Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 23

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

___________

There was nothing that Hikaru could do other than sit inside his apartment, or take Naruto to Ichikaru's every morning. So far, he'd ignored the meal plan- other than when a nurse came to visit him once, yesterday morning. That had been the first time he'd had a completely full meal since about before he'd left to kill Orochimaru. 

In a way, he supposed he was punishing his body for being so weak, and punishing himself for his teammate's deaths. But there was nothing else that could be done. Well, not really, anyway. Hikaru knew enough about guilt to know that it would always be there- a single look at Kakashi could show him that. 

He ignored the burning in his muscles with ease, the pain having faded into the background slightly. He knew he was deteriorating, but at this point he couldn't bring himself to care. He was in too deep. 

But he still let himself relax a little- smile around Team Seven a little more, grin when Naruto complained about d-ranks with Sakura agreeing. Sasuke had even started to be a little friendlier- although he was just as harsh, Hikaru could compare him to the genin Sasuke from his timeline and they would be different. 

He was also happy that Sasuke would never get his cursed seal, and proud that Anko- who's seal had faded and flaked off- could be somewhat herself once more. He was also beginning to be okay with some mentions of his other timeline- like his childhood, for one. He didn't remember much of it nowadays, along with his academy days, which Hikaru didn't mind forgetting. 

Of course, he wasn't saying that grief didn't haunt him every night, that sometimes he didn't wake up with the strangest nightmares of his friends, that the silencing seals didn't flash so he could cry without Naruto hearing. He wasn't saying that he didn't miss his teammates that he'd murdered thoughtlessly. 

But he could live with the blame and the guilt. He could live with the nightmares and the aching late at night. 

But, for now, he could relax, knowing that he'd finally done something to help the world he was in. 

___

Hikaru sat down at Ichikaru's, violet eyes dancing over his seal work as he ordered a small bowl of miso ramen. It was complex, layered wih genjutsu and a failsafe that made it appear like explosion seals. 

It was anything but. 

He was working on a way to take down both Sasori and Deidara- hopefully without the whole 'murdering Gaara' fiasco. 

He didn't essentially feel like eating much, but he still finished his meal with thoughts churning in his head, tongue slightly burnt from the speed of which he'd consumed it. He left, heading towards the Memorial Stone that he hadn't visited in quite awhile. 

Kakashi, thankfully, was nowhere in sight, which Hikaru appreciated as he whispered to himself ideas for his sealwork. He could possibly place a seal on Sasori that forced his puppet to deteriorate- he'd forgotten the name long, long ago. 

He sighed, setting that one aside and moving onto one that might work for Deidara. It would be hard work, especially if he left him alive, considering the fact that Deidara would cause more trouble than he was worth. 

He made neat, careful notes on a notebook layered with genjutsu and translated them into code- something that he'd learned to do after every single one of his sealing scrolls had been stolen a year or so after the war started. 

He was focused completely on his seal theory, eyes scanning over the lines and writing down different seal components, hand aching slightly from holding a pen for so long. He glanced up, jumping and fumbling with his pen, surprise lighting up his gaunt features. Kakashi was watching him with an amused look in his visible eye.