Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 40

Hello! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

___

Tsunade had let him leave. He'd asked for time off- anything as long as it took him away from Konoha- and she'd seen the way he looked and she'd given it to him. So now he was back in his apartment, Kakashi very, very thankfully gone. 

He regretted the past thirty minutes. Hell, he regretted the past two decades or so. What was he now? 25? 26? He didn't really remember- he'd forgotten awhile ago.

He didn't want to do this, but everything inside of him screamed at him to run. So he would. 

Hikaru slid his sword into his seal, and he stuffed a letter from Jiraiya into his pocket. He grabbed his clothes, doing an impromtu packing trip. Then, once he was all ready to go, he walked out the door. 

"Oh, hey Sasuke, Sakura, I'm leaving on a mission for a month." Hikaru smiled down at them, masking the nerves in his eyes. "Sorry it's sudden. I'll be back, promise." 

And then without any fanfare, Hikaru was back to running from his problems.

___

The first night out of the village was the hardest. 

He dwelled over every single thing he said, dwelled over whether or not Kakashi believed him. He tried not to think of the longing curling in his stomach, screaming for him to return home.

Konoha wasn't his home.

___

Scratch what he said before. 

The second day was the hardest. It was filled with Hikaru wondering where to go, where he could possibly go. He wanted to settle on something he could do in a month, and while he wasn't really prepared for it, he could go and get Kazuku and Hidan. 

They were somewhat nearby, after all. 

Hikaru frowned down at the inn's receptionist who had told him this, before nodding and continuing on his way.

"Uzumaki-san? Your room?" The receptionist called back at him, causing him to turn towards her. 

"I don't need it anymore. Thank you." Hikaru said. 

"You can't possibly be thinking of-" The receptionist paused, before heaving a sigh. "Nevermind. Have a good afternoon, Uzumaki-san."

"Thank you. You as well." Hikaru waved slightly, before continuing his walk down the street. Now, thinking about it, if he distracted himself enough, he could just pretend he was on a mission from Konoha and wasn't running from his problems. 

A small voice whispered an add-on in his head, and Hikaru brushed it away. 

___

Three days he'd spent trying to reach them. Three nights he spent crafting seals that would explode Kazuku's hearts. He tied the seals to kunai, and made another seal that would make him faster. The night before he would reach them he stashed his Konoha hitai-ate away and took off his chakra suppression seal. 

He'd fought real monsters most people wouldn't be able to dream of.

These guys would be a joke. 

___

Hikaru walked along the pathway, humming uncharacteristicly to himself. He made it seem like he was lazy, unskilled despite his large amount of chakra. Hikaru knew Hidan was right behind him, and somewhere behind Hikaru, Kazuku lay.

A whistling of wind behind him made a smirk bloom on his lips. He twisted out of the way of Hidan's sythe, a very loud exclamation following.

"Hidan." Hikaru greeted, ducking under another swipe of Hidan's sythe. The metal glinted in the sun, hurting Hikaru's eyes but he just leapt back.