The... Blackness
Fuuuuck...!
My freaking head hurts...! Is this how hangovers feel...?! Shit...! Dark times lie ahead of us, Narutodore...!
...H-Huh...?!
...What the devil is this ominous-looking... blackness... in the middle of which a deformed shrine exists? It has buffalo-shaped skulls jutting from it, giant horns on its roof... and yikes! Those eerie-looking mouths on the sides...!
And oh, take a look at that! The surface reflects... and dang, I look like a shitbag! What happened to my god-sculpted face...?! Where did it go...?!
"Creepy..." seems to be the only way of describing this... blackness. And, to top it off, this isn't even... genjutsu... yeah, genius, it ain't.
...Tch. Whatever — all I have to do now is find some way out. Then... the... Chuunin... E-Exams...!
W-Wait...!
Just then, a horrible realisation struck me in the face like a tonne of bricks. My match with Lee... Gaara... Orochimaru...! Sound-nin... Sand-nin... Then... Hiruzen-jichan...! And...! And his death at the hands of that traitorous white snake...!
His death devastated me to my core. I reminisced on all the good... and all the bad times I'd shared with him. I had no idea when my eyes started to flood up with tears... all while I wandered towards that shrine, which seemed to be drawing me in... screaming out to me.
I loathed myself as well. My last conversation with him was nearly two months ago... at Ichiraku's... we argued... more like I let my frustration get the best of me and went on a rant... in front of the Hokage no less... as to whether killing is right or wrong...
We never spoke again after that, as if we were never that close. We'd only converse when he assigned me my Anbu duties, as a leader would to a subordinate... fuck...! Damn it...! Damn it all! I hate myself...! I absolutely hate myself!
After... Kane-jichan passed away... if there was anyone I truly considered family along with Ino and Naruto, it was ji-chan... Hiruzen-jichan. And... he's not here with me anymore...!
"!"
...My mind was suddenly flooded with new memories... They all felt like mine... but then at the same time... they didn't.
After we... Naruto, Sakura, and I, after we hurried after Sasuke and saved him, we all faced Gaara, who had already allowed his Tailed Beast to take control of his body... Naruto later tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra... and that's when I...
That's when these memories start getting hazy... blurry... are they truly mine...? Or did someone else...? Naruto even summoned that monstrous toad... Gamabunta. We all tried our hardest to defeat Gaara... or the One-Tail... and did succeed. But these memories...
But these memories... visions... show me practically teleporting... flickering here and there... and those... acrobatic maneuvers... Is it possible that my Rikugan had evolved...? ...Because of the heated battle, maybe I developed some new abilities...? I sighed inwardly... of course not.
...Even though it had fallen, the One-Tail didn't concede... it still had one last, immensely devastating attack in its arsenal. The Tailed Beast Ball. I've heard from Kane-jichan that they are a Tailed Beast's ultimate technique, with power that can be felt across countries and even dwarf islands.
When all hope had died, something strange happened to me. I felt a chill... then a warmer... sensation everywhere across my upper body. I suddenly blurred, teleporting right in front of the enormous purple ball of positive and negative chakra, indifferent to Naruto's screams of concern.
I then lifted my right hand, my index finger held high. The warm sensation raced back into my body... and a small red orb blossomed on the tip of my index finger. The orb whirled atop my fingertip, bathing the sky in a bloody red tinge as though it had always been so.
Despite the immense pressure exerted by the red orb atop my fingertip, the One-Tail remained undeterred. In the twinkling of an eye, the One-Tail... that identified itself as Shukaku, launched the Tailed Beast Ball at me at ridiculous speeds. The red orb began to gleam rapidly at that moment.
...As if it were a star about to explode. Just then, the orb, now a darker shade of red, spun out of control and exploded, unleashing a tremendous vortex that threatened to annihilate everything in its wake... even the Tailed Beast Ball.
...
...
...
The only remaining memories I have are all blurry... hazy... with the exception of one. Hiruzen-jichan falling to the ground... a few small bruises on his face... blood seeping from his mouth... dead. That's... all, huh...? That's all I can remember, huh...?
I strive to live up to the ideals that my grandfather instilled in me... ideals that I admired. Kane-jichan sought to put an end to the dreadful cycle of hatred, and I hope to do so as well. But, after what happened to Hiruzen-jichan... I couldn't help but bear immense hatred for that snake.
I don't want to get sucked into that cycle of hatred... but I'm not naïve... I'm not that ignorant. My grandfather taught me that there would be anomalies as well, bastards with whom you had to be cold... brutal... merciless. Orochimaru is one of them...!-
"...Haven't finished daydreaming yet, you twerp?" I was jolted out of my stupor by a voice. Pause...! A voice?! I hadn't even noticed him...! Where did he even come from...?! He's danger. But, whoever he is, he's probably the one who brought me to this... blackness.
I jerked my head up and realised I was still standing where I had started. But I'm sure I was walking...! My legs moved! I then heard a light chuckle coming from none other than the man who brought me here. He likely guessed my thoughts.
And there he was, a man with spiky pink hair and strange black markings on his temples, nose, cheeks, and chest, sitting calmly on his throne of skulls. He was wearing a light-colored kimono with black accents and was barefoot. His chin rested against his hand... as he gave me a toothy grin.
"Are you done staring at my flawless flawlessness?" Smirking, he said. I didn't have time to entertain his inked face, though. "...Who are you? Why did you bring me here to this place? What is your purpose? Wha-"
...
"Okay, enough! I'm not in the mood for that rapid-fire round of yours, brat. Just listen to what I have to say." As he got off his throne, the pink-haired man grumbled. Miyuki lifted his guard as he approached him, slightly, so as not to warn the man.
The pinkhead, on the other hand, knew better.
...
...
...
Miyuki opened his bright blue eyes and gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling of the room he was in... a disinfectant-scented room. 'Hospital...' He guessed right away.
"What on earth happened after that...?" As he tried to get up, he noticed Ino. She sat in a chair near his bed, laying her head on it. He faintly smiled as he gazed at the blonde, who left him feeling a mixture of emotions each time he looked at her.
A warm sensation welled up within him. He softly caressed her hair as he brought his arm closer to her. Ino awoke slightly raised her head as she felt something. And she raised her eyes to the boy she wanted to see awake.
"M-Miyuki! You finally woke up!" She jumped on top of him and hugged him tightly. "Thank goodness you've finally woken up!" And she began to cry, speaking in between sobs. Miyuki wrapped his arms around her as well. "I'm... sorry...? I think...?"
And just as he was about to chuckle it off, Ino pulls away from the hug and gives him the "look". "You think you're sorry...?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" She then goes on a rant about just how insensitive, careless, and heartless the Shirogane is.
"Fine! I don't give a damn about you! I'm going to leave!" And she gets up to leave, but Miyuki stops her, seizing her hand. The blonde had a playful smirk on her face, blissfully unaware to the red-haired boy.
"What...? Have something for me?" She then pretended to be annoyed, as though she hated even speaking to him. "Do you really not care about me...? Are you going to leave me here... alone...?" His tone was legit sadness, which easily broke through Ino's ruse.
"N-No...! I was just joking! I'm never going to leave-" 'Hook, line, and sinker.' Miyuki smirked inwardly as he thought. This time, the blonde girl was blissfully unaware. "You won't leave me then...?" Miyuki questioned, his performance continuing.
"Yes! I won't!" Exclaimed the poor Ino without giving it a second thought. "Alright. Peel that apple for me. Oh, and feed me as well." Miyuki replied almost instantly. Ino gave a puzzled expression before she understood what was going on. 'This whole thing was an act! This guy! I'll ki-'
"What are you thinking, Ino? Peel the apple and feed it to me." Miyuki smiled cheekily before closing his eyes and leaning back in his bed. Ino grudgingly picked up the apple... before flashing an eerie smile. 'If you'd asked me nicely, I'd have peeled this apple and gladly fed it to you, but now...'
Ino said, looking at the red-haired boy, who continued to hum with a smug smirk on his face. "Here, I peeled it. Now say, "aaah..."" Miyuki leaned forward with his eyes shut, unaware of what was about to unfold.
"Here. Eat this, you jerk...!"