Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

31

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Chapter 31

A few days passed after our… encounter with the now former wielders of two of the Seven Swords. Anko had gone on a hunt for the remaining members of the mercenary group, both for some revenge and for information. Nuibari and Shibuki had both been sealed inside scrolls and were both being guarded by me. I had the one duty in case of attack: To run, as far and as fast as possible. Simple and easy. I liked that, especially right that moment.

I… didn't actually feel that much different from before. And that's what kept me in a daze, really. I didn't know what to think about myself when I had just killed a bunch of people and wasn't even feeling anything in particular for it. Was it wrong of me? To feel guilty because I didn't feel guilty? Was it weird? Those questions kept me up those nights.

I had tried all I could. Thinking it over, meditating, seeing it from outside perspective. Nothing helped, really. I wished I could be back home, with the dogs in the vet, as it had become normal with me when I wasn't doing so well. But alas, I was in this distant town, by myself with the weapons I had used to kill all those people hidden in the pouch on my hip.

I sighed, looking down at my arm, now covered in white bandages instead of the red ones I was used to. This was actually for medical purposes now, instead of just aesthetic ones. According to Anko, the cuts done by Nuibari's thread were bad enough to leave scars, contrary to the cut I had gotten on my cheek. I didn't know what to think about a permanent scar, let alone one such as this one. It would leave lines all over my right forearm forever…

"Still in a funk, eh, kiddo?" Anko asked, appearing out of nowhere right beside me on the tree and looking at nothing in particular.

"You could say that," I admitted easily. There was no point in saying that I was fine. Everyone always noticed those lies.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked, and I appreciated her not beating around the bush. What would dancing around the issue do for anyone? In the end, the problem would still be there. "Or you could visit a Yamanaka once we go back, if you prefer," She offered, but I quickly shook my head.

"No offence to them, or those who use their services… but I think I prefer talking about this with someone I know," I said, my eyes still roaming idly through the landscape in front of us. Next to me, I heard Anko humming noncommittally.

"Between you and me, I haven't ever visited a Yamanaka either," She said, a hint of a smile in her voice.

"And I'm sure they are thankful. Nobody would want to be in your head," I responded, although there was no hint of humor on my face. She hit my shoulder without any real force in it. "Am I a monster?" I asked then, as subtle as a sledgehammer.

"Definitely," She replied instantly and without a doubt. I internally grimaced at that. "No normal person gets as strong as you as fast as you did, Eiji. Even prodigies, those appear right away, but you? You appeared in your last two years at the Academy. That's definitely not what I would call normal," I felt a knot on my throat, that I hadn't even noticed I had, loosen a bit. "And your mind is scary too, not gonna lie," She continued with a matter-of-fact voice. "But you are not a bad person, Eiji, if that's what you mean."

I didn't say anything. And that seemed to tell her enough.

"You are not," her firm voice softened to levels I had not heard before. "Anyone can tell that, Eiji. You aren't a bad person. And whoever says otherwise hasn't seen you with your friends or in the Inuzuka vet."