Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

47. I Hate This Chapter Too

I don't even have time to open my eyes before - once again - I'm hit by what feels like a wall of pain.

"Ugh..." I groan and squeeze my eyes shut. Why does this keep happening to me? I may not be a great person, but there's no way I've done something horrible enough to wake up in agony for what must be the third time in a week.

"You really are a magnet for danger." Tsunami tuts as she packs away what looks like medical supplies.

"Please don't tell me I got stabbed again." I plead, but I know it's useless. That river of fire leading from my collar bone to somewhere around my nipple isn't exactly going to be a paper cut.

"More like slashed. Your hands a burned too."

"Really?" I can hardly feel them, so I flex and-

"Ah-mmf!" The pain hits suddenly and I almost cry out before I clamp my jaw shut.

"That was silly." She scolds me before grabbing my hands to check the damage.

"How did I even-"

"I don't know." She interrupts.

"What do you-"

"By all accounts, what you did was impossible for someone of your training." She interrupts me again, and I scowl.

"But what did I do?!" I demand.

"You summoned fire." Tsunami says after a brief hesitation.

"Hah!" I almost honk in disbelieving laughter. Yeah, right. Pigs'll fly.

"It's true. Right, Inari?" She looks over her shoulder, and I finally notice the young boy stood in the doorway.

"..." Inari doesn't say anything, just keeps gripping the doorframe and staring.

"Inari?" Tsunami frowns slightly. It's then that Inari strides over to me, stopping just a few feet away, looking completely determined.

"I need your help." He says shortly.

"Wha-"

"They can't beat Gato alone. It's impossible. We all need to rise up, but I can't convince anyone. I need you to help me." The words seem hard to say, his hands curled into tight fists and his head dipped so his eyes disappear beneath the rim of his hat.

"How can I help? I'm not a shinobi."

"That's exactly why you can help." Tsunami says softly, and Inari and I both turn to her.

"I don't understand."

"You're not a shinobi. You've received no training, you weren't born and raised to fight, and yet you stood against Gato's men like you stood a chance. You fought with everything you had, and you won. You're not a shinobi - that's what makes you strong." She smiles at me, and something deep in my chest unfurls. I turn back to Inari.

"... Where do we start?"

A/N: so this chapter is super short but I wanted to get an update out there. Sorry about the pause, I've been having a really shitty time and it's been kind of hard to write. Thank you to everyone who's read, commented and voted, it really means a lot that you're enjoying this. It feels kind of weird to say ta-ta so I'm just gonna leave it for this chapter.