Amnesia | Naruto Fanfiction

13. Beyond The Grave

The sky was covered in a sheet of gray, as the clouds above blocked all moonlight from above. Rain was pouring down heavily, dampening the fabric of the tents. Loud roars of thunder could be heard; it resembled the yells of a warrior. Bright flashes of lightning could be seen flickering on and off again, the brief light being the only thing that the shinobi could see.

  Inside one of the tents were Sakura, Yua, and Hibiki. A couple more tents were set up for them, giving them a place to stay while they were on their mission. In one of the corners of the tent, Hibiki sat in a corner, her knees tucked in tightly. A thoughtful yet stern look was plastered on her eyes, as she spent time tracing the golden designs on the blood red carpet beneath her. In the middle of the tent sat Yua and Sakura. Although they were relatively quiet, they were loud enough for Hibiki to hear.

  "You know, one thing that sucks here is the fact that the baths don't provide warm water," Yua complained, getting a strange look from Sakura.

  "Why should there be warm water? It's not like tents are built in with water," Hibiki pointed out. She was as still as a statue, not bothering to move from her position. Her eyes were still focused on the carpet.

  "Hibiki-san's right. The only source of water we have is the river that's a long way from here," Sakura added.

  "But who bathes with cold water?! That's not normal, that's absurd," Yua mentioned.

  "The things you talk about are absurd," Hibiki remarked.

  "Well then, next time I'm just going to use some sort of fire jutsu to heat up the water," Yua declared.

  "But you'll just get bur-- oh, nevermind," Sakura said, realizing that nothing she could say would stop the brunette.

  A small smile was on Yua's lips as she looked at Hibiki.

  'You were silent for the entire day, so I'm glad I was able to make you speak up.'

  Suddenly, Hibiki rose from her spot, heading towards the opening in the beige tent. The rain was only beginning to get worse, but Hibiki paid no attention to it as she began to set outside.

  "Wait, Hibiki-chan," Yua said, standing up after her. "Where are you going? It's late, and the weather is terrible."

  "I'm going to talk to him," Hibiki said, a hint of displeasure in her voice. Yua immediately knew who she was referring to.

  "But... why?" Yua asked, a hint of confusion in her green eyes.

  "Because I know where I am, and I need to confirm some things with him."

***

"I know why you located yourself here," Hibiki said. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, an ache in her heart, and venom running through her veins as she looked at the older man. She didn't enjoy feeling so many emotions at once, and she felt emotionally exhausted as soon as she began her mission. Trying her very best to not falter under the man's cool gaze, she made direct eye contact with him and all muscles in her body relaxed.

  Chi suddenly stopped what he was doing. His grip on his pen lightened, and his writing halted to a stop. Carefully, he shut the leather-bound journal and hid it in his wooden desk. He began to sit up straighter in his chair, leaned forward, and kept his balance by resting his arms against his desk.

  "And why do you think I located ourselves here?" Chi asked, no emotion lacing his voice.

  "I knew this place was familiar once I set foot in this barren landscape. This destroyed land is the remains of my village, and you decided to stay here because of that reason, isn't that right?" Hibiki interrogated, her confidence beginning to build up upon the broken walls inside.