"Timing. We give it many names: Destiny, Fate, Kismet, the will of God. Whatever we call it, lives are changed and molded by it, in small or drastic ways beyond our control. The precise, exquisite influence of timing moves people into new positions as surely as a spring flood rearranges the landscape. It is as unavoidable as life."

-Helen Van Slyke

"Daichi, give me some good news. How many are we dealing with?"

The Kusa-nin named Daichi stepped out from behind tree he hid from and balanced himself on top of one of its bigger trunks. He closed his eyes, formed the Tora hand seal, and focused his attention on the abandoned-looking warehouse about 30 yards away from where he and his teammates were situated.

"I can only sense three people in that building," he reported to another shinobi from Kusagakure named Itsuki, the current group's team leader.

The latter cursed under his breath. All of them had been to missions similar to the one they were in right now. A person would be kidnapped. In the short time between their abduction and their village's attempt to rescue them, they would pass away from an unknown cause. If they were fast enough, the squad in question would encounter the cleanup crew of this mysterious syndicate group. This crew often consisted of three members. None of the people in the squad wanted to say it. However it was getting more apparent by the minute that what started as a rescue attempt was quickly turning into a body retrieval mission.

Itsuki acknowledged Daichi with a curt nod before turning his attention to the other people in the squad, the two mercenaries that their village leaders hired for this mission.

"Right here's the plan. Daichi and I rush forward. You two provide cover. Kazuo-san, you watch my side and Ryota-san covers our six. Understood?"

There was a pause before Ryota slaps the man called Kazuo in the middle of his back.

"Roger. Lead the way taisho. We got you covered," Ryota replied. He waited for the two shinobi to rush forward before turning to the man on his left. He rolled his eyes at him and jumped out of his hiding place from the trees before quickly finding purchase on solid ground.

—-

They burst through the front door and made quick work with the cleanup crew. The building itself was nothing but a square made of galvanised metal with a triangular roof made of the same material. Its interior was skeletal and bare. There weren't any hidden corners to hide in. Everyone was out in the open. The first one stood by the door and tried to ambush Itsuki with a handful of well-aimed shuriken which the jonin avoided with relative ease. He ended up with his right hand tacked to the door with a kunai. He was mid-howl from the sharp pain before Itsuki ran another kunai against his throat. The second one was outmatched by the man called Ryota within a few seconds. He made a futile attempt of a kill shot by slicing at the former's neck. Ryota retaliated by burying his long knife on the hollow between his left shoulder and neck, effectively slicing through his heart. The man called Kazuo dealt with the third one. Of the three he was the largest and the tallest. He towered over his challenger by nearly a foot.

"Are you sure about this son?" He asked as he began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I'm not your son. The way I see it you are already dead."

He chuckled. "Fine then, cocky bastard."

Kazuo appeared in front of him, the tip of his kunai merely an inch away from his left eye. He was able to block it with the wide part of his blade. He pushed him away with an angry roar. Brute force pushed Kazuo a couple of feet away from him. The former's feet dug onto the concrete floor, stopping his momentum in a split second before sprinting once again to his enemy.

They looked evenly matched. For every offence that one of them made the other was able to parry and provide a countermove. The last remaining member of the cleanup crew did not struggle, although he was a bit wary of the three other members of the squad. So far none of them were attacking him. He wasn't sure how long they were going to stand on the sidelines so he decided it was better if this fight ended now.

Kazuo stabbed forward with the kunai on his left hand which he dodged by twisting to the side. This time he didn't just evade. He caught the younger man's outstretched wrist and twisted it behind him. Kazuo hissed as he pulled him closer, his back against his enemy's chest. He wriggled frantically in an attempt to free himself but couldn't find any give. The giant had a solid grip on him.

"For wasting my fucking time." With his free hand, he unsheathed the knife on his belt and stabbed the young man with it on the chest and abdomen multiple times until he felt his body go limp. He discarded him on the side before turning to face at the remainder of the squad.

He sighed in annoyance and then grunted in surprise. The action brought with it a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw blood spread across his shirt. His entire front side was riddled with stab wounds. Blood loss and disbelief robbed him of strength and he collapsed to his knees. He looked up and saw Kazuo standing in front of him, his dark eyes cold and unreadable.

"No way…" he whispered.

"I told you didn't I? Before the fight even started you were already dead."

And he was right. The third and last member of the cleanup crew collapsed on the ground. His breathing seized and he grew still. His eyes remained open as blood began to pool from under him.

"Fuck me!" Itsuki exclaimed. "That was some grade A genjutsu Kazuo-san. I'm impressed."

To the remaining members of the squad, the last guy looked like he was shadow boxing before he took his own knife and began stabbing himself with it multiple times. The genjutsu had been so seamless that even they took a few seconds before they realised what was happening. None of them saw Kazuo form the hand seals.

Kazuo said nothing. He turned his attention to the lifeless form of a person on the far corner of the room. Daichi was already on his way to him. The sensor type knelt down and placed a hand on his neck feeling for a pulse. He couldn't find any. Yet he still felt warm. He hadn't been dead for long. Somehow his disturbed him more than anything. They were just too late.

Itsuki stopped behind him.

"What do you think?"

Daichi sighed. "I have every reason to think that this is our man…Kessho Botan.

—-

It started to rain while they were on their way to the village. By the time they reached the coroner's office it was pouring. Although the victim looked identical to the picture they had of the alleged missing man, they had to wait for a family member to formally identify him. Prior to that happening there would be no pay out. The mercenaries had no choice but to sit and wait.

He went out to the engawa and sat on a spot near the entrance, away from the crowd working inside. He watched raindrops pelt the earth and inhaled the petrichor wafting all around him. Both provided refuge to the thoughts running inside his head at migraine-inducing speeds and so he welcomed them.

This solitude would be short-lived.

He didn't hear someone else in his space until a pair of legs appeared on his right periphery. It was the young man called Ryota. He flopped beside him and let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long day with an early start. They had been on their feet pretty much for the entirety of it.

"There are refreshments inside if you want to stay warm."

The man called Kazuo nodded at him before turning his attention back to the raindrops hitting the soft earth.

"How many do we know of so far?"

"Eleven."

"Hn. Spread out. In random times. With no obvious motives."

"I may have an idea. But I would have to do further research on these before presenting my hypothesis."

They fell silent as two women approached the building. The first one looked at least in her sixties and was hunched over. She walked strangely, as if her knees were stiff and her arthritis was being triggered by the chilly weather. One hand held an umbrella over the two of them while another hand was wrapped around the back of the younger woman. The second one looked to be in her early twenties with long dark hair which fell like a wet curtain over her face. Droplets of rain water dripped at its edges and ran down the length of her bare arms which were crossed on top of her heavily pregnant belly. As she waddled up the steps leading to the main entrance, she locked eyes with the man called Kazuo. Hers were a startling bright blue. But more than that, what caught his attention was the steely resolve in them. Even as she shook like a leaf she was determined to look strong. He had seen that look many times.

Ryota waited for many seconds after they passed through the door before he said anything.

"Shoot. That was the wife."

The other man didn't say anything. He merely nodded and looked down at his hands which were rested on his lap.

"Hey," Ryota started again. "That wasn't the first time you didn't respond you know."

"True. I guess I'm still getting used to it."

"You are a lot of things my friend but a slow learner is not one of them. Look, I understand if you get lost in your thoughts. You have a lot of them and for a good reason. However do try harder to stay with us during missions. Or else people might notice."

He nodded. "Consider it done."

The young man called Ryota grinned at him. "Atta boy." There was a long pause before he added, "So…care to tell me what's plaguing your mind or do I need to play the guessing game, huh Itachi?"

Before he could respond the front door burst open. The younger woman from earlier ran out, rushing down the steps before stopping under the weeping sky. Despite the loud torrential rain he could hear her gasps in between her anguished sobs. She collapsed on her knees and hunched over, both her hands and the tips of her hair mixing with the muddy rain water on the ground.

Itachi stood up and went over to her. As he got closer, he could hear her say her husband's name over and over again like a sacred chant.

"Botan…

Botan…

Botan…

why?"

He tapped her gently on the shoulder. It had only been less than a minute since he stepped under the rain and he was already soaked through.

"Miss. We have to get back inside. You will get sick if you stay here."

He felt stupid as soon as the words left his lips. How much worse could she possibly feel beyond the pain she was in at that moment?

Nevertheless, he offered his hand and she took it. He helped her get up. The rain masked her tears but it did nothing to hide the unparalleled anguish on her face.

"I can't do this alone…I need him…We need him-" she was cut off by her own sobs. Itachi said nothing, did nothing but hold her up as she was swallowed by her grief. The entire time his eyes were trained on her hands which were desperately hugging her belly and the unborn child inside her.

Author's Notes: Hello folks. It has been a hot minute. 5 years' worth to be exact. I recently opened an Ao3 account and figured it would be nice to transfer Colorblind there to reach more audience. And in the process I ended up fixing typos and low-key tweaking the dialogues a little bit. So...if you need a touch-up head on over to Colorblind and have a refresher if it helps. Hope you enjoy this one just as well.