Finding My Ninja Way: A Naruto Fanfic

Chapter 15: Headaches

It was one of those nights for me. It's the one where you toss and turn with your mind racing at a hundred miles an hour, but you can't pinpoint exactly what it is that's keeping you up. I had my eyes closed, but even then, they felt strained enough as if they were open all this time. 
I tossed and turned more and more, accidentally forcing Zenomaru to gruff in his sleep numerous times from my shifting around, but I couldn't help it. What was it that was keeping me awake? I sighed heavily, annoyed that it was the middle of the night, and I couldn't get comfortable, much less find a way to get any sleep. I pulled the covers off of me and headed for the kitchen, thinking a glass of water would help a bit. In doing so, I brought my tool pouch with me and sat at the dinner table, reflecting on the date TenTen, and I had a week ago, as well as the target practice shenanigans that made that date happen all the more. What a moment that was, and one I would never forget. I thought about asking her out again, but she had been so busy with missions lately that I decided to bide my time and let the perfect moment to ask her again present itself when it was time. 

I finished my glass of water and reached out to place it in the sink, but when I did, a flicker of light gleamed in my peripheral through the kitchen window like that of the moonlight reflecting off a smooth surface. It happened briefly, but that was enough to gain my attention. I peeked through the window pane, and what I saw sent an ice-cold shiver down my spine. There, standing in the moonlit night, a figure draped in a full black cloak, its edges fluttering in the wind, was the man I had been on the hunt for in regards to Lady Fifth. The man in question that had both myself and another Uchiha asking a lot of questions about. 

Standing there, a full black cloak dancing in the wind as it covered their body from the neck down to the tips of their shoes- was the man I had been hunting for regarding Lady Fifth. The man in question that had both myself and another Uchiha asking a lot of questions about. 

He's not an Uchiha. That's why I'm looking for him.

Those were Keiko's words, and they flooded my brain in an instant the longer I stared at him in disbelief. 
Not letting this moment go to waste, I snatched my tool pouch that I left on the dinner table and sprinted for the front door, swinging it open and immediately losing sight of the target. Sweat beading on my forehead, I scanned the surrounding area like a madman, my tracking abilities kicking into high gear. This was absolutely detrimental to the cause of figuring out if Takihiro really was an Uchiha and, more so, if we believed it upon capture. I let my legs lead me up to the rooftops, getting a better view of what was nearby and what was far. From inside, I heard Zenomaru scurry out the bedroom window and let out a soft whine towards my sudden uneasiness. This was intense even for me. How the hell could I have lost him? I grit my teeth together and tried to calm myself so my senses could be more helpful, inhaling slowly to falter my racing heartbeat, and exhaling in the follow through to sharpen those senses to the max. 

At this time of night, the village of Konoha was filled with sleeping residents, which helped a lot in tracking a specific smell or sound. 
My heartbeat steadied, and I let myself become in tune with the nightlife that was Konohagakure. Silent, steady, and submerged in every detail, it didn't take long until I sensed Takihiro's familiar presence a few yards away. My body jolted up in a hurry as Zenomaru followed close behind on the ground floor. I raced across the rooftops, getting closer to where I sensed him to be, and sure enough, right back in my peripheral, the exact cloaked figure stood, unbothered. 
This was a problem in many ways, but now that he saw me coming for him, he wasted zero time in sticking around. I had a hard time trying to keep up with him, pacing myself just enough to keep him in my sight, but I couldn't make this out to be a big deal! Once again, Lady Fifth reminded me not to make this aware to Lord Seventh in any way, shape, or form, meaning ninjutsu was out of the question. I couldn't go around smashing into windows and wrecking parts of houses here and there. This needed to be done as quickly and as quietly as possible.