Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 9

Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Human thot

Original: 01/01/2020

Edited: 10/16/2020

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"Who are you?" Ino demanded, her hands resting on her hips. Choji looked at him curiously, while Shikamaru merely sighed. 

"Hikaru." He murmured softly.

Ino, who didn't seem to hear him, twitched her eyebrow. "What?! Tell me." She commanded, although she was a mere genin. 

Hikaru sighed, clearly showing his hitai-ate. "Hikaru."

"No last name?" Ino asked, blue eyes piecing into him. 

"Uzumaki." Hikaru said, making a handsign. "Uzumaki Hikaru." He shunshined away, back towards Ichikaru's, heart racing with panic. His mind was whirling. 

All he saw was a crimson stain splashed against white snow. 

That was all Ino had been reduced to after protecting Sakura- who had her hands full with other dying nin- from a Zetsu attack. She'd lived for two hours afterwards. He remembered her talking so much about having a girl's day with Sakura after the war, yelling about how Naruto or Shikamaru weren't invited. 

Hikaru had known that Ino wouldn't survive. He knew that he'd see her here, in this timeline. And he also knew that it was odd for him to be panicking over something that happened three years ago, but he couldn't help it. Seeing her had brought the unwanted recollection to the surface. 

"..." A quiet sound, as if muffled, was starting to catch Hikaru's attention. 

"Hikaru-san?" A lazy voice- one he knew like the back of his hand, and oh god why was Kakashi here he couldn't-

Hikaru blinked, glancing up, seeing the jonin stare at him. There was the smallest bit of a curious spark in his eyes, no Icha Icha to be found. The surrounding wasn't that of Ichikaru's, but of a field Hikaru knew quite well. 

"Maa, sorry for the new place, Hikaru-san. You looked like you were having a panic attack." Kakashi said, scratching his masked cheek with a finger. "And you might have a Naruto problem later on."

Hikaru nodded, his mind still whirling, still spinning as he tried to place himself in the correct timeline. Or, at least, the current one. "Where am I?" He asked, trying to feign as if he didn't recognize the surrounding area. 

"Team Seven's training grounds." Kakashi easily replied, standing up from where he was crouched near Hikaru. Hikaru made to do the same, only for his limbs to fail, crashing harshly against the log he was placed against. 

Kakashi looked over at him before pulling out his Icha Icha, boredly flipping to a page where Hikaru assumed he'd left off. "You owe me, by the way."

"For what?" Hikaru asked, before standing up again, his legs wobbling. His hands were shaking softly, eyes closing as he tried to rebalance himself. 

"Maa, if I do recall correctly I had to pay the bill. And saved you from the genin, so I do believe you owe me." Kakashi eye-smiled over at him as they walked out of the training grounds, the grass making no noise under their feet. 

"Two favors." Hikaru blinked, his dull violet eyes focusing on the area ahead of them. 

"Mhm. Not using a favor, Hikaru-san, but why are you so thin?" Kakashi asked, turning a page in his book. 

Hikaru touched a finger to his cheek, shock sparking through him as he realized he forgot to apply his damn henge. So he glanced over at Kakashi, meeting the other's black eyes, stepping into a henge. He was once again, looking to have a healthy weight, eyes holding a small sparkle that they didn't hold before, springing to life.