Hesitation

The ground under me buckled and exploded from the immense chakra I was emitting, causing a rather large crater to form under me. My hair began to grow longer and more wild-like as my two canines extended and lightning began to surge around me. A long, bushy tail sprouted from my back, and my nails grew to sharp points as I let out a deafening roar.

My chakra was surging, causing a pale blue aura to rise up like a greedy flame devouring its prey, making me look pretty badass. I moved with such speed, that I myself could barely keep up as I appeared behind the burly man and prepared to split him in two, but he was faster than I thought. The man ducked and spun with his sword in hand, looking to cleave me in two, but I was able to bring my sword back to block the ferocious blow.

I shoved the man away shrouded my blade in lightning as I once again engaged the man in battle. At this point, the rest of the ninja were attacking Kakashi as he protected the frozen siblings. I saw the fear in their eyes, the hesitance to kill another human. It was all so very easy to see, yet why did I ignore it? Why did I blow it off as them being cowards? Maybe if I had understood their fear, maybe I could have avoided everything...

'Damnit! I gotta finish this, and quick!' I thought as I jumped on top of the shinobi's blade and used it as leverage to jump and kick his jaw, successfully dislocating it in the process. The man backed up a few steps as he popped his jaw back into place before pulling his second sword out from its holster on his back.

"Heh, yer good kid, but now I'm getting serious!" A dark purple aura surrounded the man as he directed all of his killing intent toward me, making me stall for a split second. That was all he needed. Dark purple fire surrounded me and exploded into a massive pillar of flames. The man smirked and turned to observe his men fighting, but whipped his head around when he felt my chakra surge.

The massive pillar of flames slowly shrunk down, but by bit to reveal me holding one hand up and the other in my pocket, the flames flowing into my outstretched hand. The man's eyes bulged out of their sockets before a snarl contorted his face as he readied his swords once more. Fur began to grow across my arms and legs as two curved horns sprouted from my head.

Since this guy uses fire, then I'll just fight fire with fire. I spread my arms out wide and willed the fire and lightning elements to form, causing a massive fireball to take shape to my left as a large spear of lightning took shape on my right. Not just the burly man, but everyone stood in awe as they watched my incomprehensible display of control.

The man quickly summoned his Chakra Beast, a large wolf that looked to be formed completely out of purple fire with two heads. Keeping my jutsu activated, I said "Tokage, come out and play for a bit..." causing the two curved horns on my head to recede and my fireball to get slightly smaller as a massive dragon-like creature burst into life from an equally massive wall of fire.

Tokage turned his deep blue eyes to me and happily grunted before turning his gaze over toward the man and his Chakra Beast. Tokage had grown to over 20m long with a large and muscled frame that would put any bodybuilder to shame. Tokage let out a loud roar as his frame shrunk down to 10m, making him considerably faster. Tokage blurred, because of his ridiculously fast movements, and reappeared next to the flaming wolf.

Tokage increased his size back to 20m before chomping down on the wolves neck. The wolf yelped in pain as it frantically increased the heat of its flames, only to have Tokage absorb them. While the enemy ninja was distracted, I quickly teleported next to the burly man and sliced his side with my hand. I berated myself for not pulling out my [Reaper's Caress] and ending this battle in one blow, but I had no time for such thoughts as the man turned his furious gaze toward me and bellowed as he swung his massive swords toward me.

I backed away from the vicious blow and blasted his exposed chest with lightning, causing him to stagger back and give me enough time to settle into a low stance with my left hand holding my katana sheath while my right rested above its handle, ready to strike. The man charged and I waited until he got close, and then I took a deep breath.

And unsheathed.

My sword flew like an unhindered bird flying in the sky, and struck like a python with impossible speed and precision. I neared the man's exposed abdomen before he could even blink an eye.

But I froze.

Could I actually kill another person...?

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kakashi yelled as the man's sword came crashing down upon me. I activated my [Fire Scales] as well as my [Skin Hardening], but I still felt the power behind the strike. I spun and kicked the man's knee, effectively breaking it before reversing my kick to spin and kick the man in his already injured jaw once more.

I jumped back and struggled to control my Chakra Beasts raging emotions. They wanted to kill the man, but I resisted. I resisted until the very end.

Kakashi appeared next to the man and sunk his kunai deep into his neck, killing him quickly. He walked up to me and yelled "What the hell were you doing!? You had him and you backed out! If you can't kill enemies who seek to kill you, then you are not fit to be shinobi!" before walking over to the siblings and giving them an even worse thrashing.

I couldn't blame them. They were scared and didn't want to kill another human, but that's the kind of world we live in. It's kill or be killed. I looked over at Tokage, who was sitting next to the corpse of the man's Chakra Beast, causing the massive drake to walk over to me. I scratched under his chin for a bit before dismissing him. The fur on my body began to recede as well as my two canines and fingernails. My hair shrunk back to its regular size and everything was completely fine.

Well I just had to say that, huh?

I doubled over and spit out a mouthful of blood as I tried to catch my breath. A ball of fire around the size of my head appeared in front of my, so I greedily absorbed it, repairing my body as well as my chakra reserves in the process. I wiped some dirt off of my blindfold before standing back up and waiting for my headache to go away.

---

We had finally reached the village gates after a few hours, and I was completely and utterly mentally exhausted. I started to walk back to Kakashi's apartment when he grabbed me and the sibling and teleported away.

We appeared in a small arena like place with three wooden poles planted into the ground...and each of them had captured enemy shinobi tied to them.

Kakashi walked out in front of us and said "I should have done this before the mission, but this will make it to where you three will never be afraid to kill a human again." He then handed Hayake and Ayame kunai's before looking to me and saying "Draw your sword..." in a cold voice.

In the whole time I had lived with this man, I had never saw this side of him. He would never put me in a position like this, or so I thought. But here he is now, telling me to reap the life of a man crying and begging to be spared.

I clenched my teeth and grabbed the handle of my sword, my hands shaking violently. I heard a feral cry and saw Hayake running toward one of the men with tears blurring his eyes. I breathed out and drew my sword, cutting a perfect arc to bisect Hayake's kunai. I brought my katana back to block a thrust aimed for my eyes.

Kakashi had his headband lifted up to reveal the same damned eye that those bastards had. I was filled with such rage when I stared into that eye of his. I kicked his side and slashed him in two, causing his body to turn into a log. I whipped around and held my katana up in a defensive stance, but nothing happened.

I saw Hayake staring at his kunai, dumbfounded, and Ayame shaking violently as she stared at the people tied up on the poles.

'Damnit! I always say that I need power to protect everyone, but I can't even kill someone who wants to kill me, let alone a man who can't even fight.' My body tensed up as I sprung forward to cleanly and painlessly send those men back into the cycle of reincarnation.

'I killed those men so they wouldn't have to' is what I kept telling myself.

But the guilt in my heart only worsened, and spread like a poison.

I turned and walked away, leaving Hayake and Ayame to their own devices. I found myself sitting under the same cherry blossom that I always go to when I'm feeling anxious or pissed. A familiar blue wolf appeared next to me, nuzzling my arm and saying "It's okay, Ryuu. Those men were fated to die either way, so it was better that you were the one to do it. You sent them to a better place with no pain. That in itself is a blessing..."

I sighed and pet Kenshi's head in silence. It was a strange thing, you know how my Chakra Beasts can sense my every emotion and are able to understand them. I sometimes wonder what they have been through in order to understand my plight's so well.

I heard the crunching of leaves behind me, prompting me to look over my shoulder. I saw the pale faced siblings walking toward me with a mixture of fear and relief in their eyes.

'Fear, huh...? I remember when my own family looked at me with fear.' I thought as a sad smile spread across my lips.

"T-Thank you for, you know, helping us out back there. I ju-"

"You need to learn to carry yourselves with more conviction. You both are very talented, but you lack faith in your skills and you lack the conviction to kill. Much like myself." I stood up with muffled grunt and continued "If you want to survive then you have to make tough choices, even if it includes killing your opponent, because I promise you that the next shinobi we fight will not hesitate to lop off your heads."

I heard Hayake audibly swallow before he responded "I...I just don't want to become a killer..." in a low voice.

"As long as you do not find joy in killing other, and as long as you follow your goals, you won't become a killer. Don't lose sight of who you are. I believe in both of you, and I believe in your skills." My expression softened as I looked at the obviously scared and slightly unconvinced siblings, but I felt that they would become valuable assets in the future.

And I realized that I would do anything to protect them...