Black Light (Naruto)

Chapter 37

Hello! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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Hikaru hated his new scar. He hated it, despised it, whatever you wanted to call it. It ran across the corner of his right eye to the bridge of his nose and ended right below the scar that stretched horizontally below his left eye. 

And, despite that, his hair was also getting long again. And Hikaru disliked it- it reminded him too much of the person he'd been when it had first started growing out. He'd been hopeful for the war to end, for a chance to be able to rebuild his home and then the rest of the world. He'd been stupid. 

And he'd been stupid again, thinking that he could change whatever would happen in this world, because some things were just set in stone. 

Like, for example, Sasuke being in Tsukiyomi and Tsunade being a stubborn-

He took a deep breath and exited the bathroom, flicking the light off. He still had yet to draw on the pain-dulling seal on himself, and there was no way that anybody else but him could do it because he had made the thing. 

Hikaru sat at a table, lifting his chopsticks towards his instant ramen. He'd been trying to get better at eating. It wasn't much progress, but it was still some. 

Back to the topic. 

While he normally would have been sick out of his mind of this, it wasn't that bad anymore. Memories of himself before the war were fading rapidly, and Hikaru assumed that the only thing keeping them alive were his constant, daily reminders. 

So, today, he would head out. He was tired of being cooped up in his apartment, tired of being ignored by Kakashi and not seeing Sakura or Naruto. 

Not to mention Tsunade and Jiraiya would come back soon so he had to tell her all about his past because she needed to know. And then he had to explain to Kakashi why exactly he took the hit and/or even did it in the first place. Not to mention the fact that his nightmares were beginning to get even heavier now and everything was piling up and-

Hikaru was sick of the ramen.

He looked down, having only eaten two or three bites. 

Naruto would've loved it.

This was the aftermath of getting attached, Hikaru. This was it. There was no point after this and there never would be. 

He'd always miss himself and the others from his timeline, and he'd accepted this a long, long time ago. Even if they were only faded echoes of voices that he used to love. 

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Hikaru walked past Kakashi on his way to wherever he was going. There were no waves, no 'hello's. Just the undying cold shoulder that Hikaru really should have been used to recieving. But there was also a bit of confusion, a bit of hesitancy behind it that Hikaru dwelled on more than he should have. 

He continued walking. 

A familiar, loud voice rang out ahead of him. "Shino! Haven't seen you in awhile, what's up?" 

Hikaru let himself still a little bit, but he continued walking, getting closer to both the answer and Kiba. His eyes scanned the crowd- Shino had a chunin vest on while Kiba casually had his arm slung over Shino's shoulder, a wide grin on his face. Hinata was somewhat nearby, probably ordering for her team. 

You loved her once.

Hikaru pushed the thought away. No. He couldn't do this not right now, not ever actually-