Catharsis | AVOOCU Sequel

Chapter 3: Once More, Questions

[Chapter 3: Once More, Questions]

I drummed my fingertips on my arms as I refused to look at Hiro (Tae-young— should I call him that?) in the eye. Despite the soft chattering and sounds of pages flipping, there was a silence between us— taunting us. My arms had crossed, leaning against a bookshelf. God... it's worse when that time we had that chunin exam in Kusagakure.

Stealing a glance, I placed a fist under my chin, clearing my throat. The male, who was also leaning against the bookshelf, blinked, darting his eyes at me. He held a sort of cautious aura— a bit more than before. My lips pushed together, pushing down the lump in my throat. "This is awkward, isn't it?"

The man took a step back, hands out in defense. "I mean, yeah, but— Megu— I mean—" He stammered, furrowing his brow as his foot shuffled in discomfort. He had a small accent but it wasn't bothersome. I shifted my weight onto one side, averting my eyes away. He sighed, looking back at me. "Sorry— what should I call you?"

"Ashley," I answered bluntly, placing a hand on my wrist, rubbing it slightly. My eyes darted back at him, who had his neck somewhat hunched. "I... would rather you refer to me as Ashley in this body." I don't want Megumi to be any more associated with this.

"Oh, okay then," The dark-haired boy let out, shoving his hands to his pockets. "Then you can call me Tae-young, or whatever."

"Yeah..." Okay, this shit was going nowhere. Running a hand through my hair, I let out a sigh. "Can I just call you Tae?" He gave a small nod. "Look, we need to find a way to get out of..." I paused, examining our surroundings. As usual, or because it was a weekday, there were few people here. People that were too consumed in their books to care. I glanced back at Tae-young. "This place."

He crossed his arms, looking around. "Agreed." The Seong tilted his neck. "You said this was some part of a trope, right. Like— like—" His facial features scrunched, not knowing the words.

"From fanfiction, yes." I filled in for him. Pacing around, I twirled a lock of hair. "But it's a rare one which only applies to the Naruto characters turning into cats."

"How the fuck did that even happen?"

"I don't know!" I exclaimed with a huff, before continuing. "But— if we're talking about anime logic, then this is some kind of reverse-isekai shit. But at the same time— that doesn't make sense? "I— um," There were too many questions swirling in my head— too many and so few answers. "What kind of jutsu would be able to do this? Maybe Kamui?? But then again, why would Obito do something like this? Could the Rinnegan do this? Maybe something that's introduced in Boru—"

"Wait— Ashley—!"

I moved my head in confusion but it was too late— my head smacked into a bookcase. "Oof!" I yelped, reeling from the sudden pain. My feet stumbled over the loss of balance, just regaining it back enough before I fell to the ground.  "Owwww..." Letting out a groan, my vision became glazed for a second as I clutched my head, massaging it gently. Ah... that fucking hurt.

"Are you alright?!" I waved off my dear friend's concern.

Rotating my head for more comfort, I twisted my body towards him. "It's fine— I'm just glad I didn't put right fall on my ass." I excused, glancing at him.

For some reason, he looked a little... conflicted, let's just say that. His hand on his wrist despite his worried expression— it was as if he was restraining himself. Like he could've tried to catch me but— but he decided not to??? I almost rose a brow, something bothering him? I shook my head, narrowing my eyes. No, it's not my place to intrude.