𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨 ✓

Chapter 65 :: Realization

I'm sorry, she thought, her nails digging into her skin. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry―

A flash of orange passed through her field of vision, causing her to finally look up and into the direction where it went. Her eyes widened at Naruto, bruised and beaten though he was, standing up for Tsunade and willing to risk his life, and yet―

N-no...I am a shinobi. I should be willing to live or die no matter the circumstances. S-shinobi don't cry, they endure. She gritted her teeth, finally finding her nerves to stand, her eyes focused on the bastard that hurt her favorite blonds. An immense pain stung through her eyes and yet she continued, her feet moving on their own. I refuse...I absolutely REFUSE to stand by and do nothing!! Naruto, you mean too much to me to die, and so does Tsunade, and Qiqi, and everyone else. I can't, and I won't!

With her Sharingan now ablaze, she stood before the man, before her friend whom she vowed to protect with her life. She glared, the tomoe pattern swirling and for a minute Kabuto freezed in his steps, completely taken off-guard by the dojutsu long since considered extinct.

"Full of surprises," he mused, the card in his hand returning to his pouch. "I've always loved that about you. To think someone like yourself is able to wield a Sharingan― I must say, I'm rather pleased."

She gritted her teeth, her fists clenched at her sides, and her expression darkening.

"It's funny," she managed to say without losing her temper, her vein throbbing in her temple. "Because I can't particularly say the same about you, Kabuto. Make no mistake, I despise you with every fiber of my body, of my soul. If I could right now, I'd kill you a hundred times over to make you understand the suffering you've put me through."

Kabuto merely grinned. "Ah, such words, but to be honest with you, I find it hard to believe. You killed one man on your first B-ranked mission and it fucked with your head ever since. You witnessed bloodshed at the tender age of three and somehow even thinking about blood gets you worked up. You cry over the littlest of things and you only talk a big game, but I know what you are. A selfish little brat that just loves to use anyone in order to get what she wants. You don't have the guts to do anything except cry."

As he continued to jeer and insult her, Aya's expression became darker and darker, knowing that whatever nonsense he was spouting from his lips were true. However―

"When I was a kid," she started, cutting off whatever else he was going to add. "I always wondered, 'How could anyone take the life of another human being so casually?', and it bothered me even to the day I became an official ninja. When Hiruzen died, it hurt, and I cried and I cried until my eyes were sore, and my heart has yet to be free of guilt. And up until then, I've thought, 'How could anyone be so casual about taking another person's life?'"

She raised her head, and through her bangs, the Sharingan swirled. Her face was blank and emotionless, yet her tone sounded almost amused.

"And then, Grandfather Hokage died, and my friends got injured." She stepped closer, retrieving a kunai from her pouch. "And then I understood. After six years of wondering and thinking, I finally understand why someone would so willingly take the life of another human being with no remorse." The weapon twirled in her fingers before she rushed in, metal clashing against metal. "It's because when you lose someone that means the world to you, it fucks with your had, ya know? And then any and all moral convictions go straight outta the window!" She gathered the strength to grin up at a surprised Kabuto, standing on her tiptoes in order to stand face-up with the male. "Am I right, four eyes?!"

And then, SLAM! Her head knocked against his, and the man stumbled backwards with a bleeding forehead, not a speck of dirt on her own. Though her stomach churned at the blood, she couldn't help but smile at the satisfaction of finally gaining the upper hand.

However, the victory was short-lived. Kabuto was just as much an exceptional ninja in terms of medical ninjutsu, and with only a couple of hand signs he set to work to heal himself before he passed out. Unlike Chiaki, who was rash and very much easy to piss off, Kabuto was sane and level-headed, and he easily gathered his wits against him when the girl rushed in for another strike.

The headbutt had caught him off-guard, he'd admit that as he dodged and swerved her attacks. He scowled at the Sharingan-glaring little girl and decided to take action in his own hands, tired of all this unwanted interference. When she moved in for another strike, he attacked, his blade drawing a clean yet deep cut along her arm.

He grasped her arm when her body tense at the red liquid seeping through her wound, throwing her onto her back while keeping a steady blade to her neck. Her fighting style, now that he thought of it, reminded him of the medical ninja he'd been up against earlier, and he smirked at the similarities.

The wound, once it hit the open air, stung like crazy. It burned like a blazing inferno, though it might've been due to her own overreaction at the sight of blood for her to think this way.

Yet as the blood began to seep through her jacket, a drop falling on the mole on the left side of her eye, she couldn't help but be in awe and disgust at the way the sun's light caught itself in the red liquid.

Stings...burns...burns...burns...fire...fire burns...fire...fire....FIRE!!

She doesn't know how, nor does she understand when or even why, but she does know that something happened, like a flame kindling within her, and the four-patterned tomoe on her hips burned as well, and something suddenly crossed her mind―

Bakketsu!

The blood that onced seeped down her arm sparked almost immediately when her fists clenched, and like a match that strikes gasoline, it spread quickly and with fervor. It followed along the line where it started, and the arm that Kabuto gripped onto burst into bright, pink flames, swallowing him in a sudden heat. The action caused the male to fall back, gently touching his face where the flames had licked; where the girl's blood had splattered across his face, and his teeth gritted in annoyance.

The wound had healed almost instantly, and yet the action left the girl feeling more tired than usual, along with the pain that followed both in her eyes once the Sharingan was deactivated and the tomoe mark that ceased movement, leaving her panting from exhaustion.

What the hell...what was that? She thought, blinking to clear her eyes. I've never done...anything like that before, and fuck it hurts like hell. Why do I do this to myself, why does God enjoy seeing me suffer?

"You little conniving, sneaky fox." Kabuto's lips curl into a sneer, glaring at his burnt fingers and the girl now collapsed on the floor. "What did I say? Always, always fucking filled with surprises. At this point I should just quit being shocked all together or you'll be the death of me." He began to approach the girl, a dark gleam in his eyes. "Too bad you lack the strength or the right training, I would've loved seeing more of you in the future. But alas, the time we had together was fun while it lasted. Now you must die, and join the Third Hokage where he resides."

"Hey," Naruto seethed, stopping the man in his steps, and at his side, a shadow clone. "Buzz off, stay the hell away from her, damn it!"

He scoffed, "Still haven't given up I take it? Jeez, I can see why you compliment each other so well, you're both annoying!" A kunai in hand, he rushed forward to attack the boy, but was stopped by the blond grasping the weapon in his hand, a determined expression on his features.

"Aya?" The blond glanced at the girl, the inkling of a smile on his lips. "I promise you this, I'm not gonna die, not until I become Hokage!"

Together with the help of his clone, chakra began to gather in the boy's hands. It swirled, taking on a fixed shape, and even as it did, the Inoue couldn't help but stare in awe, and somewhere inside of her was pride.

Naruto, she thought despairingly. I never doubted your claims of becoming Hokage, and I never wished to ruin your dream. I was worried...because if the day comes when you do become Hokage....I don't...I don't wish to see you die...

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29/08/2022