amethyst solitary (naruto u.)

compassion

Naruto heaved out a sigh as he ran his sleeve across his forehead, wiping off the sweat he gained from training.

He just finished wrapping up his solo summoning lesson and happened to be heading home.

As he approached his complex area, a thought occurred to him once a vision of a certain dark-haired female enveloped his mind.

He hasn't seen Manaka nor heard of her in a long time. Maybe paying her a visit and seeing how she's been doing sounded like a great idea at the moment; A smile etched his lips at the generous intention.

Immediately when stepping foot into her residential land, he ascended the stairs that led to her apartment and knocked energetically. Meanwhile on the inside, Manaka perked up at the sound and shifted her head towards the door. It took her a moment to guess who was at the door, but she considered it was probably Sakura or Kakashi, the only two she technically knew best would drop by at this hour to check on her well-being.

She placed her book she was currently reading on the table and bequeathed her seat, opening the door slightly at first to make sure it wasn't a complete stranger. When she sighted blond locks belonging to none other than her previous savior, her face instantly beamed.

"Naruto?" She swung the door wide-open.

"How've you been? It's been awhile." He grinned, scratching the back of his head.

"I've been good! I was just reading about the history of Konoha."

"Oh, yeah? How are you liking it so far?"

She bit her lower lip a little, sheepishly glancing away, pink dusting her cheeks. Shrinking in shyness, she let out a short nervous giggle. "Well, I'm a tad lost grasping the execution of jutsus and such, but I think I understand a tiny bit."

"That's right! Jutsus don't exist in your world." He earned a nod from her.

He put on a thinking face before finally proposing.

"How about I show you some of my jutsus then?"

"Really?" Her eyes lit up but once she perceived the dark atmosphere behind his figure, she grew discouraged. "But it's pitch black outside."

"The ninja life waits for no one, not even time." He flashed her a grin that made her rosy lips part and breath hitch. Astonished, she stared at the shinobi in silence.

Setting a solaced smile with pure determination clouding his cerulean orbs, he emitted. "Let's go, shall we?"

///

As the two teenagers approached the empty grounds where Naruto usually trains at, Manaka stood far back and watched the shinobi prepare for his first jutsu.

"I've been working on this for a while so sit back and enjoy the show!" Naruto inhaled sharply before summoning two clones of himself and releasing a blue light from his right hand. The replicas stood by him as one of them kept his chakra contained while the other granted him wind.

Little by little, the shape of a kunai got formed and grew deliberately, soon to be hovering above Naruto's head.

Manaka's heartbeat was fast, pulse nearly on the brink of shattering her ribcage. Her eyes tracked every one of his motions as he directed the kunai-shaped chakra toward a cluster of trees, slicing through each trunk with a single strike. The chakra dissipated in the distance, along with the screeching sound it had emitted moments before.

Since Naruto's jutsu requires a lot of strength and uses an immense amount of his chakra, he grew tired and flopped against the ground. Manaka noticed his worn out state and quickly ran to his side.