Hi! Currently writing this literally 12:01 rn cause it's New Year's Eve and why the heck not. Hope you enjoy!
Human Think
Original: 01/01/2020
Edited: 10/14/2020
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Hikaru stiffened slightly as Naruto leapt up, finished with his ramen. "I'm done!" Naruto shouted.
Hikaru blankly placed more than enough money on the counter- a tip for having to clean up Naruto's mess- and stood up.
The world swayed slightly and Hikaru's breathing picked up. But he managed to follow Naruto's swift escape from Ichikaru's, walking next to him on a dirt path.
A busy street filled with fangirls screaming and, well, fangirling.
Naruto growled, his fists tightening. "I'd bet that's Sasuke-teme!"
Before Naruto could move, the crowd parted to reveal Sasuke. His hands shoved deeply into his pockets and a blank look on his face.
Despite that, Hikaru knew Sasuke was genuinely annoyed from the way his mouth turned down in disdain, and the way his black eyes seemed to glare holes into your soul worse than they usually did.
Naruto was already rushing towards Sasuke before Hikaru could stop him, his words falling on deaf ears. Hikaru blinked, feeling panic grip him fully as Sasuke's eyes locked into his.
Hikaru's hands shook, and he backed up slightly, his brain repeating a simple signal over and over.
Escape.
Thus he shunshined away, his mind reeling. He didn't know where he ended up, only that the world was spinning around him and his chest was so tight he couldn't breathe.
Naruto had killed Sasuke himself. He'd refrained from telling the Hokage how anybody died, only the barest details from the war.
He'd watched Sasuke die from his jutsu. His fault.
Sasuke rushed at Madara, dirt smeared against his pale skin. His Sharingan eyes were flickering, a sign that he had only a bit of chakra left, and his hair was a mess.
A flash of something, then Madara was behind Sasuke. Naruto tried to call out but his throat and mouth had gone dry-
Wind sliced Sasuke into pieces as Sasuke whirled around. Blood splattered against the already bloody ground. Naruto couldn't make out which one was Sasuke's.
All Naruto could see was when Sasuke finally agreed to come back to Konoha. The look of hope flashing through his black eyes, the slight flush on the Uchiha's cheek. The way he looked younger, not so war-torn.
Naruto felt something trail down his cheek, and an angry feeling setting fire inside of him. He saw Sasuke's hand and wrist, callouses and bruises on the pale skin. Blood coated the ground.
Sasuke had worked so hard. Sasuke had become Naruto's friend and enemy. Sasuke was the person who Naruto needed to show light to the most.
He rushed at Madara, his hands already moving for multiple chakra pills. He popped them into his mouth, feeling the instant boost.
Hikaru's hands tangled up in his long red hair, and he vaguely recognizes a loud, booming voice. Everything is too loud.
He could hear footsteps running heavily towards him, the rustling of clothing. But Hikaru couldn't breathe and there was a cloud in his brain that told him to panic.
A hand hit his shoulder and Hikaru's instincts kicked in. His kunai was yanked out of his pocket, and his hand dashed up to the hand on his shoulder. His arm, laced with chakra, flipped the man onto his back and a kunai hit his throat.
All of that happened almost faster then the man he knocked over could see.
Hikaru felt his hands tremble, and he pulled away, sitting up fully. He looked around, noticing that he was on top of the Hokage's Mountain, and Gai was worriedly peering at him.
Which means...
Lee was the one he knocked over. Hikaru backed away, falling over again. He formed a one-handed seal and vanished back to his apartment.
Fuck.
×××
Hikaru paced in his apartment, his footsteps thudding silently against the floor. It was night time, way past 10, so he should be okay. The Hokage should've gone to sleep.
Yet he could sense an ANBU watching his door from somewhere. Great. An ANBU watching his door, and another ANBU watching Naruto's apartment.
Hikaru was trapped. The walls were closing in on him, and his room seemed a little to small. He was panicking.
Hikaru knew he was panicking. Hell, practically anyone around knew he was panicking.
Hikaru needed to do something. He needed to move.
He looked around his window, not sensing any ANBU looking his way. Then jumped down.
His footsteps made no noise as Hikaru raced towards a training ground. He was tired of not doing anything.
Hikaru had survived by constantly moving during the war. He'd jumped away from kunai, dodged white Zetsus. He'd survived by moving.
So staying still felt odd. Hikaru hadn't remembered the last time he'd kept still for so long. He could feel his tiredness weighing down on him, making his footsteps slightly heavier, making his limbs harder to move.
But Hikaru needed to move.
Thus he trained. It was the only thing keeping him awake. That, and adrenaline.
Hikaru pulled out his sword, getting into a simple stance. His sword extended from his right arm, and Hikaru jumped forwards, blurring to the eyes watching him.
The log split three quarters from the top, and the remaining part fell over. The eyes watching him widened ever-so-slightly.
The person in the bushes turned and snuck away, only for a pair of red-tinted eyes to meet his.
"Why were you spying on me?" Hikaru's cold, detached voice demanded the person to answer.
"I- uh, I'm sorry." A foot scuffed against the ground guiltly. "But you were running through town, so I followed. I didn't think it'd be you, Hikaru-san."
"Who are you?" Hikaru's eyebrow raised. This might be one of the chunin that Inochi planted memories in. He sighed, his hand running through his long red hair that he often kept loose.
"I'm Daichi? I was in your class in the Academy, remember? I- uhm- I haven't seen you in awhile. Where have you been?" Daichi asked, his brown eyes glancing towards Hikaru's.
"Oh- sorry, it's been a long day. I'm a jonin now." Hikaru slipped into a friendlier persona. "I'm usually busy with missions. You?"
"I'm the same way, except I have more free time." Daichi chuckled. "Anyway, you know Nanami? The girl that had always fangirled over Takeshi?"
"Mhm. What about her?" Hikaru leaned against a tree and yawned, his hand lifting up to cover his mouth.
"She got married to Takeshi." Daichi smirked. "And we're only 26. Can you believe that she's even had two children that are three years apart?"
"What."
"My reaction in a nutshell." Daichi grinned. "Listen, gotta go 'cause it's getting late. I won't tell anyone about you being a jonin or anything. I know you hate being in the limelight."
Hikaru nodded his goodbye before sliding out of his persona. He sighed, before starting to walk back to his apartment.
He waiting until no ANBU were looking before going up the building and into his window, jumping inside. He looked at his bed, shuddering. Lately, he hasn't been able to fall asleep on his bed.
Hikaru curled up onto the floor with a blanket covering him and no pillow.
Hikaru despised pillows. They made his head hurt if he slept funny.
Although, it wouldn't hurt to have a pillow right now, Hikaru had slept without a pillow for as long as he could remember.
He could last another night without one.
×××
Hikaru yawned, stretching upwards, enjoying the pull on his muscles. He blinked, before noticing someone in his apartment that was definitely not there before.
Hikaru blinked, before noticing that he was sensing in Naruto's apartment.
Oh. It's just Naruto's chakra. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief, before schooling his features.
"Graduation day." He murmured to himself, staring down at his crumpled clothes. He shrugged and threw on his vest, glancing at the clock.
"6 am. Early enough." Hikaru yawned again as he tied his forehead protector around his arm. He made sure he had brushed his hair, although he couldn't find his brush so he just ran his fingers through his hair.
He extended his chakra to next door, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Naruto was awake and currently getting dressed.
So he walked out of his apartment and knocked on Naruto's door. He heard the following:
A loud crash, a string of many, many curses, a quiet huff, and a "I'll be there in a second!".
The door opened to reveal Naruto with a bruise on his forehead, rubbing it with a faint whine. "Oh! Hikaru-san?"
"Hikaru is fine, Naruto. Just Hikaru. Drop the 'san', please." Hikaru said as he led the Uzumaki out of the building.
"Uhm, okay. Hikaru." Naruto tested his name. "Alright. Hikaru, where are we going?"
"Ichikaru's." Hikaru answered. "I feel in the mood for ramen. I'll buy yours, if you want."
"Okay!" Naruto cheered, before he started to run towards Ichikaru's. "Race you there!" He called over his shoulder.
Hikaru sighed and quickly raced after Naruto.
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Hello! I hope you guys enjoyed this sorta-happy chapter. But if you didn't, don't worry. It gets darker. If you did enjoy this, well, it gets darker.
This chapter has 1560 words.
- Beginning_Asuka