Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 76

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

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 76

Eiji sat in silence. He wasn't alone though, next to him laid Tsuchigumo, curled up around him and resting her head on his right. His hand rested in between her multiple eyes, lazily scratching at her soft fur. She would occasionally softly bark/growl something at him as she leaned against his touch. He took it as just her version of unintelligible mumble.

Leaving the training ground turned playground had been a good idea, he decided. The sight of the village from over the Hokage Rock was just beautiful. Besides, he was 99% sure that Tsuchigumo was harmless... Or as harmless as a superpowered kid could be. Honestly, she was so well behaved that he was hesitant to even call her a kid. She had that innocence to her though and most things confused her, since she hadn't experienced... well, most of everything, really. So, he would make that count.

"Are you sure, Eiji?" Hachi asked. Or, at least, Eiji was sure it was Hachi. He was starting to differentiate them even with just their voices. He wasn't sure if it was a conscious change they'd made themselves or if they were just that different already. It could go either way, and the boy didn't feel like asking them.

He simply nodded, even through the pang of hesitance that twisted his insides. He couldn't afford to doubt his decision. If he did, he risked changing his mind and never doing it.

"We don't think you are ready, Eiji," Hachi replied instantly. The boy would have sworn there was honest concern in his voice. That couldn't be though, could it?

Eiji didn't say anything though. He felt fine. Better than that, really. Tsuchigumo, much as he wanted to be angry at her for the damage she had done to his mindscape before, had been a blessing in disguise. She was just so... her. Always there when he felt even remotely bad, offering company and comfort that he didn't realize he needed.

If not for her, he wouldn't have been nearly as ready for what he wanted to do.

"Your Mindscape, it's not completely repaired, Eiji," Kage continued from somewhere a little more to the right of where Hachi was. "Don't you see how different it is? It's not what it was before, or so Hachi and I think." So, his guess had been right, huh?

As for what they were telling him...

He knew that already. His hand, the one not petting Tsuchigumo, ran its fingers over the stone beneath them. It was much too smooth for the rock it was supposed to be made of. He could almost stare at the sun in the fake sky of his Mindscape with how dim it was compared to the real thing.

He was just so... tired.

He wanted to stop. He was almost eager to go to the outside world and hunt down Akatsuki. Deal with all of them and finally be able to rest. He felt like he'd been sprinting for the entirety of his years in the Elemental Nations. Was it too much to ask for a moment of rest? A moment where there wasn't some training to be done or measure to be taken?

He felt like he was on his last legs.

Eiji couldn't stop though, not yet. There were enemies out there, threatening his new world, threatening his family and his friends. Once they were dealt with, he'd finally get some peace and calm. He just needed to go on for a little longer.

Tsuchigumo growled lightly.

"You need to be at your best, Eiji," Hachi said, his voice feeling like a drill on the side of the boy's head. "We know you are tired, but you need to repair the damage completely," He urged him. Tsuchigumo let out a low, whimpering sound full of guilt.