Chapter Two: The Curse of Team Thirteen

Hitomi often worried that she would scream in her sleep. It always happened. Only now, she had other nearby that could hear her, and perhaps make fun of her. She didn’t like the crushing anxiety that sometimes overwhelmed her when Kin and Mana slept soundly beside her, a bit more close than she was comfortable with. And she certainly didn’t like how oddly this made her feel.

She wished she didn’t dream.

But, Hitomi did dream. And she did scream.

And when her eyes opened, after the second nightmare that night, Hitomi decided that she could no longer sleep. She sat up, brushing hair off her forehead where strands had stuck due to her sweat, eyes tracing over each of the sleeping figures, just as she had down before. She was sure that, in her dreams, her teammates had died. But all she could see was blood. All she could hear were screams.

Hitomi got up as quietly as she could.

She knew that there was a river just ten minutes from where they were, as Kazue had them stop by it before they got to their campsite and wash up. They filled up their canteens and washed their faces, relieved to find freshwater after their long walk. Kazue didn’t even seemed fazed, not looking nearly as drained or sweaty as they were. Her face wasn’t even the slightest shade of red.

Hitomi hoped to be as strong as her one day, and then stronger.

Her eyes felt as they would close at any second as she stumbled through the trees, using the trunks as support and to guide herself forward. She was beyond tired. But with the nightmares she kept having, Hitomi wasn’t sure if she’d be able to go back to sleep that night. Thoughts of her new teammates blood and screams filling her head again was enough to keep her moving, losing all interest in sleep.

Mana Aomori was too pretty to die.

Kin Sasaki was too sensitive.

When Hitomi finally stumbled upon the little river she sighed in relief, collapsing on the bank and pushing her fingers through the water, cradling a small puddle in her hand and shoveling it to rinse her face. She was almost immediately put to ease.

Water had always comforted Hitomi. She felt better when she was near a lake or river or even just in a bathtub, finding solace in the way it soothed against her skin.

It was almost too easy to lay down and fall asleep.

This time, she did not dream.

Finding her way back was the hard part. Hitomi had wandered aimlessly for about twenty minutes before the little campsite came into view. Somehow, she had allowed herself to sleep by the river until morning, waking up only when a bird had landed on her face. Not the most ideal way to wake up, but surprisingly the quickest when little bird feet were treading their way across her skin. She let herself breathe when she noticed no one else had awoke yet and they were all still sleeping.

However, as Hitomi drew closer she realized that, maybe, that wasn’t exactly the case.

The first body she noticed was Kazue Narita’s.

She no longer sat perched in her tree, peering over her students. But was, instead, lying face down at the base of the tree, an arrow pierced straight through her neck, the tip peeking out from beneath her chin.

Kin Sasaki was next. His lifeless eyes stared up at the all too bright sky, green no longer piercing nor shy with his blood stained teddy bear still wrapped in his arm and a kunai sticking out of his chest.

Mana Aomori’s blood spilled from her pretty pink lips and out the back of her head, staining her hair a color deeper than Hitomi’s own red hair.

Hitomi Taki threw up.