At two or three in the morning, Konoha’s bustle gradually calmed down. It was very late and the forest in the distance was shrouded by a layer of darkness that was spreading toward the village.
The lights went out one by one and the entire village became quiet. There was no one on the street. Only a few pigeons cooed under the eaves. The entire world had fallen into a somber silence.
Dragging her tired body, Shizune returned to the empty ancestral house in the Senju clan district. “Tonton, Tonton…” In the dark corridor on the second floor of the house, the cold night breeze was blowing, making her shiver. Shizune looked around for a while and cautiously called out a few times but heard no response.
In the entire hallway, there were no sounds other than the echoes of her voice and her footsteps. She guardedly walked through the darkness. Her surroundings felt so eerie she could hear her heart pounding. Shizune was not a very courageous woman. She was timid in the dark and wanted to turn on the lights in the hallway, but she also didn’t want to get up and turn off the lights later.
Due to Senju Tsunade’s gambling habit, their pockets were never deep and Shizune had formed frugal habits over time.
Coo, coo… A few bird shadows suddenly flew past the corridor from outside, startling her. A bad premonition formed in her heart. Her heartbeat became faster. “Tonton… Tonton…” Sweat appeared on her forehead and she became anxious. She called out all the way, arriving at her bedroom.
She fumbled around for the light switch on the wall and soon turned it on. The light brightened the empty room, which was slightly warmer than outside. Shizune sighed in relief when she saw the familiar decorations in the room and the brightness loosened her tense nerves a little.
“This fellow, I wonder where it went to play again?” She complained and closed the bedroom door. She walked over to the window and closed it tightly along with the curtains. Finally, she looked around the room. For some reason, she still had a lingering fear in her heart. Perhaps, it was because she was inherently faint-hearted.
Shizune didn’t dare to turn off the lights. She just laid on the soft bed and began to rest.
Coo coo… coo coo… whoosh… A gust of wind blew outside the window, blowing the trees in the courtyard and disturbing the birds resting on the trees. Perhaps because she was too worried about Tsunade, Shizune tossed and turned but couldn’t fall asleep. Eventually, she just lay on the bed and stared at the chandelier on the ceiling, counting sheep.
“One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…” The bright light was a bit dazzling. She closed her eyes and wanted to look elsewhere but she was still a little fearful. Although she was in her room, her heart was restless.
She began to think that although there was no one else in the room, there might be evil spirits invisible to the naked eyes. She kept thinking about various scenarios and the more she thought, the more she panicked.
After a while, she decided to keep staring at the chandelier. At least, that made her feel more secure.
Whoosh… whoosh… The wind blew again and it seemed that someone was pushing the window hard, making rattling sounds. Because the ancestral house was too old, many places had decayed. With the wind blowing like this, there were creaking sounds everywhere.
Crack, crack, crack… The light flickered a few times like there was an electric circuit problem and finally went out completely. The entire room fell into deadly darkness. Only the window was still dimly lit. Shizune subconsciously swallowed and retracted her feet into the quilt, letting the warmth stabilize her mood. At some point, the wind outside seemed to have quietened down as well, no longer as noisy as before.
Shizune yawned and slowly fell asleep. Soon after though, she was awakened by a strange sound. As a ninja, she could judge that the sound came from downstairs but was a bit weak. It couldn’t be heard without listening attentively. She got up and knelt beside the bed. Lowering her head slowly, she placed her ear on the floor and listened to the sound below.
Swish… Swish… “This is… It sounds like the sounds of kunai clashing. Did someone break in?” Shizune narrowed her eyes and got up quickly. She was ready to go to the first floor to investigate but when she was just about to move, a scene flashed in her mind and she was dumbfounded.
She slowly leaned down and looked under the bed. Her pupils shrank and her body became mechanical. She saw a string of pearl necklace quietly lying under the bed. Shizune grabbed it and abruptly got up. She pushed open the door and ran towards the first floor.
Their pet pig Tonton wore this pearl necklace. She had never seen it without it. But now that she found it under her bed, it was very likely that someone had entered her room and captured Tonton hiding under the bed.
The pearl necklace must have fallen when Tonton was struggling. The electric circuits of the entire ancestral house seemed to be malfunctioning. Shizune turned on the switches in the hallway but the lights wouldn’t turn on.
Fumbling around, she soon reached the dim corridor of the first floor. But strangely, the room across the corridor was lit. This room was directly below her bedroom. That’s the… kitchen. Shizune took out a kunai and cautiously walked to the kitchen door. She held her breath and slowly opened the door a little.
She quietly moved her head over, wanting to observe the situation inside through the crack of the door. However, just when her eyes got close to the crack, the lights in the kitchen went out, making her unable to see anything.
Chomp, chomp, chomp… Eerie chewing sounds came from inside. Shizune was preparing to push open the door.
Suddenly!
A bloodshot eyeball appeared on the other side of the door, staring straight at Shizune. Her mind blanked for a moment. Her kunai and the necklace fell to the ground. She wanted to scream but something was blocking her throat, and she couldn’t make a sound.
“Ah…” With a shrill scream, Shizune suddenly got up on the bed.
Coo coo… coo coo… Rattle, rattle… The sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing kept coming from outside the window.
