The Blind and the Blessed

The array of purples, oranges, and reds across the horizon soothed Yumiko as she leaned back in the horse cart. She, along with other individuals, was on her way to the Sound Village. Of course, she had no actual business in the village; she only sought to leave her former home of Konohagakure. After dropping out of the Chūnin Exams, Yumiko gave up hope on being a formal ninja. Her parents were all too happy to take her back into the clan village but she decided to make her own way. She abandoned her clan and village alike and became a drifter, keeping her skills under wraps.

Bumps in the trail shook Yumiko from her thoughts as the cart neared the surrounding forest of Otogakure. “Nearing the Sound,” the driver said. Yumiko tapped twice on the wall of the cart and the driver brought the cart to a halt. She jumped out and handed the driver her fare. She tightened her bow against her and pulled her hood over her head. She approached the village entrance with calmness and surety, even as the guards had told her to freeze. She held her hands up in defense and looked at the guards.

The guards approached her cautiously, warning her to remove her weapons. Yumiko chuckled and shook her head. The guards finally attempted to seize her, a mistake she punished harshly. With no hesitation, Yumiko unveiled her twin tantō. She dodged the first attempt to grab her and countered with jab to the temple with the handguard. She then sweep kicked the other guard and curb stomped his face, knocking him out. “Should've let me pass,” Yumiko said. She pulled out a ninja scroll and summoned rope, binding the two ninja to a tree not far from where they usually posted.

With her new freedom, Yumiko planned to simply live her life with the least amount of stress possible. However, evident by that encounter, she would not transition so easily. The Sound Village was the perfect place to start, mostly because it was not a much of a village to begin with. Still, there were people living there and they all seemed close-knit. Yumiko quickly felt out of place as the people gave her strange looks, wondering where she had come from. She shuffled through the streets, making sure to avoid chatter with anyone. Turning down an alley, she sought to find a temporary place of residence. What she saw next was enough to shock her. A pile of bodies, some relatively fresh and some heavily decayed, arranged in a dark corner of the alley. Yumiko covered her nose and crouched before the pile.

‘ Is this what these people do with their dead? ’ she thought. Something caught her eye as soon as the thought crossed her mind. She noticed the cleanliness of slit in one of the women's throat. She then saw similar cleaniness in the other bodies as well. With her knowledge of hunting and killing animals, Yumiko recognized that these people did not die naturally. They had all been killed and from the looks of it, by assassination. Yumiko was puzzled as to why though. She struggled to understand why people if such an insignificant place be targets for murder. She decided to find out why. The young Fūma girl returned to the main streets, heading towards a nearby boarding house. Heading inside, Yumiko removed her hood and rang the bell on the counter. An old woman soon emerged, a warm smile on her face.

“How may I help–oh! I've never seen you around here before,” the old woman days. Yumiko let out a quiet chuckle. She explained that she was looking for room and board as soon as possible. “Why certainly, dear!” the old woman said, giving another warm smile. She left to head into what Yumiko assumed was the kitchen. “Just have a seat at one of the tables over by the window, dear,” the elder woman said. Yumiko removed her coat and hung it on a coat rack. She could see that the sun was completely down and outside was pitch black. The clouds blocked the stars and moon, making the night much more eerie. After twenty minutes, the older woman, who Yumiko had found out was named Futaba-san through a catalog of reviews on the table, returned with a serving tray with a dinner of rice, curry, and a side of dumplings.

“Here's your meal, dear,” Futaba-san said. “If I may ask, what is your family name? I'd think it rude of me to simply call you by your given name so nonchalantly.” Yumiko shook her head

“Just 'Yumiko' is fine,” the younger girl said. She started on her meal with Futaba-san sitting across from her. After a few moments, Futaba-san spoke up.

“What's bothering you, Yumiko? You seem like you appreciate a good meal when you see one but you've barely eaten, ” Futaba-san said. Yumiko looked up from her plate, noticing the old woman's blue, wrinkled eyes. The younger girl let out a sigh.

“Futaba-san, have you noticed or heard of anyone in the village...going missing by any chance?” Yumiko chose her words carefully, unsure if the elderly woman would know of the dead people Yumiko saw.

“Why, yes, I have heard. In fact, my husband went missing some odd years ago,” the woman said. Yumiko's eyes widened in realization. ‘ This has been happening for years?! ’ she thought. Yumiko nodded her head and returned to eating, finishing her did quickly. “Thank you for the meal,” Yumiko said. She felt the need to ask Futaba-san one more question.

“Does anyone know why people have been disappearing?” Yumiko looked at the old woman with hopeful eyes. However, the elder shook her head.

“Although I've come to accept it, I've never known why my husband vanished,” the woman said. Yumiko nodded in understanding but refused to accept it. That night, she slept with the resolve of finding out what was happening in the village.

The next morning, Yumiko got herself ready with all of her essentials. She was ready to run out the door but Futaba-san, with a mix of adamance and elderly charm, made her stay to eat breakfast. Yumiko then headed out on her self-imposed mission to find the cause of the disappearances. Her first assumption was that it was an assailant due to the uniform causes of death: a slit throat. She headed to the abandoned section of the village, a place that Yumiko was told no one ventured into anymore. She had a feeling that whoever was doing this would be near. She set up different traps all through the buildings making sure to cover entrances, exits, and everything between. “I'm waiting for you, you monster,” Yumiko said.