A Lethal Weapon - ALW Saga Book 1 [REWRITE]

Chapter 27

Her chakra ran low as her body reached its limit; her mind submerged in desperation knowing she couldn't afford to lose the fight.

"Now...who said the Uchiha, the great elite, were invincible and impossible to defeat? Well of course, you're just a brat. Just the thought of you defeating me must be a joke," Isao mocked. Anger boiled inside her as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Dammit..." Hanako muttered through gritted teeth. Her hands balled into fists and tightened until her knuckles turned white. "No... I can't...lose..." she hushed, getting up. Her whole body ached, every tiny muscle felt sore, but she knew she had to stand. She couldn't lose against Isao—she wouldn't. It would've all been in vain; Shisui's training would have meant nothing.

Hanako observed determinedly, it was all or nothing. She focused all the chakra she had left in her hands, and launched herself at him. Her black eyes became red and everything around her was suddenly illuminated by a white blinding light. Hanako stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes. She felt herself falling into a void, but she relaxed knowing that there was no ground underneath she would crash into.

"I think that's enough," Hanako heard the echo of Shisui's voice and smiled. "You've been improving a lot."

"I keep forgetting these are just illusions," Hanako said. She opened her eyes slowly. There was no blinding light anymore, and she was lying against the bark of a tree in the middle of a clearing. Rays of sunlight managed their way through the canopy, and stroke her face in a comforting warmth. "Sometimes, they are just too real."

Shisui chuckled. "Says the girl who fooled me in a game of hide-and-seek with a basic Genjutsu." Hanako stood up with a smile on her face, sighing.

"Time's running out..." she said. "In a week, that illusion may become real or I get to defeat him." Shisui's smile was suddenly wiped out of his face, and he looked away. "Shisui..." Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line, she had the intention of telling him something important but suddenly decided against the idea. He looked at her intently.

"What is it?"

Hanako shook her head. "I just...do you know anything about Obito Uchiha?" she looked at him curiously. She had not meant to ask that, but the words flowed out of her mouth, as she was used to when she lied.

"Obito Uchiha?" Shisui tilted his head, seeming to put some thought into the name. "I know he died in a mission at the borders of Kusagakure, but that was a long time ago—"

"Eight years ago," Hanako interrupted him. "Isn't a long time." Shisui looked at her curiously.

"You are asking the wrong person about him, Hanako," Shisui said, "but I know of someone else whom you can ask." Hanako looked at him in astonishment. Shisui smiled. "I know what's going on inside your mind."

"You do?" her eyes widened.

He nodded. "You found a long-lost member of your family, who is also connected to your father." Hanako felt her stomach tighten. Did he know she had met Obito Uchiha in the flesh? Or was this one of his tricks to make her tell him the truth? No, it couldn't be either, that would suppose he knew she was hiding something from him in the first place, and he didn't. She had made sure of that.

Shisui noticed Hanako had paled, and grinned widely. "You have to stop pretending not to care, Hanako," he said. "I know you visited the Memorial Stone. You probably noticed he's the only Uchiha with his name there." A wave of relief rushed through her and Hanako released a breath. "Do you know the green apartment building close to the Academy?" he asked. Hanako nodded, having a faint image of the place in her head. "Look for the room 406," he said. Hanako frowned but when she looked back at Shisui, he was gone.