Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 22

Ello! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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Hikaru's mind was dust, his body sand. But he would get through it. He had too. 

So here he was, two weeks before the Wave mission heading to Orochimaru's base- which he knew for sure that the Snake Summoner was at. His feet ached from his tricky malnourishment, but he would get through it. That's what he had to keep telling himself. 

He would get through it. 

There was nobody else by his side, nothing that kept him company but his own paranoid mind on the road framed with trees. Paranoia had risen in him about an hour and a half ago, although nothing was there, and he'd checked multiple times. 

There was a twinge of something in his chest that was near to guilt, but not quite. He'd done nothing so far to create a better world, so here he was. He'd left on a supposed mission from Sarutobi, said his goodbyes to Team Seven and their sensei, and told them he'd be back in a week. Then he had hoped he'd be alive afterwards. 

He ran over the seal theory in his mind, thumbing quietly at the scroll he kept hidden on a seal tattoed in his clothing. His throat contricted over a thick swallow, his heart racing in his throat as he thought of the thing that had tempted Sasuke to originally leave as a genin. 

His life was slipping away with every passing second. Hikaru knew this, and there was a kind of exhileration in fighting. He would fight this battle like it was his last, because it just might be. Pain was shooting through his legs every other second, but he wouldn't stop. 

He'd learned to never give up a long, long time ago. And maybe he took it to stupid levels. 

But his mind wandered off from that subject with a wince as he continued walking. 

He would make sure that nobody touched his family. He'd been training every single night for a week, countering every single move possible that he'd learned while fighting against Orochimaru, Madara, and Obito in his mind. 

It was a good thing that Kakashi wasn't with him, that he'd left him behind however much Hikaru had wanted the easy-going company. He knew that the fellow jonin was worried about his team, and he only found it out a few nights ago from a late-night visit in which Kakashi scolded Hikaru for making his "cute genin" worry, then confided in him a bit. 

Ah. He was off topic.

He wouldn't die here, but there was an equal chance of it happening. But the scroll that he possessed would be likely to decrease the odds of Hikaru dying. 

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He stopped for a short break, the air around him heavier and moving sluggishly in his lungs. He knew he wasn't in a genjutsu- he could sense them almost right away- but he was exhausted. 

His body protested each movement, but he quickly ate a small granola bar although his jaw ached. The small replenishment would hopefully be enough to see him to the next night. He would be there, kill Kabuto, the Sound Four, and Orochimaru, then head back. Then he would take a week's rest, go to the Land of Waves with Naruto's team, and take down the base. 

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Cold.

It was ice cold, his limbs numb and his heart racing as his breath wafted in the air. Then he spiked his chakra, disrupting the genjutsu and causing it too shater. He watched as Orochimaru grew increasingly more interested, bright amber eyes narrowing softly. 

"So you're... efficient in genjutsu." Orochimaru chuckled, however odd the sound was coming from his mouth, black hair gleaming in the hazy morning sun. "What about taijustu? Kenjutsu? Kukuku~ You would be so interesting to study."