Chapter 66 - Unstoppable Duo

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The forest was eerily quiet. Too quiet.

Mayumi and Hikaru stood on a thick tree branch, scanning the clearing below. Their mission had been simple—track down a group of rogue shinobi who had been ambushing trade routes near the Land of Fire's border. But, as always, things were never that easy.

Hikaru crouched beside her, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Five of them," he muttered, nodding toward the makeshift camp.

Mayumi smirked. "Five? That's hardly even worth our time."

Hikaru sighed. "Just once, I'd like you to take things seriously."

"I do take things seriously," she whispered. "Just, you know, in my own way."

Before Hikaru could respond, one of the rogues abruptly turned his head, scanning the treetops.

"Tch." Hikaru tensed. "I think they—"

The shinobi threw a kunai straight at them.

Mayumi barely lifted a hand. The kunai froze mid-air, spinning slowly, before she flicked her wrist and sent it hurling right back, embedding itself into a tree inches from the attacker's head.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

"INTRUDERS!"

All hell broke loose.

The rogues scattered, launching into action, moving with precise, practiced strikes. Hikaru vanished in a blur of speed, drawing his sword mid-air, cutting down the first opponent before he could even form a seal.

Mayumi, meanwhile, floated down from the treetops like a ghost.

One of the enemies—a man with jagged scars across his face—lunged at her with a massive war hammer, swinging it with terrifying force.

She didn't move.

Didn't even blink.

The hammer stopped an inch from her face, caught in an invisible force.

"What the—"

With a flick of her fingers, she ripped it from his grasp and slammed it into his stomach, sending him flying into a tree with a sickening crunch.

Two more rushed her at once.

Amateurs.

She ducked under a blade, then thrust her palm forward. The ninja was launched backward as if hit by an invisible wall, skidding across the dirt before slamming into his partner.

"That's three down," she called out, spinning in mid-air.

"Hikaru?"

No response.

Her heart stopped.

She turned just in time to see Hikaru stumble back, a deep gash across his arm, blood dripping onto the dirt. One of the remaining shinobi had managed to cut him, and another was moving in for a finishing blow.

Mayumi's vision darkened.

A cold, sharp rage flooded her veins.

No.

Not him.

She snapped.

The air around her shook, a pulse of blue energy bursting outward, sending leaves and dirt flying. The rogue shinobi barely had time to register what was happening before they were yanked into the air, held suspended by an invisible force.

"You hurt him." Her voice was deadly calm.

They struggled, gasping, clawing at their throats as if they could somehow break free. But Mayumi wasn't letting go.

Not until they paid for it.

With a flick of her wrist, she slammed them into the ground. Then lifted them. Then slammed them again. And again.

One of them blacked out immediately.

The other twitched.

Mayumi let him.

Just for a second.

Then she hurled him across the clearing, where he crashed into a boulder and didn't move.

Silence.

The fight was over.

Mayumi exhaled sharply, releasing her power, her whole body trembling from the sheer force of her emotions. She turned back to Hikaru, who was watching her with a mix of awe and exasperation.

"...Remind me to never piss you off," he muttered.

Mayumi dropped to her knees beside him, ignoring his joke. "Let me see," she demanded, already pulling out her medical supplies.

"It's fine," Hikaru insisted. "Just a few cuts."

Mayumi shot him a glare that shut him up immediately.

She worked quickly, cleaning and bandaging the wound, pressing a bit harder than necessary to make a point.

"Ow." Hikaru hissed.

"Oh, sorry," she deadpanned. "Must've been my uncontrollable rage."

Hikaru chuckled, but there was warmth in his eyes. "You really lost it back there."

She tied off the bandage, then flicked his forehead. "Of course I did, dumbass. You got hurt."

Hikaru's expression softened, but before he could say anything, Mayumi stood, dusting herself off.

"Now," she sighed, stretching. "What should we do with them?"

She gestured to the unconscious rogue shinobi.

Hikaru smirked. "Knowing you? Something dramatic."

Mayumi grinned.

He wasn't wrong.

Mission Complete

By the time they arrived back at Konoha, they were quite the sight—Hikaru patched up but limping slightly, and Mayumi casually floating five fully grown shinobi behind her, dragging them along like defeated puppies.

When they reached the front gates, Kotetsu and Izumo—on guard duty—just stared.

"...I don't even wanna ask," Kotetsu muttered.

Mayumi beamed. "Good! Because you don't have to!"

they walked across village straight to anbu headquarters. She dropped the unconscious criminals onto the ground with a satisfying thud, dusted off her hands, and turned to Hikaru.

"Drinks?"

Hikaru sighed but smiled. "Yeah, okay. But you're buying."

"Fair enough." She clapped him on the shoulder—right where he was bruised.

"Ow—"

"Oops."

He just shook his head, laughing as they walked off toward the village

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He just shook his head, laughing as they walked off toward the village.

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