The Angel's Ambivalence [Naruto]

The New Teammate

"Take what you want, steal my pride; build me up or cut me down to size."

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Minxie's POV

"Okay, so," I began, blowing my bangs out of my face. "We need to talk."

Mitchell sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes. "Can't this wait until the morning?"

I shook my head sternly. "No, it can't. I couldn't sleep because I needed to talk to you guys," I said, looking around the circle of all of my friends. "Wait... Where're Rin and Ryuu?"

"Ryuu didn't come back since he talked to you," Kylie answered from her spot on the couch's arm, yawning tiredly. "And Rin went to take a walk and never came back."

I sighed. "I wanted to do this when everyone was here, but... I guess I'll just tell them later," I muttered. "Guys, what happened tonight... It was insane. I know you don't want to talk about it, but I think we should."

Instantly, everyone's expressions turned guilty.

"First... I don't blame any of you," I said, looking directly at Naruto. "None of this was your fault. You had every right to be angry with Scarlett and to want to end her. I know that the only reason you tried to kill her was because you were thinking about me and my well-being. And I don't blame you for that. So, please, I'm begging you people... Stop looking so depressed!"

They all let out sighs of relief.

"However, that doesn't mean that I'm completely happy," I said, and they all got their guilty looks again. "What happened tonight didn't have to happen. You guys planned this without me. You tried to kill Scarlett, my Doppelganger, without even telling me about it."

"We couldn't tell you about it," Mitchell said. "You never would've let it happen."

"That's not the point," I said. "The point is... All of this private planning, all of these secret agendas... They need to stop. We're supposed to stick together and tell each other everything. That's how we'll win. We can't do that if you guys are going to try and kill someone without telling me."

"We're in this together, guys. We're friends. I know I wouldn't have allowed it... But we would've worked something out. Compromise," I reminded, and they all sighed knowingly. "All I'm saying is... I've got a mission tomorrow. One that'll probably be a roller coaster of emotions. I want to be able to go on it without fearing that you'll be planning something without me, something that affects all of us."

"And... I really don't want to fall to the floor and start bleeding randomly because Scarlett pissed one of you off and you stabbed her," I added quietly, and they all facepalmed. "So I need you all to promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again. Can you do that?"

It took a few moments, but eventually, they all nodded.