Amnesia | Naruto Fanfiction

14. The Attack

The wind brushed their skin as the five rushed back to camp. Around them, the scenery was nothing but a blur as they picked up their pace. The rain was still pouring down heavily, becoming an obstacle in their path as they lost their footing on some of the sturdy branches. Luckily for them, they were all able to regain their balance before anything harmful happened, and none cared for their safety as they only had the camp in mind.

  Hibiki's heart was threatening to break out of her chest, partially from the rigorous exercise she was going through, but also that she began to realize the situation that was at hand:

  The attacker followed them all the way here. And Hibiki brought destruction with her once again.

  First the attack on Konoha, now this?! Hibiki didn't want to think about it, but nothing else came to mind as she saw the roaring flames up ahead. There was no warmth to the fire; it did nothing but sting her skin as she got closer. Black ashes were falling down harshly with the rain, causing Hibiki's lungs to hurt as she took in breaths. In the midst of the flames was a large shadow. The figure was difficult to identify until they got closer.

  'I thought this area had no fuel for fire,' Hibiki thought, remembering Kakashi's words from the first couple days of their journey:

  "The attacker can't burn anything if they've already burnt it. It's the only way these jounin can increase their survival rate."

  'Then... what kind of jutsu is this?'

  The trip felt like it was taking forever; the closer she got, the further away it felt. When they were in close proximity to the camp, they could hear the loud shouts and yells from the shinobi. Hibiki shuddered - those shouts were identical to the ones she heard on the day she was attacked.

  Suddenly, the five landed on the barren ground. They were ankle-deep in the ashes as they ran through it with difficulty. Immediately, Kakashi landed in front of them. There were minor burn marks on his fingertips and a small scratch on his cheek. Hibiki let out a small sigh of relief as she realized that her sensei wasn't in a critical condition, but that relaxation didn't last long when she knew that the other shinobi were off much worse.

  "Kakashi-sensei!" Yua yelled. "What happened to the rest of them?! How bad of a condition are they in?!"

  Hibiki noticed that both eyes of Kakashi's were showing, one of them was a crimson hue, with three black tomoe's surrounding the eye. It was the Sharingan.

  Once he took in the young girl's question, he briefly shut his eyes, "Most of them are still fighting, but we already have a few injured... some are dead."

  Yua clenched her fists, her eyes focused on the ground. Hibiki felt her heart tighten - it was all their fault, wasn't it?

  "Hatake-sensei, what can we do to help?" Hibiki asked, trying not to falter.

  "Genin can't do anything in this situation," Kakashi began, "you're too inexperienced. You'll die immediately, given the threat of this attack. There are experienced jounin and ANBU here, they'll be able to take care of it... I promise. I was commanded to take you five a short way from here. Once they're able to get rid of the threat, then we can come back."

  'But if my village wasn't able to do it, then what makes him believe that they can erase the threat' Hibiki pondered.

  Kakashi knew how the five genin were feeling. The feeling of helplessness. The feeling of grief. The feeling of regret. Naruto was the only one to verbally protest, but the rest stayed silent, keeping their eyes focused on the ground as they headed off, nothing but negative emotions flowing through them.