[第6章]
⋆ ✦ ⋆
You sprung from your bed, breathing ragged as you stared around your room. Moonlight streamed through your windows, revealing the floating particles in the light that drifted around in no particular direction. You took a deep breath and exhaled, repeating the action as you closed your eyes.
Pressing a palm to your forehead, your other hand hovered over your heaving chest. The flashes of blood and cries of agony filling your head. You opened your eyes as in an attempt to distract yourself from the memories of the dream. Your desperate efforts were discarded however; the vision of those gaping wounds that bled an unhealthy amount, the glassy eyes of those who you had failed to save — the dazed expression on those you had grown to adore as life slowly drained from them. For a dream, god, did it feel so real.
It caused your insides to twist unnaturally as the accelerated hammering of your heartbeat slowly sped down from its high. You hunched over, trying hard to regain your composure. Adrenaline coursing through your veins, effectively putting you in a woken state, your crazed eyes darting around the room.
Gradually but slowly, your stiff body relaxed. You sighed, threading your fingers through the strands of your messy hair pausing when you came across something hard. "What the-?" You pulled your hand away, staring at the tiny crumble of brick in your dust coated fingers in wonder. You ran a hand through your hair again, more falling into your lap. "Uhm...?"
You quickly stood up from the bed, and with your now clear mind, saw how much of a mess your room truly was. You grimaced at the flakes of white paint and pieces of ceiling laid scattered on your floor and blankets. if you knew this was a cheap broken-down apartment with a ceiling that was on the verge of falling off, you would've never taken the offer of living here. You may be trash but you had standards.
"I guess it is what it is..."
You mumbled, snatching your blanket and flapped it harshly — the ceiling residue falling to the wooden polish floors. Heavy amounts of dust smacked you, and you choked, a cough forcing its way out of you. You waved your hand, looking to the clock and frowned. It was only three? You had expected it to be at least five.
You sighed, leaning against your window frame, relishing in the serene moment when it is interrupted by a light tapping noise. The peace you had inside of you dispersing as a rush of anxiety came along.
You kicked yourself off the wall, getting a good amount of distance before turning slowly to your window.
A small screech of absolute fear teared itself out your throat at the mere sight. Dull onyx eyes pierced through yours, staring into your soul through the thin glass frame. Fingers positioned in a tapping motion and legs gripping onto who knows what. The slightest ghost of a smile crept onto his lips upon seeing you as if this was like any normal occurrence.
You gave a shaky grin, moving to open the window.
What the heck was Sai just hanging outside your window for? Was he the reason for the pieces of roof that you were standing on top of right now? You doubted it. You had never seen Sai using much force with anything, always holding things as though they were fine china like he wasn't allowed to hold onto them. That doesn't change the fact that you're still pretty creeped out though.
After a few seconds of wrestling with the locks of the windows, you pulled up the window. "Sai, what are-?" You paused as Sai swiftly stepped through the window, glancing out before ushering you to your bed.
He sat you down firmly, crossing his arms as he tilted his head. "Uh, Sai..?" You trailed off, growing tense as a thick atmosphere swallowed up the room as he continued to blankly stare at you. It wasn't until he blinked out of the short daze he was in until finally responded.
"...The Jinchuuriki residing in Konohagakure stole an ancient scroll containing many forbidden jutsus. I need your assistance in retrieving it back, and perhaps the Jinchuuriki as well if possible." He said, straightening his head up.
You raised your eyebrows in confusion, "What's a...Jinchuuriki?" You crossed your arms. "And what's this got to do with me?"
Sai exhaled softly, looking to the window before back to you. "Seeing as you're one of the closest people to the Jinchuuriki, it would most likely solve this with more efficiency. I decided that-" He stopped mid-sentence, blinking at your sudden risen hand.
You narrowed your eyes, "Hold up, you're going to answer my other question first. Give me the details or else we'll be stuck in this loop of you speaking and me questioning you."
His mouth opened slightly before he shaked his head, requesting you to ignore it until he had more time to explain it to you without a risk of being beaten.
"The Uzumaki child. He's stolen a scroll and I need to know his location. More than half of the village's shinobi are after him currently. Do you happen to know any places?" He stated briefly, his gaze flickering to the open window again until back to your panicked form.
"Naruto's missing? AND HE STOLE SOMETHING?"
You sucked in a deep, fearful breath, shaking your head as you bolted for the door to grab your jacket, fumbling with the zippers as you slipped on your slippers.
"[M/n]—"
Everything was happening too fast. You didn't know what was happening. All you knew was that you had to find him before someone else did. Who knows what they'd even do to him? Becoming a rogue shinobi does not bring light punishment, and knowing how little the village cared for his well-being before—you doubt that they would hesitate to slaughter him.
You wrapped your jacket around yourself tighter, twisting your head around to see just the smallest hint of that ungodly jacket that was too bright for the human eye.
"Naruto?" Your voice sounded fragile in the middle of the nearly empty street, the cold already beginning to affect you as a soft pink tint surfaced on your cheeks. You shivered slightly as a light breeze of wind blew past.
"Naruto! Get out here right now, you dummy!" You stumbled your way to the ramen store, frowning at the sight of an empty store with no lights on and no smell of soup.
"Naruto please!"
Anxiety coursed through your veins, and you gripped onto your clothing, heaving in a deep breath. Where could he have gone to? You don't remember him being such a good hider. It terrified you to not know where he was at, visions of that horrible nightmare playing in your head like a record. What if he already got caught? Or maybe he didn't and he's already in some forest speeding away from the village right now? With how the entire village was...you honestly wouldn't hate him for it.
You tilted your head back, skidding to a stop to relax your legs and sighed heavily through your nose. You really were not prepared for this. That much was obvious when you decided to indulge in your plan of running around the village like a lunatic shouting Naruto's name. Why was any of this even happening-? What was his motive? He wouldn't have taken some ancient scroll without a good reason, and as far as you knew, he shouldn't have even known that it existed at all. Hell, you didn't even know that scrolls like that existed until an hour ago.
After you had left him alone with that sensei, they had conversed for a minute or so before vanishing. And that was the last time you had seen him. He had failed the genin exam sure but...
You hissed, a sharp stream of air escaping through the gaps of your teeth as you stood up.
Had Mizuki-sensei..? No, god no. You refused that thought. Permission denied.
On the other hand, the more plausible answer, he was manipulating Naruto. Naruto was trusting, almost as much as you were, but way worse. You should've stayed with him earlier. This was partly your fault, wasn't it? He was naive and gullible and he would've done anything to pass the exams. You dragged your cheeks down, forehead creasing into a scowl.
"Fuck."
What did Mizuki-sensei even want with the scrolls? Think, you stupid idiot, think. Why the hell would Mizuki sensei use Naruto if he could just steal it himself? Framing purposes? To save chakra? To buy himself time? What was it? Was Mizuki-sensei even involved in this at all?
You flinched when a hand landed on your shoulder and you gripped it tightly, spinning around to hook your other arm under their armpit to flip them over.
You relaxed when you realised that it was just Sai and sat down, ignoring the pain that it brought. You were too numb to even try to figure out how Sai had found you.
"Did you find him yet?" You looked up, clenching your fist while tears began to fall from the corners of your eyes. You hated this. You hated how useless you were in these types of situations. You weren't meant for this type of stress. "Please...please. Say that you found him before they did."
"Nobody has found him yet."
You nodded, pursing your lips and standing up for the third time but this time, it was to return to your apartment. "I'm going to wait for him back there. Please Sai. If you find him then...I don't know." You sighed. "Nevermind, ignore me."
He didn't comment on how tired you seemed or how your feet seemed to drag across the floor, and he didn't comment on the tears that just kept dripping onto the pavement, or the fact that you had your pyjamas still on and bunny slippers. And you appreciated that.
You made it back to the apartment without much of a problem and you made your way to Naruto's place, kicking away part of the carpet to pick up the rusted key that sat in the middle of the floor. His room was in need of a cleaning anyways, and damn, did his door need some oil.
You winced at the loud screeching sound that sounded from the rusted hinges. Was every single piece of metal that he owned somehow just incredibly rusted? You wanted to doubt it but at this point, it might as well be the truth. This boy had no care left in his bones for his own health.
You ran your hand over his mattress before pushing down on it hard, frowning at the puff of dust that had erupted from the fabric. At least his floor had cleared up a little since your last visit. You were thankful for the fact that he had at least figured out that leaving cups strewn across the floor was bad for his health and the people underneath his room.
You tried to figure out which were his clean clothes and which were the ones he had worn days ago and eventually just gave up on it, throwing them all into a basket that you would bring to the washing machine that was in the basement of the apartment.
After another half an hour, you sat on his bed, back hitting the futon as you breathed out an accomplished sigh. The only thing missing now was just Naruto.
You frowned, glancing at the door from the corner of your eye, internally wishing that he would just burst through it in that dramatic fashion he had.
Ah, you could still hear his annoyingly loud footsteps—
You jumped at the loud slam, quickly looking up as the door swung open. He zoomed through the door, shutting it tight afterwards with a wide, stunned look to his face and a few scratches. You gaped at his appearance, and when he turned around, a scream ripped out of his throat as he threw something at you.
"OW?!" You rubbed your forehead, staring in bewilderment at the sandal that was now on the floor, before swiftly grabbing it to throw it back. Naruto dodged his own shoe, a laugh bursting out of his throat before it died down into a nervous chuckle.
"So..nice to see ya...I, uh, whatcha doing here??"
Your right eye twitched and you stood up. you shook him rapidly, starting on your tangent that just seemed to explode from the bottom of your stomach.
"You.."
The blond flinched, inching slowly away in response to the more steps you took.
"Uh..What's wrong, [M/n]? Haha, d-did you miss me that much-?" His voice cracked when his back met the wall as he averted his eyes, pretending to look at everything in his room but you. "Wow, uh, did you clean? It looks pretty..clean? It looks good in here for once actually." Another nervous chuckle slipped through his lips as he slowly met your narrowed eyes.
His breath hitched when you leaned in close, the words he was about to say dying on his lips as the distance between the two of you gradually began to close. Heat enveloped Naruto's face as he watched your face draw nearer. He felt hot, almost as if he was dropped into a boiling water pot used for making ramen. His ears, his neck, his face—he wasn't sure if he was even breathing at this point. If he was, it was very little. What were you doing? What were you doing? What were you doing?
He shut his eyes tightly, a small whimper escaping him as he felt your breath hit his ear. "[M-M/n]..?" He squeaked, placing his hands onto your shoulders as an attempt to gain some space remaining between the two of you. You were too close..!
"Naruto," His shoulders raised upon hearing your voice so close, and he quickly wanted to curl up in a ball to roll away. Unfortunately, you left him no exit, having actually cornering him into the corner of the room somehow. "You..."
Oh jeez. He gulped the lump in his throat, preparing for the worst.
"YOU IDIOT! DID YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS? YOU STOLE A ANCIENT SCROLL, VANISHED INTO THE NIGHT, HAD HALF OF THE VILLAGE'S SHINOBI AFTER YOU AND MY GOD I HAD TO RUN AROUND IN MY PYJAMAS JUST TO TRY TO FIND YOU BEFORE THEY DID! YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT—I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING ROGUE EVEN THOUGH YOU AREN'T EVEN A GENIN, LIKE FOR GOD'S SAKE, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"
Wiping away your tears with the palm of your head, you couldn't help but let out a teary laugh as Naruto shrieked, watching him jump in place. He whined from the good whack you gave him, rubbing his head and ears. You shook your head, expression shifting quickly as you grabbed his shoulders and glared into his eyes.
"Never. Do. That. Again." Your voice shook with every word but you were certain you had gotten your point across. He shook under your glare, nodding furiously. Internally, he was making note of the fact that he would never piss you off ever again.
"Good. Now, please, explain why the hell were you stealing scrolls in the middle of the night."
____
The two of you sat in a pregnant silence that pushed your shoulders down and zipped your lips shut, leaving only wide eyes and speeding thoughts. You opened your mouth, swallowing your saliva before closing it again from the lack of things to say. To think that all of that had happened in the span of a whole night...it really did put things in perspective.
You looked up at Naruto's form, pressing your fingers to your forehead as you thought it all over. How Naruto had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed away inside him. How Mizuki-sensei had planned to use him to destroy konoha from bitterness and anger. How Iruka-sensei had to swoop in to save him even though he was still just a teacher and not an experienced shinobi.
You swallowed again, remembering the tragedy that had fallen upon the Land of Fire when the Nine-Tailed Fox had appeared. The quiet, sorrowful look in your parents' gazes whenever the date of when the fox had appeared came along. The way everybody who were over the age of twenty back in your village bowed their head to the ground in shame for not having been able to save more people that day, to not have saved those who could've lived. The shame of knowing that they were partially responsible for the deaths that had happened. And to think that he had the very fox sealed within him. It was yet another thing that terrified you.
"I get it now. You don't want to be around me no longer. I'm a murderer and- and," He swallowed, pushing back the sob that threatened to escape him and pursed his lips. You jerked up, blinking at the sight of him. Had he been crying the entire time you were thinking?
"And I'll respect your decision. But I'll always—!"
Naruto paused, his next words getting caught up in his throat as his vision began to blur. He brought his hands up to wipe the tears that began bubbling, hiding his face away from your view. "Look you'll...I'll..."
His breath hitched as you tugged at his wrist, bringing him into your arms with one swift movement. Eyes widened as you buried your face into the crease of his neck, the hold encasing him growing gradually tighter. The boy's arms stayed still by his side, frozen in fear and shock. You were hugging him? Even after all that? Even after knowing that he had an overpowered murderer residing inside his very body? Why-?
"Yeesh, did you really think that I would leave you just because of some, and I say this unrespectfully, stupid fox? I'm honored by the amount of trust you have within me. You're not at fault for the murders or whatever the fox committed, you aren't at fault for any of them. The village is stupid for thinking that you're responsible for the death of their love ones when you were just born. If anything, you're a fully fledged hero for being able to keep that guy contained," You muttered, pressing him close to your chest.
"So keep talking about being a murderer. I'll burn all your ramen packets and Ichiraku coupons."
Warm tears dripped through the material of your shirt and you could only smile in response, threading your fingers through his hair as wet giggles shook his body.
"Are you feeling better now?" You asked gently, turning his face up to observe the cuts he had received. You healed them easily, poking his whiskered cheeks as you snickered to yourself. You still couldn't believe that they weren't drawn on at all.
He rubbed at his eyes harshly, grinning up at you through the snot and tears that were on his face. "Would asking for ramen be too much?" He asked hopefully.
"Wash that snot off and clean your face then I might think about giving you some extra coupons, you beggar."
"HEY, I'M NOT THAT POOR!"
"Says the one who begs money off me whenever they can't pay for ramen."
.
.
.
The two of you sat on the floor of his balcony, eating ramen at three am in the morning which you had allowed just this once as an apology for nearly bursting Naruto's eardrums with your outburst earlier. He deserved it though. He needed some sense knocked into that half-empty head of his sometimes.
"Hey [M/n]?"
You turned to him, grinning at his half shadowed features as he smiled back at you, bright blue eyes almost glowing in dark.
"Thanks for being my friend."
꧁༺༻꧂
You watch with blank eyes as Naruto was beaten by Sasuke's fangirls, clasping your hands together and repeating the prayer your mother taught you to say in a mournful tone, ignoring Shikamaru's bewildered gaze and Sasuke's side glare.
"-And may he forever rest in peace." You finished, releasing your pose and standing up to prepare yourself to wrench his body from the grip of those girls. Why were girls so aggressive? It was like they had some type of hidden, never-ending pocket of anger within them.
Shikamaru yanked you back down by the hem of your jacket, sighing through his nose as he mourned the loss of a good nap just to take care of someone who was apparently suicidal for thinking they could brave even...them.
"...may he forever rest in peace." Shikamaru muttered under the pressure of your intense gaze, relaxing when you turned around to watch the rest of the beat down with an intent gaze. Being completely honest, you weren't completely sure why those girls were beating Naruto up.
Had he offended Sasuke like he normally does? Or had Sasuke insulted him and somehow turned his fangirls upon the blond? Either way, it would always result with insults.
You leaned back, relishing in the fact that today was the last day of school and the start of you becoming a field medical nin. You hoped that you would still be able to see your classmates after today, even if you all were in seperate teams. If you could get at least one of your friends in your team, you would be content.
"Hey, Shikamaru? What happened for Naruto to be," You paused, searching for the appropriate word before just deciding on the one that was literally what was happening before your eyes. "..harassed?"
He choked on his spit, blinking at you before shaking his head. Coward.
You clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth, glancing around the room to spot the person you'd know would say something.
"Psst, Hinata-san..!" You tilted your head behind Shikamaru's, getting a better view of the girl. She flinched, looking up from her hands to the direction of your voice. A small red blush adorning her cheeks when she noticed it was you.
"H-huh?" She pressed her fingers together, leaning forward to hear what you were saying with a slightly confused look.
"Why's Naruto getting beat up? Did something happen before I came in?"
She squeaked and fell back, her face erupting into multiple shades of red while she rapidly shook her head, muttering apologies all the while. "He...they... Uchiha-san..." She covered her face with her hands.
You made a small noise of acknowledgement, leaning back to leave her alone. Not much info, but oh well, at least you had gotten one thing out of Hinata. Sasuke was definitely involved with whatever had happened. So it was that bad, huh?
You looked over at Sasuke, humming to yourself as you thought it over. Was it worth dying to satisfy your curiosity? The answer was yes. Yes it was. Unfortunately.
You made your way over to Sasuke, giving Naruto an apologetic look as you leaned down to hopefully ask Sasuke the golden question.
"Morning!"
He flinched at your voice, glaring at you for unknown reasons before looking away without saying a word. You deadpanned at his stoic expression, feeling slightly dumb for thinking that you would've been able to instantly make a conversation with the one of the most emotionally dead boys you have ever met.
"...What do you want."
"How cold." You commented blankly. "It's sad how your hair doesn't hide the coldness and makes you look like a duck instead. What a tragedy."
He twists around to shoot you a glare that you had already grown used to, and you grinned at him in response, raising your eyebrow to await his response.
"What? Not even a comeback? Not even a 'Hn'?" You teased, enjoying the fact that for once he wasn't even making the effort to think of a comeback. "My my, oh how the great Uchiha has fallen from whatever leftover grace he had before."
"Your insults are worsening." Clearly you had spoken too soon.
"Oh yeah? Tell that to your stylist and then come at my insults. Let me have my moment."
It seemed today was the day that life decided to give mercy, pleasantly surprising you by not letting you get attacked by those rabid fangirls of his. Oh yeah, you're supposed to be interrogating him.
"Hey hey, what happened between you and Naruto?"
You were disappointed but not surprised when Sasuke didn't open his mouth to even entertain the idea that he would be responding to you.
"...how badly did he insult you?"
You hummed, nodding in response to his non-existent reply. "Ah, that bad huh."
You leaned back, looking at the battered form of Naruto that was now sitting at his desk and sighed, waving at him before dropping your hand to stare at the Uchiha.
"Seriously though, what actually-"
"Sasuke-kun! I hope we get into the same team together!" Sakura interrupted, gripping onto his arm like some type of demonic leech. You jumped away, looking around rapidly in confusion of how Sakura had somehow gotten into that free seat without either of you noticing.
You and Sasuke shared a look before Iruka-sensei entered the classroom, apologising loudly for coming in late. You slid back into your seat next to your sleeping friend, fingers tapping nervously against the desk as Iruka-sensei got the class settled down.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
You intake a breath when a hand enwrapped yours, stopping its fidgeting and rubbing small circles. It lulled you into a calmer state, your legs stopping their bouncing. You gave a silent thanks to Shikamaru who merely shook his head and retracted his hand back.
Iruka-sensei cleared his throat, standing up from his desk with a clipboard. "Alright everyone, now that we're finally settled," He walked to the front of the classroom, staring at everyone with a small smile. "Let's begin your last day of class, shall we?"
The class responded with a small 'yes', officially allowing Iruka-sensei to begin speaking.
"From this day forward, you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but full-fledged shinobi. But, among the ranks of shinobi, you are merely novices, lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead."
You sighed heavily through your nose at that, the weight of the situation finally hitting you like a brick. Oh damn, you were really doing this. You don't know whether you're excited or scared but it's a weird mix of both. You're exhilarated.
Your leg began to bounce again.
"The next step of the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man squads. Each will be mentioned by a Jonin, a more senior ninja who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with your various assignments."
Ah yes, you remembered being told about this from your mother. 'Teams are chosen by your superior so don't get too excited' She said. You just hoped the people you get on your team aren't too defiant.
"I made the selections so that each squad's abilities would be approximately equal."
The class erupted in chaos at that, screaming in perfect union that you're almost impressed, but you're not because it was bound to be. Teamwork makes the dream work as your father would declare while lugging the sweat-drenched bodies of the people who were supposed to be helping with the surgeries that he performed.
You don't pay attention to who's name is being called until your name is mentioned.
You really wished it hadn't in that moment.
꧁༺༻꧂
You inched towards Hideko nervously, wincing under the dark scathing gaze of Miu as she tapped her fingers against her arms. Hideko stared at your quaking form in curiosity, poking your arm experimentally before continuing to work on her puppet, fixing in a new bolt for it's arm.
"Tch, what the hell are we fucking waiting here for, huh? I wanna be fighting shit already!" Miu scowled, storming outside of the classroom to whip her head back and forth through the corridor to look for their assigned teacher, only to see an empty corridor that was dimly lit.
You inhaled and exhaled deeply before going up to her, touching her shoulder gently. "Ikeda-san, it's probably best to wait here until the sensei comes-"
"Get your fucking hand off me, you stupid ass bastard." She hissed through her teeth. From the corner of your eye, you could see Hideko raising her eyebrow and moving her hand to hover over the handle of her katana. You let your right hand fall from Miu's shoulder as you held up your other hand, shaking your head discreetly before turning back to look back at Miu.
"Look what I'm saying is that we shouldn't be making a fuss just because they aren't here yet. We should be patient and-"
She instantly bristled, taking your words as an insult and pulling out a kunai, stepping forward to poke your chest with it.
"Oh for fucks sake, stop acting all goody two shoes already, you-"
"Miu Ikeda?" You pressed your lips together as Miu stood back to stare who you assumed was your teacher in the eye, shoving her kunai into her pocket again.
"What? You need something from me, old man?" She grumbled as Hideko hopped off her seat on the table, gently storing her puppet away in a compartment in her bag before turning her gaze to the teacher and Miu.
"Ikeda-san, you shouldn't talk to our teacher so rudely now y'know? Bad impressions are a terrible start to the year, don't you agree?" A gentle smile graced the grey haired girl lips as she clasped her hands together.
"Sensei, my name is Hideko Osada and this is [M/n] [L/n]. And of course, Miu Ikeda." She said the latter's name with a hint of distaste, giving a subtle threat to the other girl in the room for her to be on her best behaviour from now on.
She stepped back, stuffing her hands into her pockets while looking out of the window.
You rubbed the back of your neck, looking back at your sensei sheepishly. "Sorry about that sensei, she's a little uh...hot-headed to put it politely."
Almost immediately she opened her mouth to retort to your words, hands flying to her kunai pouch before the jonin sent her a harsh glare.
He crossed his arms, looking down upon the three of you in what seemed like vague disappointment. It was hard to tell when your teacher's face was as blank as a white canvas. Almost as if it had been frozen to look forced blank with only his eyes and mouth to show that he was still alive.
"When you are in my care, I expect you all to behave accordingly and to not attack nor provoke each other unless I explicitly say so. I don't recall having told you to be fighting your group mates in a classroom." His voice was soft, bordering on a coldness that sent shivers down your spine. His voice was the sort that you would listen to even in a room crowded full with people.
"Now. I want the three of you to meet me at training ground thirteen. You have forty minutes. I expect to see everyone there and not one person missing."
And with those words he had vanished, a cluster of wind swirling in the place where he had stood.
"Oh for fuck's sake, WHAT TYPE OF SHIT IS THIS FUCKERY? GET ACROSS THE ENTIRE DAMN VILLAGE IN FORTY-"
Hideko flicked her nails against a needle, nodding over at you as you seized Miu's wrist to push her arm warmer up to reveal her veins where Hideko plunged the pale substance into her bloodstream. The two of you waited patiently for Miu's body grew stiff and her mouth to stop cursing the two of you.
You nodded mirthly at the sight pushing her limbs together to make sure that she would get into the storage scroll that Hideko had spread out earlier in preparation for a situation such as this. You pushed her into the scroll, sealing it shut and attached it to the back of your belt, making sure that it was tight before opening the window to let Hideko run out first. She wrapped her hands around the tree branch and swung her body across the other trees that were scattered around the area, almost flying through the air.
You focused your chakra into your hands and followed after her, grabbing the tree branch and using the momentum to swing yourself forward to latch onto the next one until you gradually neared the floor while Hideko continued to remain above, feet latching onto the brick walls of the buildings.
You ran through the village, never quite touching the floor for too long as you swerved to avoid the people on the streets and ducking into the alleyways, finding reassurance in that fact that you knew that Hideko was close behind you, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
You took a hard right and jumped on the crates and the small sticks that were nailed into the building, balancing on them with your toes and soles of your feet before you eventually reached the top, joining Hideko in running across the rooftops.
"How much longer?" She questioned, pausing in her steps as she surveyed the roofs for her next route.
"Twenty minutes more I think. Probably less. And Miu's paralysis should last only six minutes more." You rubbed your chest, frowning at the thought of having to deal with Miu. "Should've packed the other one instead."
You surveyed the rooftops, mapping out a path with your fingers and grinning when it worked.
"Alright, I need some rope."