Part 4 — The Horns of Mobilization
The house remained silent.
For a while, neither Akari nor Renjiro moved.
The lamp beside them flickered faintly against the walls.
Then—
BWOOOOOM—
A deep horn echoed across the village.
Low.
Heavy.
The windows trembled slightly.
Akari's eyes lifted immediately.
Renjiro's expression sharpened.
A few seconds later—
another horn rolled through the night.
More distant this time.
Outside, rapid movement passed across the rooftops.
Shadows leaping from building to building.
Multiple shinobi moving at high speed through the darkness.
Faint voices echoed somewhere far away.
Orders.
Mobilization.
Akari stood slowly and walked toward the window.
Renjiro followed beside her.
Across the village, lights were beginning to appear one after another.
Patrol towers glowing awake.
Barrier lights activating faintly in the distance.
Another group of shinobi rushed overhead fast enough to blur.
Akari spoke quietly.
"…They've already started moving units."
Renjiro stayed silent.
Far beyond the rooftops, a signal flare rose briefly into the sky before fading.
The village no longer felt asleep.
BWOOOOOM—
The third horn echoed louder.
Then—
a soft creak came from the hallway.
Akari turned slightly.
Haruto stood near the doorway.
Barefoot.
Still half-awake.
His eyes immediately moved toward the window.
"…What's happening…?"
Before either adult answered—
another small figure appeared behind him.
Kaito rubbed one eye tiredly.
"…Why is it so noisy…?"
Ayame stepped out last.
Unlike the other two, she looked more awake already.
But even she seemed uneasy hearing the sounds outside.
Another rush of movement crossed overhead.
Kaito flinched slightly.
"…Was that shinobi?"
No one answered immediately.
The silence itself began saying enough.
Haruto slowly looked toward Renjiro.
"…Is it another war…?"
The question came out small.
Careful.
Like he already feared the answer.
Akari's expression tightened faintly.
Renjiro walked toward them calmly and crouched slightly.
"…Nothing's happening here."
His voice remained steady.
"…Go back to sleep."
But none of the three moved.
Outside, another horn echoed through the village.
BWOOOOOM—
Kaito instinctively stepped closer to Ayame.
Even he had stopped smiling now.
Haruto's breathing had become uneven.
His eyes stayed fixed toward the window where shadows kept moving across rooftops again and again.
Like the village itself had suddenly come alive.
Ayame quietly looked between Akari and Renjiro.
"…Something happened."
Not a question.
A realization.
Akari forced a small calm expression.
"…It's only emergency mobilization."
But even she sounded less certain than usual.
More patrol lights lit the distant streets.
Voices echoed faintly through the night air.
The atmosphere kept growing heavier.
Haruto lowered his gaze slightly.
His hands had begun trembling without him realizing.
The sounds.
The horns.
The movement outside.
It all felt too familiar.
Like memories he didn't want returning.
Then another wave of shinobi rushed over the rooftops above the house.
Fast.
Sudden.
The sound alone made Haruto finally grab Renjiro's sleeve tightly.
Trying not to look afraid.
Trying not to cry.
But Renjiro could feel the shaking in his hand immediately.
And for the first time that night—
the fear of war truly reached the children.