The garden had been quiet.
Shun liked it that way. The soft rasp of pen against paper, the familiar scent of crushed leaves between his fingers, the slow and careful way he documented each adjustment to his herb beds - everything about the moment was grounding. Normal. He had just finished noting a minor change in growth rate when the light shifted.
At first, he thought it was lightning.
Then the shadows bent the wrong way.
Shun looked up just in time to see a pillar of chakra tear through the sky, vast and luminous, curling at its edges like living flame. Another followed. Then another = each beam arcing toward the next, forming a pattern he didn’t recognize but instinctively understood to be wrong. The clouds above the village began to churn, as if the sky itself was holding its breath.
His pen slipped from his fingers.
“…What…?” The word barely made it past his lips.
Before his mind could fully catch up, the headset at his ear crackled to life. Static. Then a voice - steady, strained, unmistakably authoritative.
“If anyone is hearing this, this is Kaguya Mitsuha, Head Jounin of the Main Branch at the graveyard dealing with a potential chakra bomb. What I am about to do will hopefully reduce the number of casualties but I cannot do it without your help. Evacuate the Village, make way to Crater City where there should be shelter.”
Shun didn’t hesitate. His heart was already racing, fear spiking sharp and sudden in his chest, but his hands were steady as he reached up and keyed the response channel. “This is Ashikawa Shun, Medic in Training,” he said, voice calm despite the tightness in his throat. “I hear you. Beginning evacuation now.” He rose to his feet, gaze sweeping once more across the sky. It felt as though even she wasn't sure what the problem was. A chakra bomb. The words echoed in his mind, heavy and cold. He thought of the civilians - families, children, patients who couldn’t run on their own. Thought of Nao. Of his father. Of everyone who trusted the village to keep them safe.
Fear threatened to root him in place, so he leaned into what he knew. Medical triage. Evacuation routes. Priorities.
“I’ll start directing civilians toward Crater City,” he continued into the headset, already moving toward the garden gate. “I’ll assist the injured and anyone who can’t travel alone. If you need medical support near the graveyard, say the word.”
The herbs, the journal - he left them behind without another glance, only carrying with him what he had stored in his satchel.
As he broke into a run, the ground faintly trembling beneath his feet, Shun felt the weight of the moment settle fully onto his shoulders. He was scared. He wouldn’t pretend otherwise. Fear had made him falter before, but it had never stopped him - not when people needed help.
Just keep moving, he told himself. One person at a time.
Above him, the storm continued to gather. Below, the village waited.
And Shun ran toward it.
Shun liked it that way. The soft rasp of pen against paper, the familiar scent of crushed leaves between his fingers, the slow and careful way he documented each adjustment to his herb beds - everything about the moment was grounding. Normal. He had just finished noting a minor change in growth rate when the light shifted.
At first, he thought it was lightning.
Then the shadows bent the wrong way.
Shun looked up just in time to see a pillar of chakra tear through the sky, vast and luminous, curling at its edges like living flame. Another followed. Then another = each beam arcing toward the next, forming a pattern he didn’t recognize but instinctively understood to be wrong. The clouds above the village began to churn, as if the sky itself was holding its breath.
His pen slipped from his fingers.
“…What…?” The word barely made it past his lips.
Before his mind could fully catch up, the headset at his ear crackled to life. Static. Then a voice - steady, strained, unmistakably authoritative.
“If anyone is hearing this, this is Kaguya Mitsuha, Head Jounin of the Main Branch at the graveyard dealing with a potential chakra bomb. What I am about to do will hopefully reduce the number of casualties but I cannot do it without your help. Evacuate the Village, make way to Crater City where there should be shelter.”
Shun didn’t hesitate. His heart was already racing, fear spiking sharp and sudden in his chest, but his hands were steady as he reached up and keyed the response channel. “This is Ashikawa Shun, Medic in Training,” he said, voice calm despite the tightness in his throat. “I hear you. Beginning evacuation now.” He rose to his feet, gaze sweeping once more across the sky. It felt as though even she wasn't sure what the problem was. A chakra bomb. The words echoed in his mind, heavy and cold. He thought of the civilians - families, children, patients who couldn’t run on their own. Thought of Nao. Of his father. Of everyone who trusted the village to keep them safe.
Fear threatened to root him in place, so he leaned into what he knew. Medical triage. Evacuation routes. Priorities.
“I’ll start directing civilians toward Crater City,” he continued into the headset, already moving toward the garden gate. “I’ll assist the injured and anyone who can’t travel alone. If you need medical support near the graveyard, say the word.”
The herbs, the journal - he left them behind without another glance, only carrying with him what he had stored in his satchel.
As he broke into a run, the ground faintly trembling beneath his feet, Shun felt the weight of the moment settle fully onto his shoulders. He was scared. He wouldn’t pretend otherwise. Fear had made him falter before, but it had never stopped him - not when people needed help.
Just keep moving, he told himself. One person at a time.
Above him, the storm continued to gather. Below, the village waited.
And Shun ran toward it.