Shadow of the Night

Chapter 10

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Recap: Hikari just woke up from her coma, now a human host for the shadow spirit Yuro
On with the story
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I was released from the hospital yesterday with the advice to take it easy. Kakashi and Asaki wanted to fill me in on what happened for the last few weeks, specifically at the end of the chunin exams. We were laid out in the grass in a training field, gazing up at the blue sky.

Sarutobi was dead. The man who showed me so much kindness. The powerful Hokage who welcomed my sister and I into his village. I had not known the old man very well, but had come to trust his wisdom and I think he had grown fond of me. I truly felt the loss with the rest of the village.

Another troubling thing were our teammates. Sasuke seemed dangerously on edge (Kakashi even said he challenged Naruto and attempted to use the chidori on him!) and tensions were high. I sighed in frustration; those kids were growing up, and I didn't like it one bit. Mostly because Sasuke is turning into a revenge-obsessed idiot.

After explaining to Kashi and Saki about my meeting with Yuro, they were a little more than interested. In fact, I found myself besieged with questions until Yuro, who had been bickering with me in my head, offered to take control and explain. I allowed this, letting my consciousness be overtakes by my 'roommate'. My eyes turned gold, an indicator to my friends that he was in control.

3rd person POV

Stop pestering my host. Hikari is trying her best to adjust. 

The two shinobi were stunned by the deep voice resonating from Kari's throat. "That is so creepy! Please give Kari back, we won't bug her." Saki asked sweetly.

Yuro rolled his golden eyes in Hikari's head. He decided to try something: it seemed as though the gold leached out of Hikari's eyes, forming an animal about the size of a house cat on the ground in front of her. Yuro flexed his little paws and snaked his body around his master's ankles. 

"I didn't know you could do that." Hikari commented conversationally. 

Neither did I. But I'm glad I don't always have to ride around in your head. 

Hikari glared at the small- well she didn't know what it was. "What kind of animal are you?" 

Yuro looked at his own fur and tails before responding You know that's a good question. I think it's a wolf pup now, but I can do other animals if you prefer. 

This whole conversation happened while Kakashi and Asaki looked on, slightly confused. Hikari looked up in embarrassment.

"You guys have anything to do? I want to test out any more powers I got from Yuro, and I don't want you to get hurt. I don't know how to control him..." 

The two nodded, and left the scene. They knew she wanted a bit of time to process what had happened, to her and to Konoha, in solitude. Or as close to solitude you can get with a shadow spirit riding around in your 'soul vessel'.

Turning back to the small wolfish shadow, Hikari tried to put her thoughts into words. "So... How is this going to work?"

Yuro thought for a minute, then spoke. I'm not really sure. I think I'll probably split time between a physical form like this and a mental form. I don't think you get any more gifts, but the gifts you already have will be amplified. Especially your senses. You won't pass out as easily or succumb to injuries since we'll be 'sharing the load', as it were. I think that's about it. If you want me in physical form to help you fight or something, I'll just act like a summon. The only thing we should really work on is how well we communicate when we're both in your head. 

Hikari sighed. "I can't believe I have to share headspace with you. Also, stop calling yourself my roommate, you're not paying rent!" 

Yuro let out a bark of cheeky laughter. He shuffled around to take a look at the training field. So, you up for some training? You haven't done any in two weeks, I bet your out of shape. 

Hikari ignored the jibe, but accepted Yuro's words. It was true. She wanted so badly to go and check on her kids, but the day only had about two hours left, and she needed to get some physical training in. Nodding to the shadow spirit, she accepted him back into her mind's crawl space. Now to start training with a passenger.

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*Hikari's POV

It was dark, the moon the only light I had as I gazed into Naruto's window. I know it sounds creepy, but I needed to make sure he was alright. Sasuke's recent behavior was likely to affect Naruto quite a bit. 

Naruto rolled over in his sleep, his usually happy face replaced with a worried expression as he slept. Whatever dream he was having must not be pleasant.

I quietly crept in through the window, closing it noiselessly behind me. Tossing and turning in front of me, Naruto was mumbling incoherently. 

I approached his bed and gently sat next to him, brushing my fingers against his forehead. His skin felt a little warm, and I frowned. Naruto's arm moved a little in his sleep, and his hand curled around mine. 

"Mom?"

His voice was barely a whisper. He wasn't even fully awake, and yet this simple word had quite the effect on me. My eyes stung, and I placed a gentle kiss on his temple as the boy drifted back to sleep. 

"Yes, I'm here for you... don't worry..." I brushed away my tears, smiling down at the sleeping boy "my... son."

*AN
I don't really like this chapter, even though Yuro is awesome. It's kinda filler-y and un poco short, but I think the next one will be worthwhile :D
G'day
-Hanna
Ps if anyone is confused Kari isn't actually Naruto's mom she's like his surrogate mother