Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 12

Hello! I hate snow by the way. It's only October (10/21/2020) and it's freezing cold in my area. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Thoughts

Original: 01/02/2020

Edited/Published: 10/21/2020

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Hikaru frowned at Naruto, who was staring at him. "Hmm?"

"When are we going to have team dinner again?" Naruto blurted out, thought in his eyes. "It was fun, a-although Sasuke-temem being there spoiled it! Hmhp. It would've been funner without 'im." He crossed his arms in a manner much like Sasuke, but with more movement- a faked sort of frusteration. 

"We can have another team dinner next week, most likely." Hikaru said, his mind fogged. It had been two days since the team dinner, and every night he was plagued by nightmares, unable to get any rest past 2 am. And believe me, he tried. 

It was getting harder to keep his expressions still and to not drop the henge. He almost did once, in Ichikaru's, when Naruto was jabbering and he was so, so tired. But he didn't, he couldn't, and he refused to do so to his younger counterpart, who hadn't even seen war quite yet. And never would, if Hikaru could prevent it. 

"How's your training going?" Hikaru asked, changing the subject to try and still his shaking hands. 

Naruto gave him an almost blinding gren, blue eyes shining. "It's going great! I still haven't gotten the tree climbing excersise down yet, but neither has Sasuke-teme! Sakura-chan already got it though, and we saw that she got water as her chakra nature."

"Water?" Hikaru felt himself blink, making sure Naruto saw the slight- only slight- smile on his lips. "That's not that common in Konoha."

In his timeline, Sakura hadn't known her chakra nature until Tsunade shower her it. Kakashi, as the man himself had admitted later, didn't really have a clue as to how to teach Team Seven. 

"I know! Also- uhm, I forgot.." Naruto laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I gotta get back on my train of thought." He seemed to think for a few seconds, before bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

"Kakashi-sensei told me to tell you that he needs to talk to you about something..?" Naruto began hesitantly, one of his blond eyebrows furrowing. "But I don't know what, dattebayo."

"Okay. Thanks for telling me, Naruto. Tell him to be over at my house tonight if he can. It doesn't really matter what time." Hikaru said, a feeling of foreboding weighing down on him. But he was exhausted, and just wanted a break. But he knew that that wouldn't happen. 

"I'll remember, Hikaru!" Naruto grinned brightly once more. Hikaru looked forward, away from Naruto, remembering a time when he had still smiled that widely, that brightly. 

"M'kay. Here's our stop, Naruto. I'll see you after training, okay?" Hikaru looked down, ruffling Naruto's blond hair slightly, before shunshining away. He landed against the wall in his apartment, making sure he was alone before he dropped the henge. 

His mind swam with exhaustion, every atom of his being screaming at him to sit down before he faints. Hikaru, of course, sits down, legs wobblings, breath quick almost like he was hyperventilating. Which he wasn't, but if he got one more flashback of his old comrades, Hikaru was sure he'd pass out. 

And if there was an outsider looking in, Hikaru would've seemed dead despite the fact that he was still talking. 

His wrists were so thin a kid could wrap your ring finger and thumb around them and they would overlap. His violet eyes were dull, darker than they had ever been, an odd mix of dark purple, red, and a brilliant light blue.