ᗰOᑎᔕTEᖇ [🧡 ᑎᗩᖇᑌᕼIᑎᗩ 💜] [Ɱҽէąʍօɾքհօʂìʂ] Bσσƙ Oɳҽ

Endless Worry

It was a recurring theme, these mystery talents. Arising from nowhere in the midst of combat, they'd started cataloging her new abilities.

Though relatively short, the list was gradually growing.

A hard cuff to the abdomen jolted her back into the here and now. Being able to pick the Jinchuuriki out from his doppelganger meant next to nothing if she was to preoccupied to use the information to her advantage.

She ducked a high kick, blocked a hard elbow before returning his unforgiving force with her own.

Sixteen strikes to his torso sent him flying.

Hinata straightened, concern marring her brows as she watched her fiancé's body hurtle across the expansive combat area and disappear into the forest.

Her sweet Naruto-kun was incredibly distracted.

xxxxxx

Several vicious chakra laden blows snapped him from his tumultuous musing and knocked him right off his feet. He sailed across the training field, crashed through a few trees and skidded to a stop in the middle of a clearing. He lay there for several moments, stress rather than the heavy hit keeping him prone upon the grassy ground below. Birds chirped above head, drawing his gaze. He studied the sky as they coasted the very top of the treeline. Bright blue and luminous, fluffy white clouds drifting by with carefree leisure. All seemed right in the world despite the earth shaking revelations he was struggling to process.

A throbbing ache bloomed along his ribcage, clawing pain stung his spine.

"Fuck that hurt," he muttered quietly.

Served him right for trying to spar with his head all fucked up. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and this was usually what he did when he was trying to work out some frustration that was mudding his thoughts, but today, it seemed like nothing could pull him from the haze. He wasn't so sure it was just the news. Every night since his return from Suna, he'd woke both him and his lover with his nightmares. It was hard enough dealing with the horrors that filled his dreams, couple that with everything else and you had yourself a deeply distressed Uzumaki.

He closed his eyes.

How was he supposed to clear his mind after what they'd learned?

Kaguya was dead.

They'd already gotten to her, how long ago was anyone's guess. It was shocking to hear, almost surreal, and it opened new, unwanted questions about what was to follow the pillaging of what could very well be, the last daughter of Sylvana.

What tree had they planted with her essence, what new havoc and turmoil would stem from the fruit it bore?

What bloody battle would they have to fight because of it?

Throwing an arm over his eyes, Naruto grappled with the rising panic whispering through his veins. His stomach felt heavy and queasy. Anxiety pricked his skin as another thought blasted his brain.

What friends and loved ones would they lose in the process?

His mind shied from that painful question, and the even more agonizing flash of Neji's face, glazed and dulled with the finality that was death, Kago no Tori no Juin slowly fading from his forehead. Freedom from a burden he'd suffered for far too long, fading from his forehead, a gut wrenchingly fleeting experience for the Hyuuga genius that had spent his life beneath the thumb of another. He'd deserved more time on this earth, more time to live his life free of the shackles that cursed mark created.

Gentle fingers swept through his slightly dampened locks. Lifting his arm, he opened his eyes, and beheld an angel.

The angel Neji had paid the ultimate price to protect.