Unforgivable

Fire Burns

Long chapter today! Also, PSA, Kagutsuchi is a real Japanese God :) It's not just a random name.

~

Harumi looked around the village, wondering what it was their mission was in the first place to have brought them here. As they walked through the deserted roads, her heart pounded harder and harder. She grew more and more nervous. She didn't want to be here. She really didn't. She just hoped whatever it was, they could do it and leave quickly. She turned to Kisame, giving him a questioning look.

"What's our mission?" she asked. Kisame grinned, taking out Samehada and resting him on his shoulder. Itachi turned his head to her, a bit of curiosity swelling within him as he wondered if the answer would bother her in some way.

"We're here to find the killer of the village, and in turn, assassinate them. Pain said that it would be a rather difficult mission since we don't know who it is or where they are," Kisame explained. Harumi turned to him, blinking in surprise. Huh?

"We're here to find...the killer?" she repeated. Itachi eyed her, but once again decided to stay silent. She had a connection to this village somehow. He only wondered what it was. "Do we have a description?"

"No. Our client couldn't remember much about who it was. We're not sure what killed them, but their corpses were burned upon the arrival of others," Itachi answered. Harumi felt nauseous, gulping. The fire. The smell of that disgusting fire. She'd never forget the way they all burned. "Our client stated that the villagers were first attacked with a jutsus, and the survivors were burned."

Harumi shut her eyes for a moment, re-living the wretched smell. Itachi sighed before turning to the two. "Let's look for clues."

They both nodded, going their separate ways. Harumi traced the wood of the houses, her eyes dull with pain. "Have you been here before?" Itachi asked as she turned to him. She could lie, but it wasn't all that necessary.

"Not too long ago, yeah." She nodded.

"Were you here during their deaths?" he questioned further.

Harumi hesitated. "No," she replied before walking away. Itachi watched her. He wasn't sure what to do if she wasn't going to tell him what happened. He could continue to let her be, but the sooner they finished this mission, the sooner they could leave.

She then noticed an inn. She walked in, seeing a tapestry of the deity Kagutsuchi. She frowned, anger boiling her blood as she looked at it. One of the roots of her problem. She bit her lip, getting agitated at the very memory.

*Flashback*

"I think it is," Harumi said as she looked down. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Hido said as he picked one up. "A fire, I think."

Harumi then frowned. "Someone covered this up, and we're going to find out–"

"HOLY SHIT!" Jin yelled as she looked at the hole. "What happened?!"

Harumi and Hido both turned to her, Habiki beside her as he also looked curiously. They all wanted to know what happened. They all began to throw around ideas, but none were sure, so they walked back to the village. Their plan was to discreetly find information, but that plan went down the sink when a certain blue-eyed girl decided to be blunt.

"Hey, excuse me sir. Why is there a pile of burnt bones out in the village?" Jin asked. Harumi smacked her forehead, Hido sighed annoyedly, and Habiki just raised a brow.

The man looked surprised, a few villagers turning to her, silence falling upon them as somber looks passed on their faces. "They're the bones of our loved ones," a man spoke up. "A fire fell upon our village not too long ago. Many died. We couldn't identify who was who, so we put all their bones together and prayed for each soul. How did you find it?"