Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 68

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Hikaru couldn't. He couldn't. He really, really, really didn't want too. Not anymore. 

But he still crept in the shadows, not daring to make a single sound. His being was tense as he tried his best to blend in the best he could, his body and mind trying to be completely one. 

The shadows wreathed around him, and he picked up the tanto that he'd dropped the other day, his movements smooth and unfaltering. He was calling into action everything he'd ever learned-- both as an ANBU and as a war vetran. 

So he breathed softly and slowly, taking a few steps forward, slinking in the shadows. His chakra signature and chakra were completely hidden as he blended in with the trees circling him. 

They'd tracked Daichi and Hamasaki here. And they would not be letting them go. 

Yuu lay in--

No. He would not think of that at the moment. He could grieve for someone that he barely even knew later, when everything wasn't pressing upon him like the weight of a thousand stars. 

He didn't dare tuck even a single lock of hair behind his ear, his cloak hiding the noticable crimson. Hikaru breathed as one with the wind, watching even through the mist as Hamasaki and Daichi kept talking among themselves. 

Kami, it terrified him to face her. He was a coward at heart, though, but he knew he had to keep going. He knew that he needed to breathe completely and utterly, and that he needed to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

He didn't want to be weighed down by seals again, so he'd taken every measure yesterday to prevent that. He was using so many seals it wasn't even funny anymore-- his mind refused to even simply work without seals, and he was running on pure fumes at this point. 

A small breath. 

He saw Kakashi moving on the other end of the clearing, and he stilled. If Kakashi was visible, something was wrong, kami damnit. They were supposed to remain hidden until there was a liable time to---

A blade glinted against his neck. 

Hikaru wasted no time in stabbing behind him, crimson against the ground, his entire body tense. He could feel himself simply moving, breathing, living through every single moment of pain in a way that he'd originally deemed impossible. 

And, like that, they sprung. Uncaring of the nin around them. 

It was Kiri that had waged war first, after all. It was Kiri that had challenged Konoha by killing a loved chunin, someone who had more potential then anybody knew or recognized. 

He grit his teeth as he killed yet another nin, feeling the mental tally heighten on his kill count. He didn't want to do this, but there wasn't another choice left for him to take. He was stuck on this path until he could escape.

The mist wreathed around him as he faced Hamasaki, her brown eyes flashing with glee as she saw him. Her entire mind was completely and utterly the same-- weak and filled with crippling insanity. 

He wasn't making any sense, even to himself. But he was panicking, and him panicking in the midst of battle was never a good thing. 

A soft breath. 

He drew his sword once more, facing her as his breath clogged in his throat. 

"Hikaru-chan!" Hamasaki giggled, holding her arms out as if approaching him for a hug. "How nice of you to come here! We were just talking about you!"