Simplicity is Complexity

by OpposingForce

Three years of absense can create a lot of gaps in friendships. Despite that, however, on his return he realizes someone still loves him deeply, and yet he can't seem to find the heart to love her. NaruHina.

21. News of Undercity

Simplicity is Complexity

Chapter 21: News of Undercity

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Guilty Gear isn't mine. And what else isn't mine? My life? My future? Your future? Someone else's life? Whatever.

AN: I really can't think of anything to say right now. Sorry for the late update, sorry for my work, sorry for making money, and sorry for updating another story when I still had this one to deal with. My supporters, my, you people are my saviours. I can't thank you enough for enjoying this piece of fiction for as long as you have. I truly enjoyed writing it.

Two to three more chapters and it's the end. Thank you all for your persistent endurance.

(Outskirts of Konoha, near the West Gate)

So we continued to fight –what a drag. As far as I knew, I was not being too serious towards this battle when it came to hurting her. Despite my dark, bloodthirsty nature and craving for raw meat, I actually wanted to preserve her, perhaps for the sake of savouring her later. That was my dark side talking. The truth was, no matter how ridiculously it sounded, as much as I loved combat, senseless battles were not rewarding at all –and it made it worse if I was losing. Was I at the disadvantage then? Why, yes, I was. During our clashes, Tenten already shattered my chakra forged blade more than once, and she was only so eager to do so again if I decided to activate it. Why, of course I had to activate it; without it I would be utterly defenseless.

Being on the losing side was never a good sign.

And with relationships, victory was precious.

"Alpha Blade!" I yelled, charging my body with ki and dashed across the field in one slide to slash whatever part I could hit. Instead of evading, she performed her own swipe before both of our weapons collided into a stalemate. I tried to gain the upper hand, but I knew the initial force was the only reason why I was still in this clash, and soon enough I would be overpowered once more due to the physical superiority she had over me. Sure, there were other solutions to by pass this, such as be quicker than her so I could poke her to death. However, despite that plan, it didn't help if her agility rivaled mine. I couldn't perform any sneak attacks at all, and it made it even worse if she managed to reversal them all as swiftly as I attacked. My eyes were opened, and I was seriously wondering if I was being lied to. Her speed was good, but not great, and I was great. In that case, why were we equal? This was not the way to go, I could not allow her to continue to find out more of my frailties, and thus, I back-flipped the moment she pulled back her knife before giving out a wild swing that would be considered a perfect cut.

I was sure my intestines would have been sliced in twos (or perhaps threes or fours) if that made contact.

I landed on my fours, like a zombie or ghoul who just crawled out of their graves from premature immense shadow magic. It was hard to break natural instincts, for this, technically speaking, was my best fighting style, in which was mindless brutality. Come to think of it, this undead stance did not seem that bad –given that my body was flexible enough to perform this. I had to thank Tenten for making me discover this. Despite that, my rationality just proved to be a little better.

Not wasting another second, the weapon mistress reached behind her and then whipped out a several shirukens towards my direction. Once more, I flipped back to dodge, but she simultaneously charged for me as I did so in order to test how far I could go in simply evading. Unfortunately for her, her intentions did not go unnoticed, but that didn't mean that I had a lot of power to keep on moving like a machine. As much as I wanted it to be true, the Undead also shared a limited amount of stamina.

Hurriedly, as though I had no other option, in which I didn't, I moved to the left as her blade came rushing down from above before slicing the ground to make a distinct dent. Actually, the shattering force on that last slash almost caused my arm to dislocate, and I wasn't talking about internal dislocation. I was saying that it was going to come off, literally. Perhaps I got a little distracted, because Tenten certainly took this absentmindedness of mine and made me pay for it with a heavy kick to the face.

"Kuso!"

As a result, I was sent flying back, and it was definitely a heavenly miracle that I managed to roll in the air a several times and actually landed safely, but not that gracefully when I stumbled a few steps without actually falling yet. In all seriousness, I could care less by this point. Instantly, as though I was powered impulsively, I dashed right back at her at extreme speed that could've blinded most people if their capabilities, or awareness, were not at my caliber. I knew Tenten, when I saw her dark smile, was beyond capable. Her own sense of indoctrinated combat skills told her to take on the defensive stance, in which was more of a reversal stance since she was going to do a reversal the instant she defended against whatever kick, slash, punch or whatnot that was coming her way. This woman was not too hard to read, no, for I was quite a master at stances myself, and from the gist of it her stance was full of flaws when it came to projectile attacks.

And that was exactly what I did.

I powered my body with ki while commencing this horrifically speedy glide. "Gamma Blade!" I yelled and fired out the humanoid shaped 'blade'. Tenten, as predicted, did not anticipate such a surprise attack and got trapped into the five-star prison that came from the Gamma Blade's effect upon hit. As much as she wanted to struggle, it was futile, for she would be trapped like that for at least three seconds, and that was more than enough time to give back a fraction of the agony she caused me.

So I did it with haste.

"Suki!" I yelled as I punched her right in the face with a flaming fist while the Gamma Blade affect broke immediately upon heavy contact. She might not be trapped in my energy prison now, but her body was in a stun that allowed me to chain on my assaults smoothly and effectively. Like my usual chain of attacks, I continued with my kick. "Miyachi!" I resumed my crushing chain with a dangerous forward spinning flame kick right to her gut so hard that she vomited. And now it was to connect it off with all the strength this undead body could summon, "Banzai!" With this forward jump sickle kick right to her shoulder blade, I could almost guarantee that it could have shattered bones if I packed more power, but the pain was more than enough to satisfy the simple me if that were all the damage it could do. I knew that much when she screamed agonizingly, in which, no doubt, was music to my ears.

And just to be on the safe side, I added a fierce double palm push to maximize the defenselessness and the pain she held.

The sooner I knocked her out the better.

This time around, I really lost my touch. No, I wasn't referring to my elegant chain of attacks, but I failed to pay attention to the fact that she switched her right knife with a one-handed katana, in which obviously came out of nowhere –she really needed to tell someone how she did that. Clearly, her attacks now had a longer delay in comparison to her daggers or knives, but the swiping range, a fact not oblivious to me, drastically increased. What was I was trying to say was, as dumb as it may sound, I got hit badly once she did a reversal right after my palm strike. Not only was her recovery fast, and insanely bewildering, my stupidity only brought forth a further disadvantage.

Where did I get hit… sure, it was nothing serious… just a clean deep cut on my lower stomach area… and the searing pain just continued to escalate when I tried my best to subdue it.

Like I mentioned before, my inner system was not as vital in comparison to a human's, but that alone couldn't guarantee the confidence of sustaining ridiculous amounts of damage. Think about it, if I lost my head… well, even the miracles of Anthris could only do so much for a dismantled body. It hurt, but it was still manageable; in my standards, anyway. At least I tried to comfort myself in that way, yet it wasn't working as I planned it to when I was starting to lose blood, or death venom that worked nearly as good as human blood when defiled with elements of an undead.

Damn it… I was too careless… I prayed to God that this wouldn't affect my agility, but I already believed that this became unavoidable. I had to try to minimize my liabilities at all costs by ending this fast. But how was I supposed to do that when my abilities were diminishing as I spoke, where as she was still as powerful as ever?

"I am not going to let you rest!" roared Tenten, coming at me again in a sprint with her katana in hand. I quickly sidestepped to the right just in time to dodge, but that in itself sparked up a lot of problems. In terms of natural reaction, it was not incorrect for me to do so when my intent was to save myself. However, although I did dodge it, and for knowing my own body for as long as I have, I definitely caught on to the speed drop. I was sure Tenten realized it as well, and possibly that was why she actually took a risk to forcefully stop herself from her charge, in which had major interruptions that slowed her down, before making a sharp turn to rush her weapon like a drill the moment I made my attempt to evade.

In spite of her major speed drop in her rushing attack, I still found it immensely quick and nearly impossible to evade. In other words, I was treading on thin ice.

"Shimata…" I cursed, this time barely got myself to get out of harm's way.

"Not good enough!" I did not see her left fist was prepared the whole time, and she of course did not waste such a good opportunity when I was off guard. As a result, I was punched critically in the face with limited resistance on my part as I fell a several feet away distastefully.

"Naruto!" Rika called out my name in horror. "Get up… get up!"

"Shi-ne-nassai! (Die!)" Tenten roared as she jumped to the skies, readying herself to a deathblow dive, in which involved her blade stabbing wherever she planned at high speed with gravity serving as her asset. When was gravity my asset? The last time I depended on it I ended up dying, literally. Nevertheless, my body had not completely failed me yet, for I was still able to summon up some speed to roll away before Tenten, again, cleansed the semi-paved road with one of her heaviest blows. "Crap…"

My roll ended at five feet away from her and I leapt back up to my feet. "Gamma Blade!" I fired out my ensnaring projectile at close range. Believe me, I was excited, excited because at this range there was no way that she could get out of the way in time. Once I had that three seconds of absolute immunity, in which was disability on her part, she would be gone.

Or so I thought.

My optimistic thinking had its results as soon as I had such wishful thinking. After being hit once, Tenten promised herself to not get struck twice by the same dangerous technique that could lead to some devastating outcomes. Thus, to respond, she whipped a kunai right at the blade. My eyes filled with horror when my attack caught a kunai and not my target, and she smirked ever so victoriously to watch this failure. This did prove to be a major setback, for she realized the weakness of this attack. Although I could use this as a shield against projectile attacks or even physical attacks, this was not a very good offensive technique when it could be nullified it something else was thrown into the picture as an interruption. Secondly, I was left quite vulnerable after shooting.

Why was she so difficult? Was it due to my psychological fear for her, or was it because she was this much more talented and experienced when it came to combat? I didn't know anymore, I didn't want to think about it at all. The more wondering the more uncertainties, and as each second went by my fears increased. Did I not have a reason? I was physically weaker, my advantage, which was my speed, was decreasing, and now I was losing blood! As long as I prolonged this, the victory would be decided for sure, and it would definitely not be me at any rate.

I knew what I needed to do, but that would require an incredible amount of strength, intelligence, agility, power, and defense, in which I did not possess … Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, I think… Despite this, it was better off not trying at all.

I was not going to let her gain the upper hand –maybe, just maybe, an overdrive attack might just do the job.

Without thinking, for that had too much delay, I decided to just do it –for once. "Banki Messai!" I yelled out before charging in at max speed like a madman that believed there was no tomorrow, "Shi-ne! (Die!)"

"What are you trying to do?" Tenten said, snickering amusedly as she suddenly moved out the way by sidestepping. By the time I realized what initially happened, it was far from too late. I was beyond in jeopardy. If jeopardy was a stage that I could go back to, even I would've picked it; for that was somewhere that I could retrace my steps and regain that spot of certainty and confidence. Now, everything was one step too late. Not saying another word, Tenten ducked under the very first punch in my overdrive right before she smashed her fist to my stomach.

"Nanda… cor… re… (What is this…)" I asked myself despite the pain, or the fact that I was stumbling backwards but not falling just yet. A second later, the pain shot through my whole body in a paralyzing manner.

I can't move…

"You have no time to fuck around!" she continued as she plotted with her next move, in which was a heavy kick reversal to the exact same spot she struck just now.

As if I was going to let that happen again…

I suddenly disappeared to make her strike nothing but fresh air. She quickly landed her foot without taking too much of a stride, but she was more determined to find out where I vanished to. As far as she remembered, Tenten knew humans, or things in general, wouldn't simply fade like that. The trick, according to her, was substance substitution. Whether the philosophy was actually true or not, this was not the best time to be pondering. There was always time for questions –after she had successfully taken my head off this body.

"Where are you…" she hissed angrily, vigorously looking around for any trace of my appearance. When she found the battlefield a little too quiet, Tenten became a little paranoid. "Come out come out wherever you are… I won't hurt you… Much…"

What a splendid thing to say… That was expected from this woman… I couldn't have stated it any better…

How about it that I fresh things up a bit?

And with that thought in mind, I immediately appeared right before her unexpectedly. All she managed to do was gasp in fear, in which I loved to taste. And in one ferocious twist, I plowed my knee right into her stomach. Sure, it did not deal much damage, but the stunning abilities worked like a charm. With Tenten temporarily unable to move, it was my turn to have my share of fun. I started out slow with a several quick punches to the chest, then moving on with medium slashes around her whole torso before I took one heavier upward slash around her shoulder area to inflict that searing pain. That was eight hits, and I decided to do a little climatic act to make my combat performance a little more fashionable, or tasteful and stylish for the betterment of the impression I give people whether they lived or died after this encounter.

This is when my double palm crush push smashed against her breasts. I was not trying to be a pervert for striking that area, nor did Tenten truly cared what part of her was attacked under these circumstances of constant tension, and if I was her enemy then I shouldn't either just to be on the merciless side than be considerate; since she wasn't going to be offering any kindness anytime soon. With that crushing blow, it made it so much easier for me to vanish with a trail of leaves falling behind. In less than a second, I was, if I were any stronger, crippling her waist with my legs entangling, one arm locking her left shoulder while my right arm ready for breaking her neck. By the time she realized that she was ensnared by another being, her retaliation was a bit too futile.

"Genrou Zan!" I initiated my neck-breaker with full force. A loud slashing sound was heard as I ran my blade across her neck. She had no time to scream that yell she wanted to release the pain, and that made it so much more satisfying when a wish as simple as that could not be fulfilled. What joy, yes… And so I released her as I jumped away to let her fall, and of course using this time to prepare for my next little treat for this beautiful lady. And by treat, I meant deathblow.

Or so I believed…

Tenten's endurance was something to admire –given that I was on her side. To have such a talent to be used against me was a nuisance than of help, because she recovered in no time (to make it worse, she was nearly unharmed) and right before I even managed to touch her (no perverted intent intended,) she touched me first. Needless to say, it was nothing close to a friendly tap; it was more of a heavy back-flip kick to the skull. I moved at the nick of time to have her foot shaving my unholy skin, but Tenten was barely satisfied with just that. In that spirit, once she landed after her back flip she swiftly, and fiercely, spun around to face me as she cruelly attempted to stab me. My instincts told me to evade, in which I did with plenty of grace, yet my dodging could only do so much under the influence that my agility was starting to fade. Hell, my consciousness was failing on me as well for I was barely able to stay awake under such intense tension while losing blood.

Still, after all that damage, how was she able to keep herself in tact? I, on the other hand, was losing it after each blow. Why was that? What the hell was up with her endurance? As much as I loved to accuse her of cheating, or working under some sort of spell from God, or perhaps I was just dreaming, but that did not seem to be the case. But one thing I was certain of was that this battle's outcome was obvious unless I started to do something drastic.

I prayed to God that my primary overdrive was drastic enough.

I made a risky sidestep once more when she gave a thrust forward with her armed hand, and immediately, I stood in a stance that was unique for that single overdrive. Tenten did not know what the heck I was doing, but she took the chance of advancing anyway. The sooner she took me down, the better chances for her to take less damage and jeopardizing her situation. As if I had the power to jeopardize anything, she had the most amazing recovery than any other opponent I had faced. However, she didn't realize that it was already too late. Once I stood in that stance with my ki powering my body up, I was invulnerable for that short amount of time, and that alone was sufficient to regain that edge that was required to turn this battle around.

"Die!"

"Too late," I said in a quiet tone, and then I glided right at her with a swiftness that was beyond my usual tactics. Even with her skills, she was struck hard in the chest. It was perfect. As long as the first hit did damage, she was trapped in my little chain of dangers. Knowing her, the weapon mistress obviously gave it her all to recoil and escape, but I made sure her efforts were washed down the drain when I suddenly returned from behind her with my second slash. This time, she screamed in a screech. I attacked with this coordination of assaults for another four times, each one of them landing a perfectly critical swipe on some part of her luscious body while I gradually got her up in the mid air. Someone should have been videotaping this art of beauty for a Konoha Heritage moment, but my memory of it was more than suffice. Lastly, upon the seventh hit, where I was a foot above her with my blade fully energized and ready to make a dangerous dive, something changed and I failed to notice it. Simultaneously, this was when I announced the name of my attack.

"Zanzei Rouga!" I yelled out and dived, hard.

Did I succeed?

I wished.

At the final, and the most crucial strike, Tenten hurriedly moved her katana right between her body and my incoming blade. Therefore, we clashed in mid air with me above and Tenten below as we were descending incredibly fast towards mother earth. I didn't believe this… she was blocking my Zanzei Rouga! The previous hits were child's play in comparison to this, and now this miraculous display of ultimate defense… what the fuck was she? Was this another miracle worker? Or perhaps a combatant that showed invincibility and unbelievable results regardless of the circumstances? Was she an android? Why was she not hurt at all? It was an equivalent trade of damage, if not more on my part! Yet I was losing and she was unaffected… Why! What was I doing wrong? What sort of powers did she have? Regardless of my attacks, she was able to get back up for more in exchange of my limited stamina! Having gravity right now on my side was fantastic, and I only pressed onto my attack fiercely and aggressively, hoping to break that sword and gouge out any inner organs within my reach.

Oh, damn, that would have been sweet…

"Teme!" I hoarsely roared as I applied more power. "Give up and die!" Her katana could take no more pressure, and the minute I gave additional force in my charge, her blade snapped in two. A catch followed, however, and it was something that I wasn't expecting. At a time like this, why was I suffering from chakra drainage? Nothing ever seemed right when it was an emergency…

I was thinking of slicing her, but in the end all I did was deliver a punch. Needless to say, a punch between a slash that had the potential to slice open someone had major differences, but now I had no other choice but to work with whatever I had left.

Believe me that was as optimistic as I could put it, because I was more than just pissed.

Having no choice left, I smashed her chest with my left fist right before I made a rolling flip to prepare my body for the next strike, and by now we were close to the ground. Unless Tenten managed to work out some sort of phenomenon, she would be the one who would reach ground zero with dangerous results. And I was planning to keep things that way. I would end everything with a Naruto Rendan or something within those lines, but I chose a more fashionable approach. It was simple, yet effective: A powerful heel stomp right into her gut simultaneously as she hit ground.

Blood exploded from her lips, as though she was suffering from an incurable sickness, and I knew that no matter if I didn't hurt her at all from before, this one had a dangerous effect. Speaking of effects, my body was now suffering from the damages. I had to reach a compromise; either I allow my body to rest by collapsing or struggle to stay awake. I didn't know what hit me to declare forfeit, but I chose to simply collapse.

"Naruto!" Rika cried out in a panic as she saw me falling forward. Empowered with nothing but raw concern, Rika ran out of her hiding spot and rushed herself to catch me in time. Deep down, I was surprised that she actually made it in time, but even more so when my face fell onto her breasts. At this point, no doubt, I'd rather keep quiet… or I could simply nuzzle to feel her generous cleavage more in depth… but that would be a little disgraceful. She removed my head from her chest as she gently placed it on her lap as she slowly kneeled down. "Oh, Naruto… you're so hurt… Oh my goodness…"

"I'll…" I coughed, "… live…"

"You were great still," she praised with a smile, in which was threatening to cry. "Why… why did that girl want to take you down so badly?"

"She hates me… that's all…"

"Naze-desuka (Why?)…" I winced when she stroked my cheek. When she tried to see if my arm was okay, she nearly screamed when her hand was smeared with blood with just one feathering touch. Despite that I had a shirt, or whatever harness I was actually wearing as an undead, the cloth could not take in anymore wetness. My body reeked of blood, and I couldn't say I relished it as much as I thought I would when this bleeding caused me to be in this critical stage.

"Why… I really want to know why, too, actually…" It was hard to have a sense of humour sometimes, and my attempts to make it work shattered when Rika was in no mood to joke. "Perhaps I wasn't treating the people that she held importance to rightly… Who knows, ne… At least I finally beat her…"

To our disbelief, we heard her from behind us. "Not quite, love procrastinator…" I quickly got my act together despite my inability to move, or move well, but I had to witness what was happening now with my own eyes. And I didn't like what I was seeing. Even with trails of blood coming from her lips, or even if she was standing very weakly, or perhaps the fact that she was inhaling and exhaling audibly, I still found this unbelievably ridiculous. How could she still be standing? She should be down for the count… but no, she was alive… very much alive… and the only good thing for me was that she was wounded, drained, and barely standing properly. As advantageous as it might be, I did not gain enough confidence in this asset.

"Bitch…" I cursed, now refusing Rika's body as my pillow or whatnot as I tried to stand up, and of course I had my share of immense difficulties. "You won't stay down, would you? What is with this persistence?"

"I will not allow myself to lose to you!"

"Because you like that feeling of victory lingering in your soul? You sure have quite the pride, ojo-san,"

"After everyone you hurt… Hinata… Lee… do you think I am just going to let you go?"

"You don't know when to mind your own business, little human," I commented, "You just like to poke your nose when you know that you shouldn't. When it's your fault to begin with, I always receive the outcomes from your rage or foolishness. Why is that anyway? When have I become your stress relief puppet?"

"You deserve it for being unkind!"

"Who are you to tell me that, human? What right do you have… what kind of power do you have to say such things? I am not your stress reliever whether you like it or not. I am not alive to be involved in your pathetic games."

"Urusai! Urusai! Urusai! (Shut Up! Shut up! Shut up!) Lee is miserable and it's all because of you! Not only if you not shown any remorse, you think you are correct? You bastard!"

In maximum rage, she reached behind her to take out another katana right before she crazily ran at me with whatever agility she had left from my previous onslaught. Although it was not the quickest, but given my condition… it was plenty quick enough. In fact, it was so fast that I knew I couldn't escape from it regardless of what I did. I gave it my all, in which was whatever remaining strength I had, to move my arm to defend… but that would be suicide! I hurriedly corrected my choice and shoved Rika away to protect her from being harmed, where as I, at the same time, had her blade shave off half of the flesh on my face. My skull was still in tact, but that was one of the worst pains I ever faced.

Rika screamed in horror at the amount of blood gushing out from my head, where as I could barely make a sound when I literally felt my face rotting away when there was no chakra running through them anymore. Did Tenten stop? Never, no… Just when she realized that she damaged half my face, she wanted to deal with the other half just for the sake of symmetry. She raised her weapon above her head and ruthlessly slashed down. Without any thinking, I defensively took my left arm in between her designated target in a vain attempt to protect myself.

And she just sliced my left arm from my elbow… And I howled painfully after that… I've forgotten about my pride… for it was no longer an issue worth worrying when the situation never looked more doomed. I was afraid… but why… didn't I want to die? It had been my wish for a while now, but now when I looked up fearfully at the bloodthirsty Tenten... I didn't know why I was actually struggling to survive, as though I wanted to live through this… Perhaps it was the injustice behind it that my life shouldn't be taken away by some evildoer when I had the power to help it.

Or was there something else involved?

Who cared about that…

"Naruto!" Rika screeched, paralyzed with terror at the sight before her. "Naruto!"

"Kuso… kono-yaro…" I winced as I cursed her thoroughly. "My arm… my face… you egotistical, undeserving… arrogant bitch!"

"Please…" begged Rika to Tenten in tears. "Don't hurt him anymore… he'll really die… I don't know what he did to you… but please… don't hurt Naruto like that anymore… I beg of you…"

"Just die!" And then the hammer fell, metaphorically speaking; but literally speaking, she did let her hand come down.

Just when everything seemed lost, another sword intervened to save my unholy life. "What the…"

"What's this…" Tenten angrily inquired at the intruder, who she did not even detect until she saw her face to face. "Who the hell are you?"

"Leave my apprentice alone, woman," my master ordered with bloody red eyes instead of her usual charming dark green ones. "Take one more swing, and I will kill you."

"Master? Naruto has a master? And a woman, too…?"

"Get out of here, now, before I change my mind." To prove her point, Anthris gave one upward slash as she destroyed Tenten's weapon easily into pieces of useless metal fragments. Having no choice, the weapon mistress leapt backward a fair distance where it was considered safe. "Never bother my apprentice again."

Letting out a grunt, the mistress ended her determined pursuit as she broke the weapon clash violently Tenten leapt to the skies in a displeasing manner right before she used a common ninjutsu skill to disappear. As Anthris gradually felt that the hostile presence was no longer lingering nearby, she rushed herself to care for me. Bottom line was… well, she was horrified when she saw me covered in blood from head to toe –especially when she quickly noticed that half my face was broken off and my skull was totally visible for public view. "Oh my God… how could she do this to you…" my master and Rika just broke down and wept. "I'm so sorry… Naruto-chan…"

"I'll live…" I told them with as much reassurance I could donate, in which was gone when I coughed out more blood. "Or perhaps not, ne…"

"Don't die on me, Naruto," Rika cried out loudly as she embraced my bloodsoaked body. She didn't care how hideous I now looked; all it mattered was that I was safe. No, I was not on safegrounds just yet, because if I didn't stop bleeding I would be dead for good. "Anthris-sama… don't you have any healing jutsus? Save him, Anthris-sama!"

"I'll do whatever I can," the demon lady told my friend with concerned written all over. Rika was not dumb enough not to catch it, for she knew Anthris did not hold too much confidence in her voice. "Please, Naruto-chan, hang on…" And then my master used her shadow magic to commence on whatever healing she knew.

I passed out soon after that. My face still stung painfully in spite that I fainted; surely enough it had to be the worst discomfort yet.

(Morning of many days after)

Regardless if I was unconscious for the past… how many days… or weeks, I had been in pain. There wasn't a moment that my mind wasn't creating or thinking of nightmares, and if my mind wasn't venturing through the vicinities of uncertainties, dread, or horror, then the physical searing torment around my body, in which was especially on my face and left arm would kindly remind me of my dangerous crisis. I didn't mind too much about being utterly beaten, for I was quite used to losing, but this time… I kept thinking what I did to deserve this. As far as I knew, this was not a normal injury; the severity of it was far from reasonable. Did I deserve to lose half my face and left arm? At this point, I realized that my left arm had healed thanks to Anthris, but the searing pain across my face was still there and alive as ever.

"Fuck…" I mumbled in my sleep with evident hostility.

"He's waking up," I heard a woman's voice faintly. Due to my weakness, I barely caught who it was. At least I knew it was a woman… but who though? Was it Hinata? Rika, perhaps? I doubted that it was Anthris. It didn't matter who it was, actually; I wished to be left utterly alone. I might have slept for days, but more rest wouldn't be that bad. With my pride suffering at an all time low, I needed the time while I was conscious to think about what I have done. Come to think of it, this was all Tenten's fault! Damn her…

"Where am I?" I groaned, as though something clogged in my throat. During the times I was ill, I never had the passion to act, and therefore, when I coughed, I really was coughing.

"You're at Konoha Hospital,"

This place again… ne…

"And you are…"

"Just a nurse," she replied as sweetly as she could, in which made me grin by a bit. "Are you feeling better?"

"If I could choose death, I'd pick that… Too bad I am alive…"

"Don't say that," she said kindheartedly, which I thought was something I thought I wouldn't hear again. "Do you want me to bring in any visitors? You are in good enough condition to have visitors, Uzumaki-san, and I am sure they would just be thrilled to see you."

"Save it," I told her straightly and directly with a bit of coldness as well. "I don't want to see anyone right now… besides you, since you are here before I could help it."

She received an impression that I wanted her to leave once she took a step back. Even so, there were still some questions she must ask as an employee of the hospital. Her haste, which I caught, told me she wanted to end this as soon as her talking skills could provide, and that just annoyed me. "Should I tell them that you are okay then?"

It took a lot of my restraint to bark at her. In the end, in order to keep my share of courtesy, I simply spoke calmly. "Do as you wish, little human, just don't let them come in, is that alright with you?"

The nurse took a small bow. "Certainly, Uzumaki-san."

"Thank you…"

With that said, the nurse left the room to provide me with all the personal space I needed to have my emotional healing at top notch. I didn't give much of my thanks, but I guessed the grin she caught on me did prove its effect. Whether I slept after that or watched the scenery that the window, or windows, actually, provided I knew it was only a matter of time before my body gave in to sleep. To the very least, my dreams were a lot more peaceful this time around; I wouldn't be suffering from any of those irritating energy exhaustions.

(Three Hours later)

There was a knocking on the door at this time. I was just reading a good part of one of the novel that was inside the shelf adjacent to my bed, and conveniently, it was another explicit sexual scene. It was oddly pleasant, the content, I meant. It was definitely better than Jiraiya's lusty smut where either party had a reason to penetrate another but to satisfy their sexual hunger just because they had no one special to share it with. So, in the end, Jiraiya always had the hero or heroine fucking every person of the opposite sex in the novel (more than once, obviously) from beginning to end. I wouldn't be surprised to see vagina in the first paragraph, in all seriousness… Sometimes, I really wondered how I survived this long with that man…

If I lived alone all the time, I wonder if the outcome would be any different. Who was I trying to kid? If I didn't indoctrinate my senses with some purity, I would've slept with Anthris everyday that I have known her.

And so the knocking continued when I tried my best to ignore it; who could be so persistent?

"Naruto-kun, are you in there?" the voice from the other side reached my side of the kingdom when she decided to speak. I quickly classified this voice was Hinata's.

Should I respond? I didn't want to project myself at this point, but the fact was my face was still hurting. Then again, moving my lips did not necessary mean I needed to move my cheek much… but during the periods that I was hospitalized (I was a frequent customer) I tended to get a little lazy and dependant. Well, I didn't want to be a liability… so I was more or less just lazy. Couldn't be that bad, and it was a good tradeoff sometimes!

"Did they switch rooms for him?" asked another girl, who I recognized as Rika.

"That's not possible though. The nurse did say he was in here."

"Then why is he not answering?"

"Could he be asleep?"

"That is very possible, Hinata-chan,"

"Should we enter anyway?"

"But he is asleep. That would be rude."

"How about we surprise him?"

"You want to do that?"

"Sure, why not? It's Naruto-kun after all. He wouldn't mind."

"I'm not really in the mood… I feel so useless. You know, I actually didn't want to visit him knowing that I didn't do anything to help him… I couldn't do a thing!"

The guilt talk… Women… they had days to have a thorough discussion about that, so why were they bringing that shit up right outside my door? When I was down for the count that was the perfect time to do all that reconciliation garbage that typical people with a conscience would do. As far as I was concerned, it was not Rika's fault that I lost my face and arm. She was not a shinobi, nor did she know any basic combat techniques, and then why would I blame her? Hell, although Tenten had to be the number one bitch that had a ranking equivalent to a queen, it was my fault to be so weak to allow her to use her arrogance on me to her liking. If I was stronger, I could be teaching her a lesson. But I got beat –totally beat.

"It's not your responsibility, Rika-chan,"

"You won't understand. You're strong, Hinata-chan, you would've been able to defend him. But, I, unlike you, just watched him get hurt… I saw it all… I could not do a thing to stop her… to help him… why do these things have to happen to him?"

"I don't know either… but I am sure Naruto-kun wouldn't mind if you just talk to him. He doesn't hold grudges like these, nor is he dumb enough to let that sway his thinking."

"Sure thing, Hinata-chan,"

Without further adieu, the girls, of course they failed to do another knock check, barged their way in. Minutes before, I shuffled my novel back into the drawer, and immediately fell back into the sleep that I was feigning in. That God I made it in time, or I would be passionately swooned by those two lovely ladies. They placed whatever they brought with them, probably gifts or food or significant others, and moved around the boundaries of my bed before they gave a caring observation of my sleeping form. I was sure that they found me attractive despite my inability to motion, and needless to say, I was a little worried if their emotions got a little too high for their own good. I was a good actor, yes, but the pressure they were giving (a fact oblivious to Hinata and Rika) had its negative effects, in which could not be ignored so simply.

"He's so cute, don't you think, Rika-chan?" asked Hinata in a hopeful voice –not to mention adorable.

"He is," agreed Rika, her breathing got heavier as I heard a several licks from her tongue. I knew she got in the mood immediately, since she never licked her lips during the times that she weren't. This was a bad sign and I knew it. "I want to kiss him… as an apology…."

She was kidding, right? Kiss me? Now? When I was down and unconscious? What was the fun in that? If I was going to be kissed, then wouldn't it be more efficient if I was conscious enough to feel their tongues slipping into my mouth? Wasn't that altogether more cherishing than having a make out session with a dead man? I was speaking metaphorically, of course, but still… passionately kiss a fainted person… that was a little much. But I couldn't see the motives behind their reason, but perhaps… just perhaps… they wanted no resistance on my part, and thus they would tenderize me in anyway they wished, in any shape or form. That was freaky. Their nature was nasty –it was nasty by nature.

Fuck, why the hell was I even thinking about this?

As I was saying before, I already knew how much they wanted their share of affection, for they were like dark beasts who wouldn't stand for anything that stood in their way. When Rika said that she wanted to kiss me, she truly meant it. And so how long had I been pondering for? Two minutes? Three? Or was it five? Bottom line was the longer I took, the worse it became for me, for Rika did not like to be too patient whenever it came to things such as romance, and having to wait an additional five minutes to get what she craved for was not an option that should be coming up. With that said, she already lowered herself comfortably and slowly, as though perfection was needed in order to claim my lips before she showered her own share of love.

I quickly opened my eyes for a brief second just to see my predictions a dreadful reality. In fact, it was so real that if it weren't for my indoctrinated, talented, deceitfully great acting skills, I would suffer from such a massive shock that it would make a stroke seem fake. There she was, Sawada Rika, eyes closed, lips puckered cutely, lowering down so sensually that any normal men, regardless of their physical condition, would instantly spark up their hormones and take her immediately. I was, in comparison typical guys, fearing for my life. Sure, taking the initiative to kiss Rika wasn't something unreasonable, nor was it a hassle. But right now, with me being unconscious in their eyes, this was a bit much. This was when I took this miraculous opportunity to spy on the Hyuuga girl, and I couldn't say that I was liking what I was seeing. Hinata appeared to be anxious… or was she envious? I could no longer differentiate despite my intelligence, in which was most unfortunate. From what I could gather… Hinata wasn't too willing to have Rika take all the fun, but it wouldn't be fair to simply rob it away either. Yet, she couldn't find something to do to ease of that tension.

I didn't fully know, but both girls were obviously very turned on although the initial reason was still currently very oblivious to me.

So the predicament lingers and I had two choices: one; get up and halt Rika from proceeding as she planned, or two; continue to sleep and be smothered by two women who were nearly qualified as my wife as they relentless commence their affectionate assault, in which could be considered as rape if I ever dared to report it to the authorities. And somehow I predicted that the authorities were bribed long ago by their extreme sensuality and attractiveness. Rika and Hinata were dangerous; I had to keep my defenses and negativity at top notch to ensure my victories. Victories were nothing but a good asset to boast about in the future to nobodies who had no successes to experience the illusion of being successful. In that spirit, I just hated to lose.

Back to Rika and her ridiculously lustful hormones, I was wondering if being smothered by these gorgeous girls was such an awful thing. How could I, a straight man, refuse an offer that millions of men were dying for; how could I be rejecting a wish that defined my heterosexuality? As far as anyone was concerned, any guy who dared to walk away with an offer that great must have been gay. In all honesty, making fun of someone like that was not the most noble thing to do, and there were just times I couldn't help myself –at least I controlled my hormones better. After taking some other factors into consideration, getting raped willingly was just immorally wrong; it disgusted even me.

Whether I made a firm decision to wake up, I found myself a little too late when Rika fully kissed me on the mouth. She was apologetic and the kiss itself was a sign of total surrender, begging for repentance for her helplessness. Despite that, that feeling died down and was replaced by her lust. I knew she was passionate; she loved every second of it, and what more could I say? Oh, and Hinata was biting her lips the whole time as though she wanted a part of the action… but didn't she see me flailing? I was undead, hell, but I still needed to breathe! Did I just make another discovery; that my lungs were not as capable and powerful as human lungs? Okay, I needed air… what happened to my sweet air? No, she sealed my lips too tight… this had to be the worst way to get killed. Was there anyone in history that their life ended during a make out session –not rape- while both parties were willing to go that far, and I just so happened to die due to suffocation. That would be utterly retarded and humiliating, and I dared to call myself a shinobi? Goddamn it, I would rather hide that fact to save any pride and dignity (or the remains of it.) Nothing could be more pathetic than that.

And so I decided to make a move –after thirty seconds worth of lingering in that lip lock. If I didn't release now, I could not guarantee the safety of Rika's shirt being on her for much longer despite her initial intent was ask for forgiveness. Hell, a kiss might easily change into sex. Then, I instinctively held on to her hips, in which she responded with a pleasant gasp, and soon I returned the kiss with my own tongue performing a dangerous set of moves to invade her mouth. Her moans became louder and more passionate, the body heat that continued to radiate, I knew what sort of good job I was doing to turn her on, and damn I was good. Of course, good things always came to an end. Just at that precise second that things were reaching on to the climatic point, I pulled away to regain that precious air I had been lacking, in which I pretended that nothing was wrong but it a fact that was oblivious to them where I was one step away from meeting death.

"Naruto-kun, you're awake," said a delightful Hinata, whose smile was always a great sight to witness for depressed spirits, "I was so worried."

"Why did you stop?" complained Rika, who was blushing quite madly as she cleaned her lips sensually while taking gentle steps back away from the bed. "You were getting to the good part, too…"

"Gomen-ne, Rika," I said, grinning victoriously as the position I placed my dear friend in was a losing one than a winning one. "I needed to breathe."

"You're so mean to me…" she mocked her whining with an elegant season of cuteness. "Naruto is so bad…"

Then, in an instant, both girls sat next to me from opposite directions of the bed, taking each of my hands with their own holy ones. What was with the good service today? Should I be hurt more often so I could live like a king, and not worry about a single thing? Seemed like a fair trade, actually, for nothing was fair for me as long as I was breathing. Not in life, not in training, not in ranks, and not even romance.

"How is your face, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her seriousness returning as she moved her hand to my left cheek and gently turned my face to look at hers. Her face was shocked when she saw the left half of my face covered with a think plaster cast type of thing, in which looked absolutely hideous but it enhanced my undead features by quite a bit. Rika took her chance to do a minor inspection of her own, and she didn't like what she saw either. In fact, that guilty expression did not go unnoticed by me, and soon enough her eyes swelled up to see dried blood seeping through that thick, plaster bandage, in which now left an illusionary charred scar that seemed to have burned deeply into my flesh. To Rika, this must've been a horrific sight; but to me, it was a deliverance of character –someone who survived through hundreds and thousands of battles. As pacifists, however, the girls just couldn't see things my way.

"How could that woman hurt you like this?" Rika questioned with vivid sadness.

"It's okay," I said, softly pressing my thumb on my wounded face. "It'll be fine."

"How could you say that!" my chef friend yelled in outrage, in which was not an act I expected to come from her. In fact, I was so shocked that I jolted in a shudder where as Hinata leapt to her feet.

"Rika… it's really… okay…" I tried to reason, but it only got her more furious at the whole ordeal.

"She sliced off your arm and permanently scarred your face!" she continued to yell, trying to bring some sense into my system. "Don't you feel a bit angry? I mean, don't you want justice? Although the vengeful spirit of retribution is ethically wrong, don't you at least have some feelings that you want to burst out to the world due its unfairness? You don't have to commit retribution, but you have the right to picture it… or something! You are an undead; not a saint! I am not asking for a saint, I am asking for someone with some normal rationality, and yet you fail to produce that in yourself! What is the matter with you? You wouldn't allow anything unreasonable to happen around you, and soon enough you would get back at them with subtlety… now, you look like you want to give up and forget about the whole thing as if it never happened! You made you lose your arm twice, and now your face… Naruto… say something! Anything!"

"But I can't help the past…"

"That's not the point! How can you be so calm about everything? If that bitch came in and apologized and you forgave her, then I wouldn't be so mad. But she didn't, did she? She got away with it cleanly, as though her actions were justified and taking it to the authorities would just be a waste of time because she knows that she won… How can you let her do this and get away with? Where is that sense of outrage? Whatever happened to that side of you that makes dark pacts with the spurring wildfire of vengeance? What happened to you, Naruto?"

If Rika sounded so passionate with revenge… then have I made some mistakes in defining her character? Somehow, this vengeful side of her intrigued me, for it made her sound human than a saint. Believe me, I never worked well with saints, since they were always too conservative followed by an indoctrinated notion of cowardice and ignorance.

"You won't understand, Rika… My condition of living is not viewed as a human… the law would not protect me… not anymore, anyway…"

It was Hinata's turn to be curious. After absorbing Rika's rant, she wanted to cry but she had enough pride to keep herself from weeping –not in front of me, most preferably. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun? Tsunade-sama made the laws very clear that you are a human, a person, despite Anthris-sama's heritage, or the fact that you carry her in your body. You should have as much right as everyone else. What Tenten-nee-san did was wrong and you know it, and the law will protect you."

I glimpsed at her sadly and gave a weak, despaired smile; something that usually did wonders at crushing hopes. "You're wrong, Hinata… Konoha would never protect me…"

"Don't lose hope yet, my love,"

"The law will protect Uzumaki Naruto as long as he is a human… but I am dead… and undead do not get any benefits from human politics… As long as Tenten justifies that her battle opponent was not even a human, there is no such thing as excessive brutality even though if he was formerly a human. I am nothing but a monster, Hinata… I am viewed as something of less importance than your little pet rabbit… even your furry pet's death can be sued if the treatment was considered overly cruel. But I, unlike the others, am a new threat that must be neutralized before its existence becomes too difficult to reverse. People would see her actions as an honourable service for the town."

Now the girls were crying. "That can't be though… are you saying that you would be killed if people realize who you are?"

I nodded, slowly. "In all honesty, I have to thank Tenten and Tsunade, and whoever knows about my identity for not spreading out to the world. I would have kept that fact in tact if it weren't for my constant injuries-"

"That Tenten-nee-san was always responsible for,"

"Coincidentally, yes, but as far as I know, they are giving me a lot of face for not ratting me out. I am in no position to say much, it's like they hold something so vital that they could blackmail me if they wished."

Hinata was determined, and in response she held my hand supportively with her own ones and gave it a gentle squeeze of confidence. This woman had more virtues that I first thought, no wonder why she was so wonderful. "I won't let anyone blackmail you."

"I do not seek for such protection," I said, watching her with a careful eye and tried not to move my lips too much to create any misunderstandings, "I can easily leave if I am not wanted."

Rika suddenly embraced me from behind, somewhat. But she held me firmly, as though she wanted her actions to mean something deep and intimate. "You are always wanted when it comes to me, Naruto," my long violet haired girl friend said affectionately. "You are never not welcomed."

"Same here," agreed Hinata, now resting my head on my right shoulder. "I'll always make you feel at home." A second after, Rika also decided to play the cute girl. Without asking, she took her head and let it rest on my other shoulder. Great, now I lost my freedom. Sometimes, I loved them for being supportive, but there were times that it was considered to be an intrusion to my personal space. Needless to say, despite my negative nature, I was just a little too kind to say it out loud so directly to such sensitive women like Hinata and Rika while they loved affection so greatly. Not that I felt uncomfortable with my favorite girls around, but there was something a little bit more vital than to share their warmth.

"Sorry, ladies," I said, causing them to simultaneous remove their heads and gave their attention to me only. "I would need to take my medication for my left eye."

"Naruto-kun, that reminds me,"

"What is it?"

"Is your left eye now… well, blind?" Judging from Rika's face, that fact never even hit her once –until now, of course. In an instant, both girls were concerned over me again. If I were blind, then shouldn't I be a bit more cautious? Instead, I behaved as though nothing happened, yet I was supposed to be as outraged as those who lost their families during wars and civil battles. If I were to be blind… well, no, it still wouldn't be much of a problem given my heritage. Undead were very useful in the aspect of recycling, reusing, and being conservative. Just because it might be useless to someone, it might not necessarily be the case for another. In that case, a dead person's eye might be pointless for someone, but to me, I could use anything and swap out any poor eyes I have to regain that lost vision. Definitely not a bad trade if I must say so myself.

These were some of the advantages that I could not discard as an undead no matter how much I may dislike the heritage sometimes. If I could not see some of these unbelievable benefits as an asset, then I was really an idiot, who had too much negativity than his system permitted.

"I wouldn't concern over it," I told them with a vengeful smile, as though I already planned out who to assassinate long before the operation began its frightful commencement. "I am very sure that I would be fine."

Hinata and Rika had their doubts. The Hyuuga girl bit her lips shyly where as Rika just gave me a look, a stare in which I was a little too familiar of after knowing her for as long as I had. I sensed another lecture coming my way. "You are taking it too casually," insisted my violet-eyed friend. I liked using the colour lavender as a reference if it was Hinata.

"I am undead," I repeated this statement again like a motto, "I reuse body parts." My answer was strikingly simple, and I got results, which were some pretty disgusted responses. Perhaps my order, or preference, of words was not the most beautiful set of creations in my times of vast intellect, and knowing that fact was a shameful confession. "At any rate," I resumed with a cough. "I would like to take this medicine alone. And yes, I would be continuing to sleep as the medicine inscribes so unfortunately I must bid you my deepest farewells." I stretched my body to the drawer on my left, and took out a tiny jar of twenty caplets before I rattled them for the sake of doing something. "Are there any last words? Hinata? Rika?"

Hinata watched me open the bottle for a few seconds, and when I finally poured out two pills she decided to speak. "Please take good care of yourself, Naruto-kun… no matter how unfair it is sometimes… There are a lot of people who care about you, so please treasure it… for me…"

I smiled a touched smile, and that was certainly something I did not do everyday. In return, both girls gave me a trademark grin of their own, as if our little silent engagement was actually a battle to see which side was more caring. Like I said, this made me smile –regardless of how insignificant it could have been. "I will, Hinata. I will."

I invited them one at a time to come over so I could give them each a gentle kiss on the cheek. Given, if they were alone with me… I preferred to offer it on the lips instead. Although the possibilities were kind of low, yet if I did plant kisses on their lips they would be carefully calculating how long I took to be affectionate to each of them. Believe it, they would make every second count and later on "discuss" about it like typical small talk matters –the goal, needless to say, was to get even… or more.

I timed it as well as I could before breaking each kiss, and when I saw them satisfied with whatever I could offer them in my current state they thought it would be in my best interest to rest and left alone. I was grateful and I didn't dare myself to look absolutely relieved that they left. The last thing I wanted them to think of me was an ungrateful patient who did not know how to appreciate kindness maturely. Then again, I was sure my forgiveness would be granted if I asked for it, since I rarely messed up. However, Hinata might be more of a problem, for I haven't been making the most correct choices ever since I reunited with her. There was something so special about this timid woman, who could be a vixen once people got very (or perhaps I should use the word 'extremely' instead) familiar with her, and still I could not grasp what it was sometimes despite my indoctrinated awareness.

Once I felt their spirits were no longer in detection range, it was the most ideal time to discuss a several new topics with my master, who, surprisingly, kept quiet during the whole confrontation just now. Was I thankful? Somewhat, perchance, but still no cigar.

"How are you feeling, Naruto-chan?" Anthris asked after her spirit seeped out of my unholy shell as she revealed herself in her gorgeous humanoid form in a mini-skirt this time. Her tops were pretty much the same, really, the low cut to reveal bountiful cleavage, and I grew tired of explaining them so frequently. She was amazing beautiful, what more could I say? Besides, her way of dressing, in which nearly gave me heart attacks when I was younger, was now considered an immunity to my systems.

"Didn't you hear my answer to that question earlier?" I inquired, my dark nature flooding back in after the hopes in the room left.

"Do tell me the truth, Naruto-chan,"

"I feel like I could kill somebody… but the innocent ones just aren't fun enough to satisfy my hunger."

"Perhaps you feel guilty?" Anthris questions as she sat casually on the side of my bed.

"That's hardly the word," I corrected, wagging my finger knowingly. "Some people just would not forgive me if I planned to take out my hatred on the ones that who are not involved. In short, no pointless brutality. And yes, usually the innocent, like peasants and peons, would not be able to fight back, and that just makes everything too dull."

"You really want to kill that woman, don't you? That Tenten girl, right?"

"You are not mistaken,"

"Then why pretend that you were okay about everything?"

Now it was my turn to show my true colours, and I had no hesitation to radiate my negative abilities like a revolutionary galore. "Hinata would begin her preaches about forgiveness and shit like that. I have endured too much of that blasted garbage that I couldn't even force myself to look interested although I am a brilliant actor. You know that despite her being a dangerously talented shinobi, she is a pacifist at heart. Instead of having us kill another, Hinata would rather see us as friends. However, I think Tenten and I have gone a little too far to be able to regain that neutrality that we previously had. Even if I was reasonable enough, in which I am not, not to hurt her later on, we couldn't possibly look at another in the eye without feeling the slightest bit of reluctance."

"So…" resumed Anthris, after absorbing my genuine feelings. "What do you plan to do if you are not going to kill her?"

I chuckled sinisterly. "I guess I just have to leave her be –for now, anyway. Remember, my dearest master, that killing a respectable chunnin is a huge criminal offense. Killing an undead or demon, however, is an act that deserves to be praised with honour and courage. In fact, if anyone wants to suck up to Tsunade's ass, then killing an undead to prove their worth would be the most sufficient. In my condition, it's practically a free gift –but that is, of course, if they know my secret."

"You hate this place, don't you?"

"I've been in intensive care for at least three times in the past two weeks," I kindly reminded with bitterness. "I've just set my own record… in my hometown, too! This is unforgivable… and I am here caused by the most stupidest people as well. I demand vengeance." I crushed my fingers together to make a fist. "My heart will not settle until I found my justice…"

"You are anxious, aren't you?" Anthris inquired with a cunning grin. "To kill, I mean."

"Utmost definitely," I spoke, gradually increasing my vocabulary with deliberation. "By all means, my lovely master, I am sure you are tired of my regrettable defeats. Don't you wish for some victories where you can actually cherish some of this feeling of destined greatness? It sucks losing all the time, you know, and especially against the same opponent who hacked off my limbs more than just once. Retribution… I always loved that word…"

She kissed me warmly on the cheek, which kind of killed the tension of excitement but I allowed it to slide anyway. "Wow, you are growing very impatient, my little dark cutie bug. What, has your blood finally boiled?"

"You seem to like this, Anthris," I stated knowingly with a sinister grin coming across my face.

"I was wondering when you would wake up,"

"I have been for a while, actually," I replied, "I guess this is now a good time to unleash my true colours."

"What's your plan?"

"Although I would start a rampage and kill defenseless civilians, I don't think our odds would be too good when it comes to supporters. You could wipe them out for me, yes, but that wouldn't look too advantageous either. Really, as much as we both detest this place-"

"I like it, though. Hinata-chan is really nice,"

"You like her because she is very open with her lust for me. I know that, you know."

"She is just honest,"

"Whatever," I dismissed it easily, like it was not anything worth mentioning, "Hinata was always an exception… she is never what she seems to be… she is such a mystery…"

Anthris tried to fight back a not-so-innocent giggle. Her efforts had some effect, I guessed. "And it's charming, isn't it? She charms you."

"She is definitely a very considerate woman," I agreed, not necessarily giving Anthris all the credit in the hinge of my voice. "But she would only get in my way… she is too kind… well, kind towards typical nobodies, yet very dominating and seductive towards those in her romantic interest… I, unfortunately, am the only person that fits into her expectations… I suppose my undead charms have something to do with this, right?"

Anthris eyed me inquisitively, like she was trying to make an honest observation, and it was a little uncomfortable if I must have my word on it. It felt like she was leering into my soul, which had boundaries like the most sacred kingdoms that were worthy of immense protection as if they were servants send down for the divine Gods above. In a way, Anthris had a much greater superiority when I had to compare myself to her, given that she was being serious and not aroused. No matter what, though, I still respected her.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, somewhat getting spooked out by her alluring gaze.

"Nothing much," she replied easily and giggled lightly.

"How much longer do you think a medical specialist would be in here and tell me to check out?"

"Based on your health at the moment… I say in a several hours. The only part that had not healed yet is just your face. Your limbs are in perfect condition, of course, since my medical skills are much better than those of a human's."

I snickered as I felt the grip of my left hand. She was right, it was more than okay, but my face still stung from time to time. Oh well, it was endurable. "Leaving a demon to do an undead's work… you really aren't a demon for nothing. And Hinata sparked up a pretty interesting inquiry just now. How is my left eye?"

A saddened expression came upon her features the instant I said it, but it vanished just as quickly before it got replaced with a cunning grin of confidence. "That, Naruto, you would have to know when you take your bandages off."

I felt beat, sighed, and then pointed to this incredibly hard plaster cast that was hardly considered to be a bandage. "Then help me find a chisel. I am not going to start ripping it out like a moron." I silenced myself with another sigh. "We are leaving Konoha, Anthris… I don't think my previous hopes have bear any fruit regardless of my optimism and patience. I have been in the hospital more often than those times I was a hidden assassin, and with limbs forcefully removed somehow each time. That is not the life I wish to be accustomed to, and definitely not a life worth risking for either."

Detecting some solemnity in my voice, although she should know by now that I was being very serious during the whole thing altogether, Anthris watched me understandingly as she spoke. "What about Rika-chan and Hinata-chan?"

"Rika would understand my intentions… she would want me to live the safest way so she won't lose a friend."

"What about Hinata-chan?"

"She just has to accept the facts that the chance of me surviving in this place until I am sixteen is around one to a million. I might have lost arms this time… the next time would be my head. Whether I love life or not, I don't think I would want it to end with something so… unnerving…"

"Looks like you finally got your passion back," Anthris said as she laughed, in which was not the most welcoming sort of delight. Somehow, however, I loved to hear it. "It's a good sign. So, when are you planning to leave for Undercity?"

I placed my hand on my chin as though I was thinking, and which I was, actually. "After I forge Hinata and Hanabi the weapons, Anthris, and then I would go." My master were wide-eyed, completely bewildered at my suggestion with no subtlety to hide her feelings. From what I could gather, she almost wanted to scream at me. Luckily, I beat her to it before she did. "It's a promise I made to them… and it's wise for me not to break it when it's probably going to be my last favour, right?"

My master grunted grudgingly, knowing that she had been defeated. I was not the most decisive person around, but I could be, sometimes, determined. During specific choices, however, I did not let my bad habits sway. "Fine, do whatever you want. Whether you notice it or not, you are not as inconsiderate as you think you are." Simultaneously, she stood up and stretched as she yawned tiredly. "I am going to take a nap now in your body, and don't wake me up or disturb me unless you want to touch me. Well, ja-ne,"

I didn't know what came over me, but I had my hand on my forehead as I looked down and started to chuckle. It started out to be a low one at first, and gradually it turned into a menacing laugh. "You've been able to control it quite well, haven't you? I am surprised that your lower regions don't 'itch', as you say. This is definitely a first."

Her shade of red immediately came upon her cheeks, but she gave no effort in concealing it. "It still does… I just don't want to be like… so lusty… when you are so serious about the subject matter…"

"Would you allow me to touch you?" I questioned, intentionally moving my hand slowly towards her private regions that was hidden behind her silk dress. Just when I was a millimeter away, I retracted a little, in which got a very impatient growl from her lips. "Maybe I shouldn't…" I deliberately teased as I reconsidered my actions within my act, "This is hospital ground, correct? Perhaps I should save my actions for another time…" Anthris had a sour look, but quickly got hopeful when she saw my hand coming closer again. "But you want it so bad though… and I really feel guilty for not helping my master…" I silently slipped my hand underneath her dress from the bottom near her upper thighs, and soon enough I allowed myself to wander all around knowing that she would have no mind to stop me. She was nearly begging me to go for that right spot, and how tenderly she would kill me if I refused to give in. But driving her to kneel down and plead for penetration was a sight that could not be discarded. I mean, that would be a definite sign of victory, and Anthris knew better than anyone how much I loved to win.

"You beast…" my demonic guardian hissed in mock anger when she felt my fingers barely feathering her silk-covered crotch while the panty was already soaking in too much of her leaking essence. "Hurry up and deal with it… if… if you are here to help… come on… Naruto-chan… I won't be able to last long like this…" She tried to sit down, and she did that so her movements would make a deeper contact than whatever I was doing, but I skillfully moved slightly so my fingers were doing nothing but gently brushing over her rapidly dampening panties. That was considered to be another asset on my part. Her frustration was now evident, and she turned to face me to look at my sitting form before she mewled desperately. She gasped sharply at my next move, since I was now poking that sensitive spot a several times before I smoothly took my index finger to go behind her underwear as I flickered it playfully to see how she liked her own wetness rhythmically being removed and then touching her skin again. Besides, I wanted to test how delicate her under attire was today… and I must say it was pretty fragile and minimal. At this rate I could just apply more force in my hooking finger and rip it apart.

To disappoint her, greatly, actually, I drew back my hand to my side, thus leaving her satisfaction to a way too untimely end. Surprisingly enough, I dared myself to speak. "Do you really want me to continue?"

"Yes, damn you!" she scolded with heavy pants, clearly agitated that I had the nerve to pull away when she was in such the mood. "Touch me… do whatever you want… Just don't stop…" She shivered after her command, and I assumed that the cold material imprisoning her crotch was now a little unbearable since her emotional heat was diminishing. Her hands reached under her dress, obviously trying to get the hindrance out of the way as soon as she could because it was becoming a bit too wet to wear. "You got me so drenched, too… geez…"

My dark self suddenly kicked in at the nick of time, and before her fingers hooked around her underwear, I dashed for her and pushed her down on the bed and pinned her strong arm with my left before she realized it. A second later I moved my mouth to her ear and whispered something that had her adrenaline heighten to another soaring level. "Really now," I murmured, "It's not wet enough. Be patient, my master, and I swear the delight of ripping your clothes would be that much more cherishing"

At the same time, my right hand crept under her dress and found that critical spot that she wanted me to touch so badly. I grinned evilly. Anthris watched me confusedly when she saw me stopping, but without warning her, I poked it significantly enough with two fingers to make her gasp, and then moved them upwards very roughly.

When she pleasurably screamed in her free hand, well, I guess it nothing but obvious as of what happened when my hand just got bathed.

(Several Hours later)

As expected, the same nurse that I saw this morning returned with my status report in the afternoon. She told me that the doctors found my condition suitable enough to leave without them being sued for insufficient caring. Of course, if I still wished to stay I still could, but obviously, that would start to cost me some money that I wouldn't want to spend. Truth be told, I wouldn't want to remain even if I had health care just as well as those bastards from the distant fairyland named Canada. To the very least, this time I was given a free first-aid kit with the right supplies, which included medicine and cleaning fluids, and specific bandages to apply on my face if I wish for my face to leave no scars or whatnot.

I thanked her with all the sincerity I could muster as she left to bring me back some of the belongings I had before I was sent here. Once I received all I had, which were a several shinobi weapons, pouches, holsters and my usual outer attire, I was on my way back home to fulfill one last promise for the people I cared about in this town.

After that, I would be gone for good.

The walk home was a silent one, and I learned how to treasure it.

Neither Hinata or Rika were in my apartment; that was a good sign, I guessed. As I entered my sacred domain after a several days worth of absence, something just did not seem right. Perhaps I was being too sensitive, or maybe I wasn't. The aura, however, told me otherwise. And the funny thing was how there was no presence of anyone else besides myself and Anthris within this room, and yet the air had something else to offer like a good host to a guest. Bad things just had to happen to the innocent… great…

"Why aren't you walking to your room?" my demon master said from behind me as she wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her chin on my left shoulder. Oh, did I mention that Anthris was an inch or two taller than I was? I was five-seven, and she was around five-eight and a bit.

"I feel edgy…" I replied, turning my head slowly to the living room where my backpack was at the same location I left it a several days before.

"But no one is here," she kindly reminded as she scanned towards the kitchen area. "I can't feel a thing."

"Somehow… I think someone might have done something in this place."

"You are just being skeptical now,"

"It's called being cautious," I told her intelligently, "It never hurts to be a little more careful in life."

"Then you are overreacting,"

"I can't imagine that not even one of them would be here… I mean, come on, they won't leave me alone."

Anthris removed herself from me for a bit, skipping gently before reaching for a cup in the drawers and filling it with water from the jug and drinking it down. "Do you want me to check the rooms to see if anything fishy might be going on, although I doubt that with high hopes? Listen, Hinata-chan is a chunnin and she has work, and the reason why Rika-chan moved here is so she has a better job opportunity. Despite your major influence and importance in their lives, they have their own lives to take care of, too. The world doesn't revolve around you, remember? Or are you just too used to the attention?"

I eyed her with cynicism, but not for long when I broke out in a chuckle. "I am not that much of a praise-lover, Anthris. Imitations are the most sincerest forms of flattery, don't you think? It sure gives me relief to find that I am not that vital after all… yet it is somewhat disappointing. Before I forget, yes, do check my rooms, please, and I will see how much things I would need to bring."

"Sounds like a plan then,"

But she had bigger ideas. Seeing how there was no one here, Anthris knew her moment with me could not possibly be ruined. Thus, she attacked my lips with her own before, well, things got a little out of hand.

I guess spending another fifteen minutes wouldn't be that bothersome, so I gave in.

(Sometime within an hour later)

With a trusty Information Map, which was printed by the Official Tourism Organization of Konoha, finding some specific points were quite easy. Whether Konoha excelled in weapon-forging or not, there were still places that provided that access; just in case there were people coming to this town to look for any types of specific resources for their armours and weapons. A village must always be resourceful to its maximum, or it would be serving as a hindrance than an asset. To the very least, this place had better marksmanship training than many other places, perhaps that was why those who excel in archery were in high demand. Hinata had urged me to sign up to be an instructor on this field ever since Anthris told her that I was quite an excellent shooter, but like I said before, I didn't want any dedication pacts with this town that could result in more severe bonding. If I could keep my shinobi profile to a minimum, living here would actually be quite a leisure –yet the constant hospital visits had done nothing but make my presence grand.

As I looked at the map again, I grinned when I realized where the blacksmith facility was located. Just as I expected… it was isolated from the village, but not far enough to be outside the town's boundaries. These kinds of things just couldn't be located in the central of a prosperous village like Konoha, and besides, a city like place just wasn't an environment that suited a blacksmith's needs. I would've felt the same way if I were in charge of constructing this town, and I would reinforce the politics of prejudice so well that even monsters would be allowed to live here like the humans' best buddies.

Anthris and I followed the instructions on the map we had and finally found something like a hideout at the precise location. In these woods, I expected a cabin or a tent of some sort, but I definitely did not expect a two-story brick house that reached around twenty-five hundred square feet in space. It seemed as though this was the one and only place for blacksmiths, and it was all Tsunade's intention to maximize the usefulness of this resource.

Surely enough, I was impressed, but I could only admire an inanimate object for so long. After I got used the shocked feeling, I concealed Anthris back into my body before I entered the shop, so to speak, alone. Since I gave no warning, I felt Anthris thrashing in my head as she scolded, yelled, screamed, and lastly pouting with her head turned the other way like a baby would. I simply ignored her at that point until she cooled off, which only too ten minutes.

My cautiousness grew once I stepped inside, since I was truly suspicious at the fact that an unpopular facility could be this large. My intuitions kicked in another notch where there was only one man at the counter on the far end of the building, and when I turned to my left, there were a series of reagents for the local shoppers around six to seven feet away from where I was standing. I gave my attention to the right, and there were tools and assets as far as the naked eye could see. The clerk, or whatever, was still smiling at me despite how I just kind of froze like time itself had stopped. I shook that feeling away quickly, and gathered all my confidence to walk up to the counter for a proper greeting.

"Good afternoon, young man," the man, who appeared to be in his thirties, greeted me kindly with a touch of detectable neutrality. "My, it has been a while since anyone had shown up here."

"I am not too surprised," I answered, a little awkwardly, "The road that I took to get here seemed awfully quiet. If I didn't know better, I would've assumed that it would lead me nowhere."

"I know what you mean. Oh, how silly of me to forget my manners. How may I help you? Have you found something that you like after watching the displays for three minutes just now?"

Three minutes? Was I dazed for that long? This was embarrassing indeed.

"Sorry for dozing off earlier," I apologized, "I really haven't been myself lately."

"You look strangely pale, young man…"

"I am fine," I assured him by putting up a very fake, but persuading, smile on my visage. "It's my natural look. My hair, skin, eyes, they are all natural. I was born like that."

"Natural, ne…" he murmured skeptically in a very silent tone. In the end, however, I still caught something in spite the faintness of it.

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, don't mind me, I was just thinking of something. By the way, if the merchandise did not interest you, what brings you here?"

I guess it was time for the real deal. My civil acting could only go so far before I got to my point. "I am simply searching for a melting forge and an anvil. Does this place provide that? I would pay for using it."

"It's in the next room," he answered, pointing to a door I failed to notice on my left around seven to eight feet away. "And before I forget, using it won't cost you a thing, and this place is practically opened twenty four hours straight."

"This place opens twenty-four hours straight despite the lack of people coming? From what I could gather, blacksmithing is almost like a lost art in Konoha, and while archery is the renaissance. How can you supply all the funds and financial factors to keep this place running?"

"We are funded by the Konoha government. In spite the lack of interest, this is still something that cannot be ignored and taken lightly. Making good weapons is an asset nonetheless. Besides, this place still interested someone like you. You can't say its existence is entirely meaningless, right?"

"Perhaps," I simply stated with my left hand in my pocket. "Are you going to show me to the forge or not? I wish to finish my project sooner than later, if you must know."

"Of course," the man hastily, almost alarmed that he was frightening his one and only customer, in a way, that he had for God-knows-how-long, "Let me show you the way."

And I followed him to the next room, which somewhat felt like a sauna, yet it was very endurable due to the sufficient ventilation available. Hell, I learned to cherish whatever I had given. As I sat down on a stone bench to take off my bag, I was surprised, well, no, annoyed was more like it, that the clerk was still here watching my every move. "Doshi-ta?" I inquired easily.

"I am curious to know what sort of materials you have on you. The ingredients usually identify your level of skill in this profession."

"Before I tell you, may I ask you one thing?"

"Whatever could it be?"

"Does the store have one of the more rare reagents for more… unusual weapons and armour? Like… Breath of Water, very thick leather… and Elements of Air or whatnot."

"We do, yes, Hokage-sama has been hiring the best miners to sell of their goods to this store, and whatever they have found have been exceeding the previous expectations by quite a bit. Whatever you just named, young man, we have it. Maybe we have more, too, but I have to check. So, what have you brought with you then?"

"Primarily platinum, truesilver, and vanadium,"

"Vanadium?"

"You look surprised,"

"It's just no one other than you have brought that in… and you do know that vanadium is not good to make weapons and armour, right? You should know that at the very least."

In order to keep my undead secret a secret, then I had to lie. "No one said I was making a weapon, mister," I said, dryly.

"Then why the other elements?"

"It's for me to see how resourceful this village is, and it has definitely passed that test."

"Vanadium, is it… with truesilver…" he repeated again in a very low voice. "You are definitely a rare blacksmith… I will assume you found out the secrets to undead blacksmithing, haven't you, undead boy?"

I went to full alert immediately. Without another word, I leapt off the bench I was sitting on, and despite my lack of eyesight with my left eye, I had no time to care as I half-kneeled into my ready stance with my left arm stretched out and my right arm pulled back with my assassin's knife activated as it shot out from my wrist. "Who the hell are you?" I instantly questioned, and I expected answers. Not even the Byakugan could detect my heritage, and yet… this stranger… how the hell could he identify something this drastic when I just met him for five minutes? Whatever the case, this man was not going to leave this building alive unless he had some very drastic reason for me to let him go. Still, I would keep some of his limbs for dinner…

"No need to be that hostile, boy," the man darkly spoke as he chuckled at my impulsiveness. "Overreacting won't do you any good, especially not for an undead."

"Then you better tell me a reason why I would let you live after knowing that fact," I countered, my right leering dangerously at this point. In fact, I barely felt any chakra signatures from this man, and killing him, in all honesty, was not a problem. It would be like taking candy from a baby. "I will tell you, you won't be able to escape."

"I doubt that," he answered, very confident in his abilities that he would be able to persuade me in the end, "Why don't you take a look at this?" At the same time, he took off his hat, just to show off his black hair. Okay, black hair was not something that was worth gasping about, for there were plenty of normal humans with that shade of colour, and given they were from an Asian heritage. But when he smacked the back of his head, I almost jumped back when I saw him knocking out something from his eyes before falling onto his free hand. He didn't just smack out his eyes, did he? That was too scary, even for me. As he moved his head back up to look at me, I cringed like his looks could bite or something. With his face fully revealed to me, I realized that this man's eyes also had no pupils, but not from a bloodline trait though… It almost seemed like he was blinded or something when his eyes were a glowing, dreary yellow. With that face, he surely looked like a dead man, literally.

The next thing he did was roll up his sleeve, and unbelievably, my heartbeat softened once I saw his flesh broken down at the elbow area leaving a bone visible for a several inches before flesh began to rebuilt. Now it made sense… this man was an undead like me. What the hell… I had a brethren in a living country? What was he doing here? Asking questions in a battle stance where he meant no harm just looked wrong, and thus, I loosened up as I retracted the energy from my blade to deactivate it.

"Surprised?" he asked, smirking at my wise decision for not acting irrationally, "It had been a while… I was starting to believe that Konoha didn't have people like me."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I inquired, my voice no longer holding any hostility. "Don't you realize it is suicide here? I sense no chakra from you at all, you are practically a sitting duck, mister."

"My life doesn't matter, young man," he responded, smiling weakly, "What is important is how my efforts have not been wasted."

"Wasted? What do you mean?"

"If I don't find more people of our race, young one, then it would all be a waste. It's good to see you."

"How did you know I was an undead so quickly?"

"If you have been alive for as long as I have, you can identify our race by our unholy smell. We naturally don't smell as nice as humans, and that goes especially for the women. Besides, only undead use vanadium for blacksmithing because of our little secret, and I must say you have very good eyes on a metal like that. There aren't many people that I know of that ever thought of using such a thing, not even in Undercity."

"That place exists?" I suddenly asked, a bit too eager for my nature, and I really did sound a lot more anxious than I should be. "You are from Undercity? Why… I have been searching for that place for as long as I have turned into this monster. You have no idea how happy you have made me, sir, it would sure save me the trouble trying to discover its history and stuff while attempting to find out if it's all a myth or not. Now I find it to be a reality… it sure is great news…"

He still had that smirk that bugged me a bit, and I wondered why he still had it although we were better acquaintances. Did he still have some suspicions on me? We were undead, we should be civil with another, and especially since this was the only undead male I had seen for the past two years I turned into this. "I am afraid I can't leek that information to you that easily,"

"What did you say?" I inquired with disbelief and outrage. "What are you mean by that? Aren't I undead enough for you to trust me? Do you think that I would betray my own kind and tell everyone the existence and the location of our home when humans never allowed anyone but themselves to have a good life? Mister, you have my word that my existence in Undercity would be an asset and not a hindrance."

"I do believe that, yes," he said, trying to get my hopes up by a little bit, "But our queen only permits the most worthy, power and intelligence wise, to be granted entry. In order to find Undercity, you must have a good range of intuition and wit, and besides, going there is an honour, a reward, and definitely it's not a place for everyone who might be undeserving. Our queen is very strict on her warriors, and unlike beggars, she can be a chooser. You have potentials, boy, I am sure you would be able to figure out where it could be."

"Don't I get some clues, mister?" I suggested, "If the location isn't as secretive as it is, more people would've found it by now."

"Then you shall receive a clue," he told me, slowly approaching closer to me in a more authoritative way. I felt like such a loser… I should not be asking for hints, especially after knowing the queen of Undercity only accepted those who were exceptional amongst the rest. I didn't want anyone to see me as a normal person, because I definitely was not as such. "Undercity is always enriched with corpses, and the reason is very obvious. Think of a graveyard… a massive graveyard, but not one that is built intentionally. It's almost like a providence. And once you find out what I am talking about, the city should be as clear as glass by then. You seem very intelligent, I am sure this should be no obstacle for you. Remember, head north."

In order to preserve the good impression, I merely grinned. "You're right, I am sure I would find out soon enough."

"That's what I expect to hear. So, what weapons are you trying to make out of that vanadium alloy? My instincts tell me you are planning something devious."

A grunt of mine soon developed into raw laughter as I sat down to take out a piece of vanadium over the melting forge to turn the solid into liquid. "Perhaps… since the people I am making it for are nothing within the ordinary. So dangerous… yet so beautiful…"

"A woman, I suppose?"

"A very striking one, yes,"

"Then I have just the thing to spice everything up."

"You're a blacksmith?" I wisely questioned, giving him a doubtful eye.

"I didn't get this job for the fun of it, young boy. My knowledge is the real thing."

And so my masterpieces, which were perfect to begin with, just gotten better with his assistance. In the end, the man gave me two weapon cases for free, and his justification was how he hated to see good weapons lose its quality when it was still so brand new. It was damaged through battle, then it was understandable. He made me a promise; he told me that whoever I was giving these swords to should be glad to have them. If they did not have the heart to appreciate it, I could easily take it back and use them as my own set of assets. A set of Phantom Blades (that only had handles, but upon activation it worked like a aqua-coloured beam sword) that excelled anyone's stealth, invisibility, and speed in terms of attack rate and movement along with awesomely dangerous shadow magic that were yet to be discovered. As for the other twin swords named Blight, and its appearance was a crimson like orange sickle. These bloody looking blades had chakra regeneration abilities with the power to drain life upon every attack… and as a small bonus, this blade contained plenty of fire attacks that amazed even me.

When I gave more thought into these creations of mine… I wondered if I should be giving them to Hanabi, and this especially went for Hinata. As much as I wanted to believe in Hinata, somehow my kindness just could not be as lenient as I hoped. The instant I allowed my guard to slip, unwanted consequences usually had a major tendency to surface without me knowing, or even if I knew of their existence I was almost powerless to make a difference. Hinata loved me much more than I could possibly love her… and that alone made me feel guilty. To the very least, I was trying to please her, but Hinata always wanted more yet she was too kind to demand it out loud with words. Her actions, however, were so much more clearer, and it made me wonder why such a beautiful woman like her had to have intentions that were so deadly that it almost convinced me she had training from the most evil devil himself. So lovely she was, and yet still so conniving that lured in so many people…

After all the reconciliation… I have come to a conclusion… and that would be with Hinata already being a predator with a bow, so to speak, and now as the prey I was handing her a shotgun as a way of saying her ferocious ways weren't enough to be considered a good way to stimulate her victim's fear. Giving in a bow, and then a shotgun in return… she couldn't say this deal was a rip.

(Three Hours Later)

I gave my thanks to the undead man, who of course popped back his contact lenses and covered all the unfixable skeletal parts (in which I hid mine with a bandage,) and packed up the two weapon cases that held the swords and daggers into the large backpack I came in with. I bid him farewell as I gave a small token of appreciation, and of course he accepted without hassle. He preferred fresh meat, but money did the job just as nice. Come to think of it, I wanted some raw meat myself… and my hunger for food had been growing ever so drastically ever since I needed to tap into my undead and demon power in order to heal myself. Deep down, I knew the remnants of my humanity wouldn't last long, and whether Hinata liked or not, I actually liked being myself despite my usual attitude and insightful words, and being undead was who I was after all.

Hinata… any memory of her usually brought a smile on my face. It didn't matter what we did from thick and thin; they were always something that was worth remembering. Truth be told, there were plenty of times that I would be fearing for my life, but in the end I guessed it worked out better than anything else. Then again, I wished that my confession could've been done in a more safe way, meaning I didn't have to do it in bed nor did she have to be so seductive. Three years clearly did its damage overtime, and before I even realized how wonderful Hinata was as a good friend, the poor girl already desired me as her lover because she wanted me right from the start. Lover, that was such a big step. Even now, I was hesitating whether I could love her like she loved me. She was too much like my dearest baby sister, and yet even my heart told me that that was not what I wanted but I knew I needed to offer something to her that I did not have.

I shook my head a bit too eagerly as I tried to clear my thoughts. No, this was not a time to be thinking about this. I needed to talk to Hinata alone about it. With more accusations and false predictions, perhaps I would really go nuts.

"Naruto-kun!" I heard a female voice calling faintly.

Yeah, Hinata's voice always sounded good… this imagination of mine seemed to be so much better than the other ones I had. It was so clear…

"Naruto-kun!" I heard again, this time the sound was more evident, as though it got closer.

Due to my weakened state, I wearily opened my eyes when the voice, which I presumed it was in my head, seemed too real. Suddenly, my blood froze when I saw what was before me. Hyuuga Hinata… she was here?

Out of all places... my God…

She was running, panting heavily with her chest heaving to show that she had been running for a while, and her kind face radiated with delight when she found me at last. I expected her to tackle me in a hug when she reached me, but luckily that didn't happen when she chose to halt right in front of me in time, yet that smile of hers did not leave. In fact, it only grew brighter.

"I knew I would find you here," she said in relief while she slowed down to a stop. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed? You need your rest, my love,"

"Hinata… how did you… how did you know I was here?" I questioned the instant she embraced me gently.

"I figured that if the bag of minerals were missing, you must've taken them to somewhere you can actually use them, right? And fortunately, this is the only place that is available for you to do that, Naruto-kun."

"You've been doing your homework on geography, haven't you?"

"I lived here all my life," she replied wisely and beautifully toned, "I should only have that knowledge, ne? You didn't tell me that the hospital discharged you, and I went back there for nothing. I was so scared when you weren't there, and I thought you suddenly died or something…"

"I am already dead," I chuckled as I took a chance to kiss her forehead, and in which she responded with a very simple shade of pink creeping across her cheeks. "You can't just kill an undead with sickness. We are very immune."

"You make me worry so much… why don't you tell me these things… you know I love you more than anything…"

"You should have more faith in me," I cooed as I poked her stomach, just carefully under her breasts. "I survived so well, haven't I?"

She laughed lightly with amusement, which were like a beautiful serenade for a depressed soul to replenish itself with spirit. "If you treated yourself that well, you wouldn't be dead."

Should I have been laughing along with her or felt insulted. I took pride in my death, believe it. "Shit happens, I guess," I said, somewhat unaffected by her words as she hugged me. I realized how touchy Hinata really was, and to a limited degree, I was stunned how I was not complaining. "It's not really all that bad. And one more thing, my dear, why are you always looking for me?"

"Because you don't take good care of yourself. You should still in bed and not, you know, out here."

"I am fine, believe it," I reminded her softly. "I am not here trying to kill myself, my dear. I happened to be doing something important."

She tittered adorably. "Like what? Were you taking my minerals to good use already?"

"No," I sarcastically stated, "I was using it to grind my teeth because I like the metallic feel. It's a new trend."

She abolished my sarcasm with a giggle before she read between the lines. "Oh," she sounded interested as she moaned in my chest instead of speaking to me directly. She turned a little more serious due to curiosity. "So, what did you make?"

"That would spoil the excitement though," I told her, caressing her cheeks a little bit because she looked so cute. "You know you should be excited and high when you are about to receive something, right? I don't like breaking, let's just say, tradition."

Hinata, however, had other plans. "You said that it's my late birthday present or something, so I deserve to see it whenever I want, and I want to see it now. Now, Naruto-kun, now. Give it to me faster." She became aggressive and tried to reach for my back, but of course, I gave my share of resistance so she wouldn't get her way. Noticing my reluctance, Hinata simply tried harder. Oh, I learned something valuable today, and that included knowing that the Hyuuga girl was always able to double her efforts after her persistence renewal. Did that make sense? Well, yes, sure it did, for it meant that I should never give Hinata any morale boost if I wanted her to quit something. She was so hard to deal with sometimes… and yet I loved her. "Give it to me, Naruto-kun, come on…" she insisted still and I was forced to give in more willpower to halt her.

"Which one do you want though?" I suddenly asked, and that did a good enough job to stop her from her tyranny and aggressiveness.

"There is more than one?" she inquired, totally unexpected. "I get to choose? Hey, which one is better?"

"Which suits your style?"

"You have to show me first," she argued with an appeasing pout. "I want to see how good you are at making weapons."

"Like I said, that would ruin the surprise."

"Come on," she whined with a higher pitched voice to make herself even more endearing than she already was. "I want to see!" Suddenly, without any sort of warning or precaution she jumped onto my back like a kitten. Despite my usual calm demeanor, I couldn't keep myself from not giving some panic. Indeed, she was not too heavy even for my undead body, but I was beginning to see how familiar I was to her if she was that bold to do something such as jumping on people without their consent. "Don't be such a meanie. Show Hinata what you made for her."

"You are referring yourself in third person?" I inquired, struggling a little to support her weight so awkwardly. Now, I felt her hands reaching for the zipper on my bag (and thank God it wasn't my pants) and the more I retaliated, the greater her will became to claim whatever she desire. "Hey, Hinata, get off! What are you doing? Listen to me, hey, Hinata!"

I was given no choice but to do things my way, and without hurting her I decided to use Tsuyoshi-Shiki Teni to warp away. The Hyuuga girl on my back gasped when she had nothing to hold on, and immediately she felt herself falling. That was when she also disappeared as well just to prevent herself from falling. When I returned to existence fifteen meters forward from wherever I was before, Hinata returned sixteen meters forward to be right in front of me, and facing me, too. She had that adorable pout on her face knowing that I wasn't going to let her take any sneak peeks or whatnot, and so she dropped it and replaced her last wish with something else. Giving no hints of her actions, she instantly wrapped her arms around my sides and attacked my lips in a ferocious kiss.

I barely gave any resistance when she wanted to be affectionate, and clearly she took this to her advantage to savour more and more of my mouth and its 'secrets,' so to speak. Did she like it? Judging from her delightfully blushing face, then damn yes. Good things never lasted long, and especially not when my intention was just to tease her. Then again, although I wanted to tease her to see her reactions, she didn't let go of me that soon. In fact, her arms were binding me quite literally. The more I tried to move, the less resistance later on because I wouldn't have the power to contribute at all. In order to save my strength, Hinata made sure that kissing her passionately, thoroughly, genuinely, sweetly, and sincerely was the only ticket out. Besides, the way she was invading my mouth was practically a subtle order to return the favour when she was trying so hard to please her lover. Indeed, it would look bad if I just sat back and did nothing.

Despite the prolong affection, even Hinata needed to breathe. I, on the other hand, showed nothing. "Had enough yet, Hinata?" I inquired, my breathing normal despite the long kiss between her and I.

She gave me a seductive look, but she banished it with one that was more pure, yet the intention of desire still did not go unnoticed. "I loved it," the Hyuuga princess admitted, faking her timidity, "And I could always have more… you know, if you are willing to give it to me and allow me to tame it… to touch it… to feel it…"

Yeah, I really did not know what she was talking about…

In that spirit, I changed the subject slightly. "How about I treat you to dinner? It's getting late."

Her smile grew larger and prettier as excitement filled her senses. "Like a date?"

My sarcasm took over again. "No, I just want to be a freeloader and you are the perfect prey."

Like last time, she easily neglected it as swapped it with an answer that she wanted to hear, and probably what I was feeling deep down but my sincerity didn't work with me. "So, where are you taking me?" she asked sweetly, tiptoeing to kiss my cheek as a reward for inviting her, "Come on, my love, I am waiting."

"Anywhere you want," I answered, receiving her kisses gracefully. "I haven't decided."

That sparked up a naughty thought for her. "If we can't decide," she hungrily said, "I could always eat you."

"Save that for another time," I told her, putting an index finger to her mouth to stop her from her wonderful kissing. "Come on, Hinata, let's go. I am sure we would be able to decide when the time comes." Almost instantly, Hinata attached her arms around mine and claimed me as her rightful property. A giggle escaped her lips once more, and then she rested her head on my shoulder to increase our intimacy.

Really now, having Hinata around truly wasn't so bad –provided I didn't need to be frightfully afraid.

Tomorrow, my search for Undercity would finally have its continuance. Sadly to say, Hinata was forced to be left out of this one. As her, well, lover, I guessed it was my job to make this evening the best one she had, since this would definitely be her last.

AN: Sayanora, minna-san. Feel free to email me if you have any "GOOD" questions about the fic; have suggestions about the fiction or for Hime Murasaki; or you would want to chat with me meaningfully. If you are not a member, become one and check out with my email is. If you are that lazy and not join, then not even the blessings from almighty God can help you –especially not OpForce since I am pretty human, too. Sinner by day, and even a bigger sinner by night… Wait, that didn't come out right…

Yeah, you all would love a lemon between the characters, don't you? Fear not, I have been reading WAY too many lemon fics lately, and in fact, I have been really pondering to make one –just because I have found some really, really bad ones at describing the scenes from seduction, stripping, and the actual penetration. I think I can do a better job. Despite that, if I do a lemon fic, then I can't write my chapters… So, what do you think? Should I try lemons, or keep on updating SIC and Hime Murasaki? The choice is yours guys.

Have fun with it.