Amnesia | Naruto Fanfiction

15. Hands of Death

Hibiki never felt so guilty in her life.

  As she sat on a leather couch with Yua and Kakashi, she could feel the intense stares from the council elders going through her. Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were seated right across from the three, their gaunt faces showing no emotion as they repeated the news from the letter Kakashi received.

  "As you already know, we believe that the one responsible for these village massacres and for assisting Orochimaru in invading Konohagakure has struck once again," Homura's hoarse voice bounced off the walls in the room. The information clearly reached Hibiki, and she could feel her heart grow heavier by the second as she dreaded for the already known news to repeat itself once again.

  Koharu began to speak, continuing where Homura left off, "While you were away on your mission, thirteen citizens were slaughtered, with a new victim every single day. We were led to believe that this is the attacker's way of threatening us once again - after all, we don't have a Hokage at the moment, so we are powerless."

  Hibiki tried to sink back into the leather couch. She just wanted to disappear, but fate didn't allow her to leave just yet. She noticed that Yua felt the same, too. Her emerald eyes were cast on the ground, and the only thing that was preventing her from breaking down was her fumbling of the hands.

  "Were there any specific patterns to the killings?" Kakashi asked.

  "The only pattern was that each victim was stabbed through the heart with a kunai," Homura explained. "We even sent the bodies for investigation, but there was nothing else related to the cause of death. Age, gender, occupation... nothing like that was specific. It was all at random."

  Parents. Lovers. Grandparents. Children. Friends. Shinobi. There were no patterns whatsoever, the only common thing about them was that each had the misfortune of becoming a victim by a ruthless killer with blood as dark as black on their hands. And that was only because Hibiki was not able to find them in time. She could already feel the pain that the relatives and friends of the deceased were feeling. Grief was an unbearable emotion, and even Hibiki didn't want to think of that powerful feeling.

  She knew what her fate would be from the beginning: to find the attacker and defeat them. She was so determined at first, knowing that she had an entire nation by her side. But she never knew that they would go so far, murdering the innocent souls that Hibiki had indirect ties to. All determination had left her body, and she felt like an empty husk. There was no more fuel for her revenge - she was only broken now.

  "As you've already noticed, there was a new victim every single day since you left. There are thirteen corpses, now," Koharu pointed out. "We know that there will most likely be more victims, so that's why we increased security around Konoha."

  "Do you have any plans on finding a new Hokage soon? After all, we don't have much time on our hands," Kakashi asked.

  "We sent out one of Konohagakure's legendary sannin - Jiraiya - to find Senju Tsunade and become our Godaime Hokage," Homura said. "There's no known date as to when they'll arrive, so that's why we need to solve matters quickly. That's why we're giving Kirishima Hibiki and Amemori Yua permission to join this mission. After all, they might be able to find something that we missed."

  'You're placing too much faith in me, I'm nothing but a genin with amnesia.'

***