Dream

Sakurai Hideko stood rooted to the spot, her knuckles turning white from how hard she was clenching her fingers.

"He..." she began, but the sound caught in her throat.

Uchiha Zongxin lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.

"Setsuna said his summoning beast saved Naoki when he fell into the water, but the battlefield was too chaotic, and they lost contact. So, it's possible he's still alive. It's just... we haven't found him yet."

Sakurai Hideko nodded.

She didn't know why she was nodding; she just felt that she should.

"I..." Uchiha Zongxin opened his mouth, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but realized he couldn't say anything at all. He simply reached into his tunic, pulled out an object, and held it out to her.

"This... was found on the beach."

Sakurai Hideko looked down to see a blood-red omamori.

Clutching it tightly in her hand, she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Thank you for telling me this."

Uchiha Zongxin nodded, stood there for a moment longer, and finally turned to leave.

Sakurai Hideko didn't remember how long she had stood under the tree at the village entrance before heading home.

The clamor of the festival had long since faded, and the streetlights were flickering out one by one. People passed by her, casting curious glances, but she remained completely oblivious.

She simply held onto that blood-red omamori.

Day turned to dusk, and dusk was swallowed by the night.

She remembered that rainy night, the dim yellow light in the alleyway, and the warmth of his palm when he had gripped her arm.

She remembered the way he had looked when he left, his back turned to her, his face dark with frustration.

She should have called out to him then, told him she just didn't know how to say goodbye, but the words had reached her lips and refused to come out.

The night wind blew, and Sakurai Hideko looked up at the pitch-black sky.

The darkness deep within the clouds drowned out the landscape of her heart.

"Naoki, what are you looking at?"

Startled from her trance, Naoki blinked, regained his focus, and smiled at Sakurai Hideko, who was sitting beside him. "I just thought that Buddha statue looked a bit strange, that's all."

Sakurai Hideko asked curiously, "Which one?"

"This one." Naoki pointed to the Buddha statue enshrined on the wooden table. "Look, doesn't it seem a bit odd?"

After staring at it for a long while, Sakurai Hideko shook her head.

"Strange? I don't think so."

"How is it not strange!" Naoki pressed his palms together. "Look, this is the gesture for Buddha statues enshrined in the temples of our Land of Fire. Sometimes it's like this..." He demonstrated another gesture.

"But that statue is like this..."

Naoki formed a lotus mudra, but this time, all ten fingers were pointing straight up.

"I've never seen a gesture like this before."

Sakurai Hideko looked closely and nodded.

"You're right. Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen that gesture either."

As she spoke, Sakurai Hideko mimicked the gesture of the eerie-looking Buddha statue.

For no reason, he felt a shiver run down his spine and instinctively grabbed Sakurai Hideko's wrist.

"Don't—don't mess around with that. It's creepy."

Sakurai Hideko smiled softly.

"Coward. What's there to be afraid of?"

"My nerves aren't as steady as yours, a medical ninja."

"Tch..."

The two chatted a bit more, and after finishing their desserts and coffee, they prepared to leave.

Before walking out, Naoki glanced back at the sinister-looking Buddha statue.

Not only was the gesture strange, but the surface was covered in dense, black runes, and with the red light on top, it looked more unsettling the longer he stared.

Seriously, where in the Land of Fire would you find a Buddha statue like that? he thought to himself.

After walking out of the café with Sakurai Hideko, he stopped thinking about such nonsense. The two walked side by side, chatting as they strolled slowly toward home.

Night fell quickly, and soon they arrived at the building where Sakurai Hideko lived.

"So... tomorrow..." Naoki said, his voice hesitant.

Sakurai Hideko smiled. "It's still early. Why don't you come upstairs for a cup of tea and some snacks?"

"Finally, I get to visit your place." Having known each other for so long, this was the first time she had invited him upstairs, and Naoki rubbed his hands together in his heart, thinking to himself.

"That's great."

Walking upstairs and opening the Space Gate, Sakurai Hideko turned to the side to let him in.

"Make yourself at home, I'll go make some tea."

Naoki sat down at the low table and looked around the room.

The room was not large, but it was kept very tidy. There were a few potted plants on the windowsill, and a bookshelf stood in the corner, holding a few poetry collections alongside medical texts.

He suddenly had a strange feeling... this was the place where she lived every day.

Sakurai Hideko walked over with a tea tray and sat down beside him.

On the tray were two cups of clear tea and a small plate of delicate pastries.

"Try it, I made them myself."

Naoki picked one up and took a bite; it was sweet but not cloying, with a faint floral fragrance.

"It's delicious."

Sakurai Hideko smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

"I'm glad."

The two were sitting very close, so close that Naoki could smell her scent, along with the faint sweetness in her hair.

Holding his teacup, he couldn't taste the tea at all; all his senses were occupied by the person beside him.

The sky outside the window had turned completely dark, leaving only the dim, warm light in the room.

Sakurai Hideko lowered her head, her fingers gently rubbing the rim of her cup, the light outlining the soft contours of her profile.

In this atmosphere, at this hour, Naoki couldn't help but let his mind wander.

Suppressing his pounding heart, he turned to look at Sakurai Hideko, and she turned her head at the same time. Their eyes met, and the air seemed filled with a sweet scent.

Sakurai Hideko slowly closed her eyes.

Naoki felt his dopamine levels surging; he closed his eyes as well and leaned in to kiss her.

For no reason, that Buddha statue filled with evil energy suddenly appeared in his mind again.

Naoki suddenly opened his eyes and was shocked to find that the Sakurai Hideko before him had changed drastically; her face was covered in black curse marks that stood in stark contrast to her fair skin.

His heart skipped a beat, and Naoki stood up, stepping back quickly.

"Hideko... what is that on your face?"

Sakurai Hideko's voice rang out, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"Naoki, what's wrong? Come sit back over here."

Naoki shook his head and shouted sharply, "No, you aren't Sakurai Hideko! Who are you exactly!"

"I am your wife, Sakurai Hideko. Come here, sit right here."

As she spoke, Sakurai Hideko suddenly changed again; she was now wearing a red bridal outfit with a red veil covering her head.

Alarm bells rang in Naoki's heart.

Instinctively pulling a Kunai from his waist pouch, he demanded sharply, "What kind of monster are you? What have you done to Hideko!"

Sakurai Hideko didn't speak again, simply rising slowly and walking toward him.

"Lift the veil!"

Suddenly, Naoki seemed to hear someone speaking to him.

"Lift the veil!"

The voice was much louder now.

"Lift the veil!"

As the voice grew louder, Sakurai Hideko walked closer and closer.

An intense sense of oppression made it hard for Naoki to breathe, and just then, Sakurai Hideko reached him.

Cornered against the wall, Naoki swung his blade violently, slashing across Sakurai Hideko's neck.

Fresh blood splattered into his eyes, turning his vision a sea of crimson.