been performed on the body and the cause of death had been deemed to be acute myocarditis. However, there will still be a homicide investigation.

"Ms. Koushi, what can you tell me about the time leading up to his death?" Sasuke said once he settled in the cold chair of the interrogation room in the Kusago Capital after receiving approval to speak with a witness.

It was entirely dark, save for a single flickering lamp resting on top of the steel table. From what the light was able to illuminate, there were barren walls of concrete and one single steel door, with the only furniture in said room being the stainless steel table that the lamp sat upon, as well as the two chairs behind it.

Sitting uncomfortably across the table was a short, dark-haired woman in a pale red dress, obviously terrified and shaking so much that she could probably turn to dust by how much she was quivering. Her blue eyes focused onto Sasuke's who sat at the opposite side of the table.

She was a thirty year old woman, but she looked as if she had aged fifty years in the past several weeks. She was frighteningly skinny. Her long dark hair was a nested mess, visibly beginning to gray. Her face was blanched and narrow. Her blue eyes were gray and heavy with bags, indicating that she had not slept for days on end.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Horoda's housemaid, Mowa Koushi spoke in a slow and shaky voice. "Well it was six days after his last charity event at the Niwanka Restaurant when he was behaving very strangely."

"How so?"

"Almost immediately after returning home from the charity event, he requested me to burn the clothes he wore in the fireplace," Koushi began. "At the time I was confused and asked him why, because his wife brought it for him before her death."

"What did he say about them?"

Koushi rested her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her hand. "He kept saying his clothes were contaminated, but there was nothing. I asked him why, and he just got increasingly aggravated so I had no choice. Afterwards I did my house duties as usual, and I assumed he was still grieving and stressed from the deaths of his wife and brother-law and friend. I figured some peace and quiet would relax him. But throughout the afternoon and night, I kept finding him doing odd things in the house."

"Such as?"

"Well for one; he was shredding his work. His notes, his documents, his journals, his wife's documents, even deleting his own emails and media accounts. Almost everything he was working on in the past few years, he destroyed within days."

"Do you know what he was writing about at that time? Was it about a specific subject?"

"He was on a lead of sorts, but he wanted to keep it under wraps. He just said he was on top of a big story he was planning to expose."

Sasuke grunted, inwardly frustrated with the lack of crucial details. But then he realized. "You said almost, yes?"

Koushi nodded.

"What's left?"

Koushi began fiddling with her fingers. "I managed to keep the letter."

"A letter," Sasuke echoed, his interest peaked. "What did you do with it?"

"I hid it from him because I feared he would throw it away like he did with his other belongings. After his death, I gave it to the authorities. I managed to get a peek at it, and I remember that it was addressed to you, Sasuke Uchiha." Koushi then added. "Hopefully it will be helpful."

Sasuke nodded understandingly. "Did he indicate why he was throwing everything away?"

"He just said he had to and then told me to go back to work. But the strangest thing was that he looked…..He seemed scared the whole time he spoke to me. He looked very scared of something."

"How could you tell?"

"Well for one, he didn't look me in the eyes, as he often did. He was looking behind me or around me. Almost as if he was looking at someone else."

"Was it just you two in the room?"

"Yes, it was." She replied. "He seemed to be scared of something that no one could not see. Once I got back to work, I kept finding him looking for something in the bathrooms, in his bedroom, in the guest rooms, in the living room…everywhere. I would find him just looking desperately for something in every room. I didn't know what to make of the situation, so I just left him alone."

"Has he ever shown signs of mental instability in the past?" Sasuke asked. The chair he was sitting in squeaked slightly as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on top of the desk, the wood creaking from the added weight. Doubt began to seep into his genjutsu speculation. It was entirely possible that Horoda could have suffered a poorly-timed mental breakdown after the sudden death of his wife and could have scared himself to death. But at the same time, it was also possible that his passing could have been the result of a long lasting form of genjutsu that gradually gnawed away at his mental health.

"No. In fact for the past seven years I worked in his home, he had been nothing more than rational and calm. Weeks ago, he had been mentally sound and in good spirits, making phone calls, writing up reports, and planning his anniversary. So for him to suddenly start making these wild, terrified claims of being targeted by something was at the same time both alarming and outlandish. It was so jarring to see such erratic behavior from him. He just changed within a day and just spiraled. Barely recognizable from the composed man he was days before."

"What else was he doing?"

"He wasn't eating, he wasn't going to work or writing or attending meetings. He refused to sleep, no matter how many times I begged him to, he just said that he was already sleeping. That he felt as if he was hallucinating, dreaming even though he knew he was wide awake and walking."

Genjutsu. That was the only thought pervading Sasuke's mind upon hearing this bizarre story of this man's sudden descent into absolute madness. It seemed like a plausible conclusion. If it wasn't mental illness, it must be an outside source.

"Did he tell you what happened at the charity event?" he inquired.

Koushi nodded. "He did. But he was quite vague. It was supposed to be a quick dinner, a photo-op, a speech, and a meet-greet with children and officials."

"What did he say exactly?"

Koushi went silent for a moment, visibly trying to recollect everything. She shuffled in her chair momentarily before finally speaking. "He said he felt so lightheaded that he feared he would faint. So he left the charity event early."

Sasuke tapped his finger on the wooden table, eyeing the woman directly. "Any specific person he interacted with? Any child or woman or man?"

Koushi went momentarily quiet, a baffled look overtook her face. "Somewhat. He told me that he shook the hand of someone and it was someone he couldn't see the face of. His eyesight apparently blurred into this temporary blindness, and the next thing he knew, the person was no longer there. Everything was blurry after that."

Sasuke furrowed a brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, all he said was that he felt this compelling chill run through him, his vision blurred, and he was unable to move for a second. He told me that his mind was so fuzzy that he could hardly recollect the face, the voice, the body, nothing. It was as if he shook hands with an unseen ghost."

Sasuke drummed his fingers gently on the table. A ghost? Outlandish concept, of course. He must have shaken hands with a living person, but perhaps that particular person did something to him. Perhaps a special jutsu. Something that's difficult to detect.

"You said compelling chill?" inquired Sasuke. "Was it before or after he shook hands with…this ghost?"

"I believed it was before. He just said that he felt that chill all of a sudden and then he had a handshake."

"Is there anyone who wishes to do harm to him?"

Kokushi shook her head quickly. "Not that I know of. He was on friendly terms with everyone he met. I can't even imagine him having enemies."

"Then what was he paranoid of?"

Koushi went quiet for a moment.

"Her….shadows." She said after a long pause.

"Her…shadows?" A glimpse of surprise flashed across Sasuke's expression, but it didn't last for long. "Who is Her exactly?"

A solemn look touches Koushi's tired face. "That's just what he kept saying. He just said Her, her, her…but never actually identifying who she is. He was so awfully vague, but he said it was her people in the forms of shadows. He just told me that he believed that there were her shadows after him." Koushi slowly shook her head in palpable disbelief, her dark locks swaying as she did. "It sounds bizarre, I know. I was truly baffled when he told me, but he was very, very afraid, extremely afraid."

"What were these 'shadows' doing to him?"

"He kept telling me that they had been attacking him all night and cutting him. He said he'd woken up with little cuts on his arms and hands, though there were no wounds to be seen. He kept saying that something was trying to kill him when he fell kept saying that over and over.….."

"Was there anyone else in the house?"

Koushi shook her head quickly. "It was me and Mr. Horoda and his two dogs. The rest of the staff returned with their keys and went home after their shifts were over."

"Do you believe that an intruder could have gotten into the house?"

"That would be impossible. The mansion has maximum security with cameras and sensors. You have to have a specific code to simply walk through the front door. Not only that but neither of the dogs barked once that night. I would have woken up during the night if someone somehow managed to sneak inside."

"Can you tell me what happened to Horoda last night?"

"He was writing a letter in his bedroom."

"Writing a letter?"

Koushi nodded. "All day, then he would burn them as soon as he's finished. He refused to go to work, answer calls, or even come out of his bedroom in general. I had to bring his food to his room throughout the day and I always found him focused on this letter."

"Did he eat?"

"No. Just drank some water," Koushi said. "When nightfall came, he called me to his room, and told me that I should check up on him in the morning…." The remaining color left Koushi's pale face. "...I asked him why, and he just told me that he had to sleep, and that he feared that he would not wake up."

Sasuke shuddered inwardly at the grimness in the story. "How was he behaving that day? Was he still…."

"No. He was just defeated, resigned, exhausted." Koushi said quietly.

Sasuke nodded his head understandingly as he digested her words.

"When he finally fell asleep, I thought this crisis was over. That he was finally getting the sleep he needed. I checked up on him several times during the night and he was sleeping soundly. Not suffering from a twitch or even a turn," An long hiss escaped Koushi as she began to thickly sniffle with lowered eyebrows set over tearful eyes. "But still, I did what he wanted, and made sure to check up on him in the early morning. And I knew from the moment I opened that door, I knew something was wrong."

"Did you know he was dead immediately?" Sasuke questioned.

Koushi nodded slowly. "I knew it from looking at him." She swept a tear away from her eye. "His mouth was stretched out as if he was screaming, his eyes were wide open, and his entire body was rigid. It was as if he saw something, something terrifying and tried to hide from it….and just died. I believe…that he must have died during a horrific nightmare.."

The woman's voice trailed off, and she fixed a direct look to Sasuke, her tearful gaze pleading for an explanation.

"Given that you are an Uchiha, do you suspect that his death could be due to some form of genjutsu?"

"It's possible, but…the behavior you just described doesn't fit the typical behavior of one under the influence. He would not be able to function properly. He wouldn't be able to interact with you or even be aware of his surroundings and those around him." Sasuke then fell silent, leaning back in his chair, trying to make sense of what he had just told. A thousand questions were swarming around his mind.

This death was different. Drastically different from the last one. From the methods, the process, the execution, and most importantly the target.

For one; Horoda was not a politician, he was not a part of the government. So it was odd that he was a victim in the first place. And furthermore, Eso's death was perplexing to say the least, but it was quick in terms of execution.

A sane man driven to the brink of insanity within a matter of days after attending a public event and shook the hand of someone he can't remember.

This death was prolonged, torturous, and disturbingly methodical.

Whoever is responsible for this, seemed to have wanted to keep Horoda alive in order to complete a task for them. Why else would Horoda senselessly destroy his and his wife's life work all the sudden?

But why? Sasuke hissed through his clenched teeth, and rubbed his temples gingerly.

What was the Horoda couple writing that was so crucial that he had to be driven into insanity and die?

Why were two random journalists targeted at all?

None of this made sense.

o o o —(O)— o o o

"Koushi informed me of a letter addressed to me," Sasuke announced upon entering the Police Chief's office.

Chief Iku Soto, a tall man in his late fifties, with short, coarse-looking dark hair and a thin beard, who was seated behind the grand office table, typing on his old computer, overlooking the entire room, midway through jotting down on his documents.

"Yes, I must warn you that the writing is quite…." Soto glanced up from his computer and extracted a parchment from his desk. "Bizarre. Fair to say that the man just experienced a mental breakdown after his wife's passing."

"That's possible," Sasuke reached over and took it.

Sasuke Uchiha, Help. My maid will send this to you. For these past few days, something has been haunting me because of something I'm sure killed my wife.

Since January 9th, my body moves on its own and I can hear the voice of a girl inside my head, but I don't want to listen.

I am going mad. I see shadows everywhere…the light keeps them away, but not for long. Koushi, take this and tell someone of my findings before it's too late. She watches me…I hear her again…everywhere. I must listen.

I deserve this. We deserve this. He deserves it.

Burn this, she keeps saying.

Eight eyes. Shiraiwa. 24. 13. 8. Sasuke. Leaf.

Burn this now.

The incoherent words were the same on the hundredth reading as they'd been on the first, when Sasuke was handed the folded sheet of parchment upon entering the Police Chief's office. The note was unsigned, unsealed, and the handwritten almost illiterate.

Who is she?

The poor-quality photo he showed to Naruto and Shikamaru permeated his mind. The woman and the little girl were the only two people he had in mind, but frustratingly still no leads to either of them.

Staring down at the baffling letter, Sasuke examined the letter one more time. Out of all of the gibberish of the letter, Shiraiwa was the only word that Sasuke could comprehend. The second largest city in Kusagakure. "I'm leaving."

o o o —(O)— o o o

What Sasuke didn't know, however, was that at one of the alleys down the street, a young girl with short, wavy black hair, was watching him intently, her lips twisted in a joyous almost deranged smirk.

"Sakurai, is that him?" The girl turned to her sister, a young girl with long, disheveled black hair.

She supposed she should've thanked her, for if it wasn't for her quick reaction of grabbing her into one of the dark alleyways when they spotted the group of men nearing them, she was sure she would've been caught by now.

Sakurai shrugged nonchalantly, her long black hair tumbled around her shoulders like an inky river. She earned a curious look from her sister. Ignoring her, she turned back to look at the departing squad of people on the bus.

"Well, shouldn't we go pay the old man a visit?" The short-haired girl commented musically. A mischievous glint touched her obsidian eyes. "I mean he looks...lonely. You think we should give him some company?"

"The whole point of us blending with the crowd is to gather information," Sakurai said in a matter-of-factly tone. She wasn't even watching the man as the first girl was, it wasn't as if she needed to anyway. "And the whole point of a hood is to remain inconspicuous."

The girl pouted, knowing that she had seen through her actions. "Oh come on Sakurai, it's fun to do a little teasing!"

Sakurai disregarded her, calmly looking up at the bright blue sky. Her expression was neutral and carefully guarded. "Let's go," she said, turning her heel. "Mr. Hasaku will be expecting us back soon. I'm sure he would've met up with Sada and Sayako by now."

Chapter coming soon in June/July.