17. Bite down, pray, and never let go of it
The ride back was quiet. A stark contrast to their initial arrival. There were no bothersome question this time around. No snarky remarks or half-witted come backs.
No...there was none of that. Right now, that hardheaded girl who couldn't seem to ever keep her mouth shut no matter what, she clung to him like he were some type of life-line. Her face buried into his shirt, nails digging into him and almost piercing the skin as muffled whimpers escaped her every now and again. For almost twenty minutes they'd stood there in silence, watching that place, and all the memories formed within it, burn.
The person those memories were made with burning within it.
If I would have sent clones out before all of this. If I would have remembered him sooner... A thin frown turned the corners of his lips down. The thoughts, the guilt, it all plagued him. As it always would.
No matter where he was or where he went, it was the same. It was always the same.
In the end he didn't think hard enough or move fast enough, he didn't respond quickly enough. He couldn't predict the enemy would blow himself to bits when cornered, or see the hidden kunai flying a them behind their backs before it struck. But, he should have. He couldn't have known Niki would have collapsed, but he should have. He couldn't have seen that one ghoul that took her down coming as a direct result, but he should have.
The scene played out in front of him like a movie. The sight of her bright eyes widening, afraid and confused, and the look of relief on her face twisting into one of utter agony. In her last moments, it felt as if she'd quietly called out out to him, "help me" she said. And he, despite all of his acquired power, could do nothing but watch her die.
In that instant her face was replaced with a dozen different ones.
...like all the others.
"We're here." Naruto's feet silently touched the ground and as Rei lifted her sunken eyes up away from the corners of his back, a breath escaped her at the sight lying in wait.
Beautiful. Was all she could come up with. A plethora of uncommon and undoubtedly rare flora surrounded the two, and inwardly Rei couldn't help but marvel at the all of the beauty.
Naruto himself was very familiar with this place. It was Yuriko's personal garden, a family secret of sorts that was 'cleverly' kept in the very center of the massive hedge maze at the back of the estate. It was also the only place he knew of with scarce eyes, per Yuriko's request, set to watch his every move. If he remembered correctly it was two guards at the entrance and one stationed in the greenhouse. It was probably best if Souichiro didn't know about his return just yet, so avoiding them was crucial.
"Where are we?" Rei asked, her eyes captivated by the all of the oddities.
"A garden by the looks of it. I wasn't paying much attention on where I would land. We should move though, I don't think we're supposed to be back here anyway." Naruto responded hastily.
Rei frowned at his rather suspicious behavior, but said nothing else on the matter.
When he felt her squeeze him, Naruto nodded his head once as a warning and then took off. All but vanishing from sight in the center of the lush garden. The next time his feet touched the earth, it was in the very same hallway where they'd previously left in search of Hayate. The nearby window once again fluttering about at the sudden winds that passed through it. Rei couldn't help but sigh in relief when her own two feet felt the grace of solid ground. The unease she felt gradually peeling off like snake-skin.
Riding on Naruto's back wasn't unpleasant, but it was still an entirely out of this world concept. The fact that he could move that fast was still hard to believe in itself.
Really, all of the things Naruto could do, it was like something out of a movie. All of the raw power and trained skill compressed into a single seventeen year old teen was unbelievable. He could have easily saved hundreds of lives by himself. He could've been someone great, someone spectacular even! He could have been a real life super hero!
And yet...
"There he is again! The delinquent kid! Did you hear about how he walked out in the middle of class?"
"That guys a freak! A weirdo! Doesn't care about a damn thing, not even himself!"
"He lacks any drive. There's no motivation or ambition to better himself. And that, my fellow colleague, is the makings of true human waste."
The image of a slouched blond with a terrible attitude and a bored expression came to mind, and then, it was gone - replaced. With the image of that tiny, insignificant smile she'd seen on that night, and then that too was gone. Until all that remained was a dark pair of icy blue eyes and the color red splattered all over him.
Now's your chance. You won't get another one. A voice whispered in her thoughts.
Indeed, now was her chance. She'd been getting less and less of those lately so this time she would take it.
"You know..." Her words cut through the thick silence that once lingered between them. Naruto glanced her way and titled his neck, a curious look to him. His posture all but signalling for her to continue. "Earlier, I was looking for you to ask about the things you could do. Your 'magic' as you call it. I...I wanted answers, because I don't like not knowing things. And that scares me. I still want answers, but...you know what? In the past twenty-four hours I've seen a lot of terrible things. I've watched a lot of people die. I was almost killed, eaten, raped..." Here she understandably trailed off for a moment.
All the while, Naruto watched her intently. His expression unreadable.
To Rei, it felt as if he were judging the very worth of her soul with that intense stare. Still, she wouldn't stop now. This was, after all, her best chance — perhaps her only chance.
"But I wasn't, and that was in major part, because of you." She paused, her hands formed into tightly wound fists at her side and her petite form rattled even as the words left her lips, but still she fought against it. "My grandpa...someone I care about, someone you care about...he's dead. And I don't think I would have gotten the chance to see him, to know, if it weren't because of you. You've been protecting me this entire time, for him, and all I've been doing is giving you crap. It's seriously messed up...but, I'm going to try my best to make up for that. And I'll start with this,"
Through-out Rei's emotional speech her defenses gradually weakened until fresh tears ran down her cheeks. Even then, she managed an honest smile.
"Thank you. For saving my life, for protecting me. For protecting us. Thank you, Naruto, for being there."
"Just be kind to him. Lord knows he needs it."
Dark blue eyes pinned her down, and for a second Rei wondered if she'd said the wrong thing, then the strangest thing happened.
It wasn't a smile, not really. More like a half-smirk, but, it still managed to light up his face in a way she'd never thought possible. Like the beginnings of the sun peaking out over the mountains.
"Don't thank me, it's like I said before, you're all just incredibly lucky." With that, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and promptly walked past her, stopping only just before turning the corner to say a few parting words. "And...you're welcome, Rei."
Her heart thumped loudly within her chest when he said her name, but when she finally found the courage to turn and face him, Naruto was already gone.
Niki walked the halls of the Takagi estate, her fingertips idly tracing the decorative ornaments as she passed while her own thoughts wandered themselves.
You're going to make me strong, huh?
Toshimi Niki? The girl who still cried when her knees got scrapped. The girl who could never muster the courage to stand up for herself. The girl who only had one strength and a hundred different weaknesses. That girl? He would make her strong? Impossible.
What does that even mean anyway? To be strong? Her lips set themselves into a thin line and her expression tightened at the thought.
Saeko was strong because she commanded respect and never faltered. The whole world looked at her, expected things from her, and she took it with all the grace of a tigress. Misuzu was strong because she was kind. She could forgive as easily as she could blink and manage a laugh even when she cried. Naruto...
Naruto was strong because he wasn't afraid. Not of the world or the people in it. Through those dark blue eyes it seemed as if nothing would ever matter.
Why was he like that? What made him into the cold person he was now? Niki thought back to what Misuzu had told her weeks ago.
Give him a chance...
Did he even deserve a chance?
"The one thing I can't do, Niki... is protect."
What did he mean by that? Her brow furrowed and a frown marked her features.
It didn't make sense, none of it! Nothing made sense anymore! Misuzu was dead, the world was ending, people were turning into monsters, and yet all she could think about now was the fact that she might have misjudged him. Just like everyone else. Which in turn made her no better than everyone else. Naruto wasn't as cold as he made himself out to be, she knew this now. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't bitter or a nihilist, he was just tired.
As if all life had been drained from him, as if he'd already died long ago...
But tired of what? Life? Living? Then why keep going? Why punish yourself even more?
Which brought her to her biggest question.
Why did he choose to suffer?
"Hey! Excuse me, miss?" Niki's trail of thought was brought to a halt as a distinctly male tenor called out to her. Her eyes and ears focused on her left, and when she turned her head to greet the stranger, the girl couldn't help but blush.
He was handsome. That was a given. Bright green eyes and messy brown hair with oddly tanned skin. He was tall too, as tall as Naruto, and wore a similar uniform to the rest of the armed men she'd seen stationed around the estate.
But, he looks so young... The handsome stranger didn't look a day over eighteen!
He marched over to her, stopping a few short feet away and beamed, his pearly whites almost blinding the dumbfounded Niki.
"Sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but notice..." a blush made its way over her cheeks as he regarded her, "that I've never seen you around before! Are you perhaps one of the newer arrivals that came in with that big group a little while ago?"
Niki nodded her head mutely, still a bit dazed.
"Awesome! I can't believe my luck!" His grin widened. It was almost infectious how happy this man seemed to be, endearing even. In spite of the terrible situation they were all in he looked as if it were just a normal meeting between two strangers.
Were those dark thoughts not still lingering in the back of her mind, Niki might have smiled back.
"My name is Tadeshi Naoya! I'm the apprentice to Takagi Souichiro, the guy who lives here. Since you came with that group, I'm really hoping you can help me out. I'm actually looking for two of your people right now."
Niki glanced at his uniform once more before returning to his smile. It looked genuine, and it was warm. In all honesty... it reminded her a little of Misuzu's.
"O-Oh, is that so? If you tell me their names I suppose I might be able to help."
Naoya beamed once again. "Awesome! I'm looking for Takagi Saya and Uzumaki Naruto. One has pink hair and the other looks like a pretty gangster, can't miss em!" At the mention Niki visibly flinched. "Oh? Do you know them then? Naruto is an old friend of mine. He's seems bit cold on the outside but the guys a big softie who loves his ramen! And Saya, well..." Naoya blushed, "she's my betrothed." He trailed off for a moment, but it didn't last long. "O-Of course now you can see why I'm so worried! They're both very dear to me and—"
"I get it." She interrupted him mid-rant. "It's okay, you don't have to say anything else." This time Niki did manage a smile, however forced it may have been. "I don't know where Takagi-san is, but I assume her father must have spoken with her by now. So you could try speaking with him."
Naoya's eyes lit up in realization. "Of course! I haven't spoken to the Don yet! Gah! How could I be so brainless!"
The brunette fought back a giggle. Though her next words delivered a swift end to whatever amusement she might have felt.
"As for Naruto...well, truthfully I don't know. It seems like no one can find him right now."
It was true, Uzumaki Naruto had vanished, gone, and in spite of how much she'd kicked herself for looking, Niki couldn't help but try. Naruto, he was another memory of her, however ugly it may be. By the end of it all they'd even become somewhat of a frequent sight around Fujimi Academy. Misuzu, Naruto, and herself. The angel and her nun who decided to play footsies with the devil. She could still hear the whispers at their backs. Feel the spite being directed at them from just associating with Uzumaki Naruto.
She cared, perhaps maybe even too much...but Misuzu, she never cared.
The only person who's opinion she truly cared about, was him.
Why? Why was it him?
"Ah...that...well, suffice to say it makes me a little nervous. Naruto, I'm not sure if he can handle himself out there with the way things are right now." Naoya stated grimly. At his sides his hands balled themselves into fists. "Tch! Damn!... Listen, umm, miss?"
It was here that Niki realized she'd never given him her name.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, Toshimi Niki."
"Right! I want to thank you, Toshimi-chan! I was tired before but you've renewed my vigor! Saya can wait, she's safe here, now I just need to focus on finding Naruto!" Naoya delivered another bright smile and then made his exit not a second later, as if there was not time to waste, the loud stomping of his feet echoing in her ears as he all but marched toward who knows where.
Niki watched him go until she couldn't see him any longer.
Naruto...needing help? Even in the middle of this undead apocalypse Niki would have scoffed at the notion. That's almost funny. He's the least scared of us all.
Naruto closed the door to his room and glided toward the box still laying unopened over his bed. His body moving on autopilot as he took a seat on the edge and simply stared at the cardboard cube.
What could be in there? Souchiro was not a clever man, nor was he a complicated one. He was as simple as they came in fact. A man of honor, of principal and tradition. Whatever was inside this box wasn't a trick or a trap. No, Souichiro was not deceitful a man either. What he was however, was a thinker, a true player of the game if there had ever been one. What was inside this box would would be doing the negotiating for him. A carefully calculated move that would shift his loyalties toward whatever his goals may be.
And here he sat, with that same game piece resting over his lap, fingers slipping in through the cracks and at the ready.
What is it that you want from me, Takagi Souichiro? A soft sigh escaped him as he thought it over one more time.
Today's events were still fresh, did he really want to add on to the headache? Admittedly, patience was never one of his virtues.
The first thing Naruto saw when he opened the box was a small note laying atop a neatly folded something. He carefully reached inside and plucked the note out before reading it aloud to himself.
"These belong with you, you left before I could give them to you. Come talk to me when you're ready."
He snorted and put the note to the side then grabbed the veiled, oval shaped object beneath, and with a pull, removed the thin fabric to reveal...
A mask.
Two empty holes for eyes and a blank white canvas for its features — cracked, scuffed, chipped and broken. It was a mask. A mask he'd worn up until his 'final' moments. It was his old anbu mask. Hundreds of memories flooded him at the sight of it, some he'd even all but forgotten, but out all of them one stuck out the most...
"So, why are you here? Don't you have a clan to rebirth or something?" A fifteen year old Naruto stood side by side with the only other remaining member of what was once team seven, Uchiha Sasuke.
"Hn, do I need a better reason then to simply show you up?"
For the first time in weeks, a small smile made its way over Naruto's pale features.
"You're gonna need both arms for that, Sasuke."
"Sorry we're not all lucky enough to have a biju there to miraculously heal us." Despite himself, the Uchiha smirked.
The two stood at seemingly the center of a dry, barren valley that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Their eyes locked on the sole figure clad in white and black who floated high above like a god.
"Is this it? I ask for the whole of their army and they send me you in their stead? How pathetic. I believe I've already squashed you both once before." Uchiha Madara sneered. "Do you not realize you're being used as bait you fools? That the pathetic Alliance whom you're so valiantly about to defend are currently running like the cowards they are in a desperate attempt to postpone the inevitable. I am a god now. In my perfect world, cowards like them will be a thing of the past. Though...I suppose you two will serve as a fine test for my newly acquired power." With a wave of his hand, the black balls that rested in place behind him separated at once. Making their way down in mass like some sort of godly envoys and quickly surrounding the two teens, forming a wide perfect circle around them.
"Why am I here...?" Sasuke echoed. "I'm here because I want to fix my mistakes, because I want to bring true peace to the Uchiha, and to my brother...and I'm here, to die by your side, because someone has to. Is that good enough?" A pair of red and black eyes burst to life, eyes that far surpassed even the Mangekyo Sharingan in their power, and the sound of chirping birds began to chorus from seemingly nowhere.
The winds picked up and began to howl, and as Naruto reached behind him and pulled out a familiar aged mask, he spoke. "Yeah," he retored as he placed it over his face "...it's better than what I came up with."
A tiny breeze rolled by them.
"And what about you, any regrets?" Sasuke asked, sparing the kindred soul a glance.
Within the palm of the blonds outstretched hand a blue ball that looked as if it contained all the force of ten hurricanes formed. "Me?" He chuckled dryly."Yeah, honestly, I think that somewhere deep inside...I still would have liked to become Hokage one day."
In that instant black lightning encompassed the whole of the area they stood, and what would be his final battle finally began.
That was the first, and the only time, that he'd ever told anyone the truth. That of all the regrets that burned within his chest like wildfire, that one would always burn the hottest. He used to shout it to the heavens. More as a reminder to himself that to anyone else.
I'm gonna be the Hokage!
He would proclaim it every morning before class and every night before bed to his own reflection. So that he'd never once forget his goal.
...and then somewhere in all that smoke and cinder, he'd lost sight of it.
There was a time when he'd thought it all a messed up dream for a while. That perhaps he was never a shinobi to begin with, and that the war, Madara, Danzo, it all never happened. That it wasn't real and he was just another normal kid in this world who'd only dreamed of a more exciting life and nothing more.
But...it wasn't a dream, was it? No matter how much I wish it were.
A single finger ran along the thin cracks that made it appear as if the mask itself could shatter into pieces at any moment now, until it stopped at a point just above the left eye, where a small puncture was. He remembered this one well, an enemy had thrown a kunai to his blind-side while he was distracted. When he'd turned to greet the pointy end, it lodged itself in the mask, and for a moment his enemies thought they'd won. The brief second was all Naruto needed at the time to make short work of them all...
He sighed. This thin piece of plastic, barley held together by tiny bits of chakra sealed on the inside. It had been burnt by fire, cut by the winds, stained with gravel and rock, and submerged underwater. It'd been shocked, cut, punched and kicked. It saved his life, protected him, even crossed worlds with him.
But it never broke.
Naruto stared at it, and it stared back.
Where did you go? What have you become? It questioned him.
Where will you go now? What will you become now? It asked him.
Will you wear me again and hide, just like before? It taunted him.
Would he? It always seemed so much easier...
His tired gaze fell on the neatly folded black band that was hiding underneath, and gingerly, he reached inside and pulled it out. The torn black cloth hanging from his fingertips as a lone metal plate, scratched and dented, caught his eye. An odd swirl that oddly resembled a leaf carved into the very center. And in that moment Naruto knew that whatever god was out there did indeed have a twisted sense of humor.
I thought I'd lost this forever...
The cloth was newer, it needed to be replaced after his first fight with Madara, but the plate...it was the same one Iruka gave him on that night.
"I believe in you, Naruto. I believe you will become someone great."
Iruka died that night.
"Hello? Uzumaki-san?" Naruto's eyes snapped up and the blond stiffened, his hand instantly reaching behind to grab a weapon that wasn't there out of instinct.
Who?! He'd been caught off guard, again.
When dark blue met honeycomb brown, his tense shoulders loosened and his lips fell into a thin line. To her credit, Shizuka had the decency to blush. By the look of him it seemed Naruto wasn't expecting any company.
"I-I'm so sorry! I knocked a few times and no one answered so I thought that I'd check up on youbecauseIwaskindofworriedand—"
"—Slow down." Naruto spoke, his hand returning to his side.
By the end of her obviously flustered rant the blond could barely even make any sense of her words. Shizuka blushed and quickly averted her gaze. Her heart thumping loudly within her chest. That look in his eyes, it was wild, like an animal. And the way he reached behind him... for a second there she really thought he'd kill her.
In truth it reminded her of something, or rather, of someone.
An awkward silence fell between them with shortly after, with Shizuka standing half-way in-between the room and the halls, and Naruto sitting on his bed, staring. Idly the older blond took note of the somewhat creepy and odd mask laying over his lap. Instead of capturing human expressions, as most masks did, this one was a blank face with two tiny holes for eyes. As if it were meant to mock those same expressions.
"So," Naruto spoke up, "you've been knocking this entire time?"
Shizuka nodded.
And I didn't notice, not once. If Shizuka were an enemy, he might've been dead. His distraction would have been his demise. But...this isn't that life anymore, is it? And it's taken me this long to remember.
His gaze shifted over to the cracked mask and stayed there for a moment, one that Shizuka didn't miss.
"...Are you okay, Uzumaki-san?" She questioned softly. Naruto didn't outright answer her, but the look in his eyes, his expression, it told her all she needed to know.
Shizuka was a nurse, a healer, she'd dedicated her entire life to helping people as much as she could because it made her feel good. Because it was the right thing to do. But there were wounds far deeper than any surgeon could ever stitch and pains that no amount of drugs could ever hope to ease. Wounds of the soul, the mind, and of the heart...
Which is why she'd taken an interest in psychology, with the idea that she if could come to somehow understand the human psyche better she could potentially treat these otherwise untouchable wounds. It was why she opted to befriend Rika all those years ago, who at the time seemed more alone than anyone else in the entire world.
"How did you find this room?" Naruto asked her out of the blue.
"The lady of the house, Takagi-sama, she told me. I ran into her and I asked if she'd seen you anywhere, she gave me this weird look and then told me to try here."
A deep sigh escaped him at her brief explanation. Damn that woman... Of course he probably should have locked the door.
"Well then, since you made the long walk here. What can I do for you, Marikawa-san?"
It was here that Shizuka faltered. As always, while her intentions were good, her actual social skills were less than stellar.
"A-Ah, well, you see I wanted to make sure that you were okay and all, mentally? Physically? I don't know. I checked everyone but Kouta-kun and yourself out. Kouta-kun doesn't seem to want to talk with anyone right now so that just left you. And now here I am."
Naruto eyed her before he spoke. "I'm fine."
"Fine?" Shizuka wasn't buying it, and neither was she having it. They'd been here for almost half a day now. Everyone had showered, they'd eaten, made sure to introduce themselves — everyone but him of course. "You're still covered in old blood which I can't even tell if it's yours or Theirs, there's a tear in your shirt, and I'm pretty sure the color is just now staring to come back to you. From my professional perspective, Uzumaki-san, you. are. not. fine."
Naruto blinked. Momentarily stunned at the sudden one-eighty.
Are all blond, busty women who study medicine the same? He mused mentally. Naruto remembered Tsunade being entirely too aggressive when she'd enter what most in the rebellion had dubbed her 'medic mode'. Issuing orders to even Kakashi, who'd never once managed to escape her wrath and as a result, actually listened. Gai and Lee were sealed and bound to their beds, and he himself had to be put into a forced coma just to make sure there would no attempts at an escape.
A small smile turned the corners of his lips up. Those were the fonder memories.
"I'm fine," he said it again, "there's no need to worry about me.
Shizuka didn't seem too surprised by the smile, but, it did make her sad. "Uzumaki-san, how old are you?" She asked him.
Naruto raised a brow at the rather off-topic question. "Seventeen, I'll be eighteen in a month."
A sad smile reflected his own.
"Seventeen, huh? That's way too young... Did you know, Uzumaki-san, that Misuzu was my assistant?"
Naruto's expression sobered at the mention. "Yeah, we've talked about it..."
"And...did you know that she talked about you a lot, Uzumaki-san? More than even she knew really. The things she'd tell me about the infamous Uzumaki Naruto. ...'Everyone hates him, and he can be such a jerk sometimes! It's true! But he's got a big heart too!'... she told me that before she even found the courage to talk to you. She used to watch you from afar you know? Take notes of every little detail...she was good at that. There was this one thing, I'll never forget it. I'm not sure if you knew but, you both went to the same grocery store and she would sort of stalk you there when she could."
An amused chuckle escaped her.
"Anyway, there was a man there, a homeless one. He'd sit outside of that store everyday from what she told me, hoping someone would bother, but no one ever spared more than a few bucks... until this harsh looking kid did something strange. He didn't give the man money, or food, he just sat down next to him and asked to hear a story, and then he listened."
Seventeen years old and Naruto looked far too natural, too comfortable, covered in all of that sticky red mess. Shizuka had seen those eyes and that look of resignation dozens of times before on Rika when she'd come home after a mission, covered in blood and visibly shaking. The grip over her gun so tight that Shizuka almost couldn't pry it away from her.
"She asked the man what they talked about and the man said he couldn't even remember. That all he could remember, all he could talk about really, was how happy he was that someone bothered to talk to him. How in that moment, he felt a little less alone in the world. And then this kid visited him whenever he could, until the man himself stopped coming..."
Naruto sat there, listening to a story he knew better than most until she'd reached the end, before he spoke up. "His name was Tazuna, he lost his job, and as a result, he lost his family. He'd been homeless for a year and he was depressed. On the last day I saw him he told me he saw his wife, his kids, and another man walking out of the store. He told me goodbye that day...and he killed himself that same night by jumping off the bridge."
Whatever words would have left her mouth died in her throat. Shizuka had heard about that particular story on the news.
"Tch, stupid old man...too weak to keep on living. Although to be honest, I envy the poor bastard. At least he's free now."
...
"Uzumaki-san, may I ask you a question?"
Naruto leveled her with that same expression he'd used thousands of times before. "Sure, but I'm not obliged give you an answer."
"I think...I think you'll want to answer this one. If I like what I hear, you'll make an ally of me." She playfully winked in an effort to lighten the mood.
Kakashi had always warned him of his innate curiosity.
With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her to get on with it.
Of course, Shizuka was still trying her hardest to word the actual question itself without insulting him. When she couldn't think of a subtle or clever way to phrase it, she opted to be painfully blunt instead.
"Why did you save Alice's life? It didn't benefit you, and from what Miyamoto-san told me, Alice was out of the way...so, why?"
Naruto expected a lot of different things to come out of her mouth, that however, wasn't one of them. "Hm, I thought you'd be more curious as to how I can make clones and leap tall buildings in a single bound. Not my reasons for saving a ten year old girl."
"As strange as that was, your secrets are your own. You saved our lives regardless, and besides, the dead are eating the living and I've already seen you fight off hundreds of Them. It wasn't all that much of a shock to me at that point."
It took almost a minute of careful considerations before Naruto finally decided to give her an answer. "You want to know why, do you?"
Shizuka nodded."Yes. That girl...she looks up to you now whether you like it or not. You saved her life and as a result, she feels safe around you. I haven't seen her relax once unless she's by your side. It's like I told you yesterday, she's your responsibility now, you are her protector. I want to know if you're cut out for the job."
He pursed his lips at her words. "Last I checked, I didn't take any vows."
"When you choose to take responsibility for a life, you do."
At that Naruto let out a laugh that lacked in any honest amusement. "Well said, Marikawa-san." He nodded his head. "Okay, you want to know why I saved her life? I'll tell you. I saved her because...because I was desperate. Desperate to right my wrongs, to see if I could do some good. When I heard her scream, when I saw her kneeling by her dads corpse. Her entire world flipped upside down, I figured...why the hell not?" He then smiled an honest smile, the first one in years. "That's the beauty of it...isn't it? You take a chance...you bite...you pray, and you cling to it. Because deep down you hope that something will come out of it. That something will change."
Shizuka stood dumbfounded.
Naruto packed his belongings back into the box and stood, that same smile still on his face. "You can keep the room, it's becoming too easy to find anyway." He said before brushing past her.
When she finally came to her senses and turned to call out to him, Naruto was already gone.
"There you are!"
Saya froze mid-step, her eyes grew wide and her breath hitched. The eyes of the servants and the guards turned toward the large staircase where she sat rooted, and most all of them tenderly smiled. And how could they not? The future husband of Takagi Saya — who loved her so much — had just regarded her, and in front of all these people too, where he knew she could not run.
"I've been looking for you, Saya-chan! What's say you and I talk a walk, we've got a lot to talk about you know." Naoya was beside her in an instant. A smile so fake and so familiar on his handsome features that she almost barfed in her mouth at the sight.
Saya didn't speak, she only nodded.
"Good good, now if you would please follow me my love." He took her by the wrist and led her away without a thought. To the servants and the guards, it was a romantic scene between the future husband and bride to be, and of course it would seem that way... Though none but her noticed just how tightly Naoya was gripping her already injured wrist.
When they were far away enough and Naoya was sure they were alone, he turned to her, a smile that sent shivers down her spine plastered over his face.
Before he could even speak, Saya turned and ran. She ran as fast a she could and ignored his yells for her to come back.
There's no way! There's no way I'll ever be alone with him again!
If it weren't for her mysterious savior, Saya would have lost something very important to her on that night to a man who plotted to kill her father and take his fortune for himself. A cruel man who wasn't even a year older than her and yet wanted nothing more than to take what wasn't his.
She ran until she found her room and slammed the door behind her. Her back hitting it soon after as she slid down and pulled her knees close. Memories she'd once drowned bubbling up to the surface.
"You are mine, Saya. This place, these people, the money, and all of the power. It belongs to me! And I will take it! I will take it, just as I will take you, my love."
Tears threatened to spill forth but she fought against them. The worst part about it all was that her father didn't believe her. When she tried to warn him, he falsely accused her and sent her away. All the while Naoya stood at his side, that blasted smirk on his face for all the world to see.
Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!
Her only condolence is that maybe, just maybe, he'd die out there. Eaten and ripped to shreds by the monsters.
Yeah, that would solve all of her problems. But that would never happen. She knew better of how the world worked. The bad never actually happened to the bad, only the good.
She'd have to confront her father soon...
The day was coming to an end, the sun was setting, and still, nothing had changed.
If anything the situation was gradually worsening. Fires still erupted from all around the city and pillars of smoke met the slowly darkening skies above. Helicopters whirred about and They wandered in packs that grew larger and larger by the hour. People began to turn on one another as panic gripped the hearts of the populace. In another week or so, society would probably collapse entirely.
And here he sat, the sounds of the ocean washing away the distant screams, facing yet another grave. Though there was no body that lay in this one and he honestly preferred it that way. The thought that Misuzu was still rotting in a hole still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Naruto remembered this beach. Two years ago he'd dragged himself out of its salty waters with barley a breath left in him and onto the shore, and from there, he wandered the streets of Tokonosu until a remote spot caught his eye. In which he'd broken in and some stupid old man took pity on him.
"One more sunset..." He whispered aloud to himslef.
The clouds passed and time drifted until nothing but a black, starless night remained. Not once did he move from his spot.
It was...peaceful.
The smell of salt and blood disguised his scent and none bothered to approach him.
He only sat and remembered.
"You were a drunk and a slave driver. A pervert, a horrible boss, and a terrible influence...but you were a good man and I will remember you, Hayate Kakuzu." The winds swept through his blond locks and for once, Naruto closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Letting a calm he hadn't felt in years wash over him like a wave.
"One last time...I'll keep my promise one last time, for her, and for you. I'll protect them for as long as I can until they don't need me anymore. I can't bring myself break a promise anyway, after all, it's all I've ever really had."
"The road will always be long and dark, Naruto-boy, and you'll never be sure if you've gone the right way or not. But what else can you do but keep walking? Take pride in what you can do now and forget what you've done."
"Hopefully, I'll see again one day." He'd made his choice, and with that, Naruto turned his back on the makeshift grave and made his way back to the Takagi Estate.
Tomorrow would be Niki's first lesson.