A Lethal Observer - ALW Saga Book 2

Chapter 42

Night. The most silent and peaceful moment of the day. Also, the loneliest for those who are running away from their demons. For the third consecutive night, Hanako had avoided going back into the Uchiha Compound. Instead of patrolling, she decided to sleep on the roof of the Academy.

Nights were cold, but Hanako hugged her knees to her chest and focused on preserving as much body heat as she could.

This is boring, for how long are you going to starve me?

Hanako opened her eyes when she heard a voice in her head. She was completely alone in the roof, but she was certain she was going insane. She had eaten all of her meals. Maybe she was guilty about tending to her shower needs, but she had enough clothes in her locker room in the Anbu to survive two more days without needing to return home. Still, none of that explained why she was suddenly hearing voices.

Then, her wrist burned. "Ouch!" The cute bracelet she had been wearing ever since she woke up in the red yukata suddenly changed into a large sword bathed in fire, and spoke to her.

Don't play dumb with me! We haven't had fun in ages! I'm bored! I'm going to burn this entire building down!

"Hey, that's not nice!" Hanako frowned. "What in the world are you?"

What? Hanako could have bet the sword just had its feelings hurt. I'm the hitsurugi. I'm your ritual weapon.

The voice was that of a little girl, just wanting to have fun. Hanako thought maybe the sword had relation to her memory gap, but pretended to know it. "I'm sorry, I haven't been assigned on missions. I'm sure something will come up."

Ahh... these times are really peaceful compared to 100 years ago. We should have stayed there, it was more fun.

Something like a sigh left the weapon, but Hanako processed each word coming from it. Did it just say '100 years ago'? "What happened 100 years ago?"

Huh? Did you forget? The sword laughed. We were in the Warring Era. We battled almost every day. Those were fun times, not like these boring times. Where are Izuna and Madara? They are fun, let's go battle them!

"They're not here." Hanako frowned. She could understand the sword knew Madara. He must have been young in those times. But, who was Izuna?

What do you mean they're not here? Where are they? Oh... wait... I know. They must be dead. Sorry, I'm slow. The sword laughed again.

Hanako sighed loudly and pursed her lips. "It's time to sleep. You should do the same."

I've slept a long time! The sword nagged. Will we have fun tomorrow?

"Yeah, sure."

Yay!

Just like that, the sword morphed back into its bracelet form and remained silent. Hanako sighed again. She wished she could fall asleep as easily as the sword just did, but it was hard to sleep when you weren't in your comfort zone.

Even less if someone was watching you from the shadows. Hanako frowned and glanced towards the tree next to the Academy roof. A pair of red eyes stared back at her. Upon recognizing Itachi's signature chakra, her muscles immediately relaxed, releasing the air in her lungs as well. "Hey."

In a moment, Itachi was in front of her. "Have you been avoiding us?"

Suddenly, the stars in the sky became objects of fascination. Small little bright dots scattered along a dark endless mantle. "I've been avoiding everyone."

Itachi kneeled. His otherwise stoic face had a frown marking his factions. "You're not okay. You're hiding from something."

Hanako finally met his gaze. "I'm not hiding. I just don't want to get in trouble."