Chapter 75 - The Illness

PWOOF PWOOF PWOOF PWOOF PWOOF PWOOF

Asuma, Hayate, Kakashi, Gai, Lee, and Linda all stood in the way.

“Don’t you lay one finger on him!” Linda snarled, the kunai in her hand aimed at Azami’s neck. Her body shook with anger and other assorted emotions unreadable even to her.

“But you hate him! Why would you save him?!” Azami backed up, ready to fight the jonin, if necessary. Only two of them were in her BINGO book (Asuma and Kakashi), and she could potentially fight them with the backup she had.

Linda’s glare steeled. “You dumb dog. I don’t hate him. My goal was always to stop him from going in to combat ever again. Now you’ve done that for me. I want him alive so he can see how much better I am than him. He was my first rival, and damned if he’s not going to be alive to see me become better than him!”

“That is enough. Linda, I will deal with this problem now. Ekyt was one of my best friends. I will not let him die in vain!” Lee put up his guard.

Asuma’s trench knives clattered to his feet. Ekyt’s hand was extended away from his body, as if he had thrown the knives. To everyone’s surprise, he spoke.

“Sorry…not dead yet…(koff)But win anyway, huh? GAH!”

Kakuzu’s threads pierced Ekyt’s arms and legs. There was as spectacular explosion of blood, followed by Ekyt’s attempt to regulate his breathing to deal with the pain. Lee and Gai rushed over to him and began to fight a high-speed battle with Kakuzu.

“Kakashi, you take the girl. You stand the best chance,” Asuma admitted. “Kurenai and I will deal with that scythe guy.”

-

Tsunade stood up. “Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura- you’re with me. We’re not leaving Ekyt out there. We can’t have the others worrying about defending him while they fight. If we’re attacked- Naruto, it’s up to you. Jiraiya, you stay with him. Sakura and I will do what we can for Ekyt.”

The three raced to the floor, dodging in and out of battles. They reached Ekyt in record time. Tsunade sighed as she reached his side.

“Damn you, boy. You always do this…”

Ekyt’s eyes flickered, registering that he had heard the comment. Tsunade took that as a good sign and enlisted the help of some Naruto Shadow Clones to lift the hurt boy. Ekyt would have protested, if it was possible. He seemed to know that he was beaten, and was, for once, allowing himself to retreat. It went against his nature, as it seemed to be a dishonor, but there was too much to do to allow himself to die.

The crowd took off their headbands, some even bowing their heads. Tsunade almost told them that Ekyt was alive, but announcing that to the enemy that had come to finish him off would be bad.

For once, he gets the recognition he’s worked so hard for. And he’s probably not aware of it. He’s lucky, really. If his sword hadn’t glanced off Azami’s at just the precise moment it needed to, he would have been cut right through the kidneys.

“Come on, let’s get him out of here!” Tsunade shrugged off her jacket and laid it over his face, continuing the ‘dead’ charade. After a moment, she made one more snap decision.
“Naruto, time for Hokage training- go help Kakashi. Sakura and I will deal with Ekyt.”

-

Once outside, Sakura and Tsunade immediately began treatment. They healed him into consciousness in short order. Ekyt immediately shook off the clones and walked. But he didn’t head for the hospital. Instead, he dragged himself toward the river, finally plopping down on the ground under a nearby tree. He stared at the tranquil scene for quite some time without speaking. When he did speak, he said the last words Tsunade and Sakura ever expected.

“…I never told you anything about my past, did I?”

Tsunade and Sakura exchanged glances. They had time enough before he’d bleed to death. The chance to hear him tell some of his story was too great. They both sat down under the tree as well. Ekyt closed his eyes and began to talk.

“It wasn’t easy having an illness no one else could see. (koff) No one believed me. To everyone else, life was all about dates, or work, or school… For me, I had to work just as hard just to leave my house each day. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep…For thirteen years, I’ve been a slave to this condition. I’ve never wanted to be one of the pack…but now I just want a measure of normality…”

Ekyt wiped away some blood from his mouth with his sleeve. Doing so reminded him of the hole he had in his gut, and he winced. But no way he was going to sit there blood-faced with two of his most trusted friends.

“…I never had friends. I couldn’t go anywhere. School was impossible. Getting bullied at every turn, even by girls. And I was small, so they were often taller than me. And stronger. I was always a martial artist, but I would always try not to hurt anyone. God knows it was tempting. How easy would it have been to snap the wrist of a bully grabbing me by the shirt, right? But it wasn’t acceptable.”

Sakura and Tsunade exchanged glances, thinking to themselves that if this was all Ekyt said, they could sympathize.

“All because of anxiety. A miserable demon that hid inside me, invisible to almost everyone. But then, my solace came- my training. My dojo got behind me. They understood me, and helped me get stronger. I made friends. Chakaro…Kayla…Linda. But one by one, they disappeared. Chakaro and Kayla just…strayed. Not the kind of people I could be proud of anymore. And I got closer to Linda. What a damn fool I was for trusting her. But it’s really thanks to her that I’m here. I had to get away, and the Hidden Leaf was perfect. Nothing but martial artists…the one place I may be comfortable. But my life…it’s been one regret after another. One mistake after another. One regret after another…”

Ekyt felt tears, but didn’t brush them away. For their part, the two kunoichi had never seen him so vulnerable and helpless before. It was to their surprise to find that this young jonin, who had braved so many wounds, was reduced to tears by an invisible master. The two girls had to choke back tears themselves. It explained so much about Ekyt. Things they’d been curious off, but could never quite word correctly when they’d thought to question it.

“So much wasted time…time I’ll never get back. Time I could have lived life just for the sake of enjoying life. I could have had a girlfriend, trained harder, been a jonin so much earlier! But now, instead, I’m here, whining and feeling sorry for myself. The two things I hate the most, and I’ve become them. And the third feeling is the worst! Weakness! My strongest jutsus, batted aside as though they’re nothing! And the plague I’ve unleashed on this village by showing weakness. I should have stopped her, at any cost! The Reaper Death Seal! It’s beyond me in this state, but if I had just done it at the start of the fight… Now I’ve endangered others with my weakness!”

Tsunade stood up forcefully. “Sakura, continue healing him. And you, Ekyt- this is going to be hard for you, but I need you to stay with me. I need you to really listen to me. Can you do that?”

Ekyt’s tear-stained face was trying to resume it’s stoic setting, but failing miserable. It was about all Ekyt could do to just nod.

“Good. Now- The girl was beyond you. The other two, coupled together, are too much for you. They’re too much for almost anyone. But you can’t blame yourself. They were after you, yes, but don’t think for a minute that this village, these people, who have come to love and respect you, would have let you fight this battle on your own, no matter what you said. You are never as alone as you were before. Your past needs to die. You need to be a new you. One who can be sure of his strength. Because right now, in front of me, I see the future of the Leaf. A young jonin with a long life ahead of him. A life that will be spent doing good, and protecting whoever needs it. My point, Ekyt- you’re needed. You’re necessary. You’re loved. And you can’t blame yourself. Azami is what she is- and you are what you are.”

“She was beyond me…” Ekyt repeated. “So far ahead…impossible to catch.”

“Things are never that hopeless. This is a new threat, and not one you’re ready to face. Train your mind, body, soul, and tame those dragons. This fight isn’t over for you yet. Your heart wasn’t in that last attack, was it? Or maybe you just didn’t have enough chakra at that point. You still care about that girl, and you couldn’t bring yourself to kill her.” Tsunade didn’t sound angry, or accusatory. In fact, she sounded the nicest Ekyt had ever heard her.

“But I’ve always done what I have to do! And this time I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t stop her! Damn it damn it damn it to hell!” Ekyt clenched a fist in vain. Tsunade put a hand over his fist, pushing it down.

“Now isn’t the time. Blame is pointless. If you feel there’s a wrong, then do what you always do- right it. And this time, don’t try to go it alone. You have support- learn to use it, will you? Damn kid, you’re always worrying me! And you’re always making my apprentice work overtime!”

Sakura smiled at the joke. Her smile grew broader when she noticed Ekyt’s weak smile. But it faded quickly. He was really choking on his words now. They must have been painful for him to say.

“I will never understand people. I’ll never understand how to love, or what it means to be loved. Yet I’ll feel it as strongly as anyone. Love and strength to protect that love…two things I desire, but two things I may never attain…”

Ekyt got up, healed enough to walk. He bowed deeply to the two kunoichi. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Hearing me out was the kindest thing that’s been done for me. And that kindness won’t be forgotten…Even as my life takes a new path.”

With that, Ekyt straightened up and with the kunoichi. He had a great deal of thinking to do during his treatment. Perhaps it was time to embrace a new lifestyle? No matter what was said, this was his fault. He had given Azami trust, and that trust had led to this attack. People could die because of him.

Azami, you didn’t tell the whole truth out there. You have a reason for doing this…
But if you didn’t trust me enough to tell me…
Our relationship was over before it started.

That thought suddenly striking him, Ekyt broke away from the two kunoichi. They caught up to him quickly, but just tagged along. They now understood what had made Ekyt the way he was. He couldn’t let this go. There was no solace for him, no rest for the weary. And Ekyt himself had just faced an awful truth.

His limits.

-

Gai and Lee fought Kakuzu, who was at fifty percent. That genjutsu had really done some damage. His attacks were fast, but Gai and Lee, with the chakra gates, were faster. They couldn’t quite get a hold of Kakuzu, though, so they could only punch and kick, and wait for an opening. Finally, Lee saw one.

“Gai-sensei! HYAH!”

Lee’s foot slashed up and kicked Kakuzu under the chin. To reach him, Lee had slid through Kakuzu’s legs while Gai occupied him. The kick knocked Kakuzu into the air. His strings attacked Lee, but he was too quick for them. They met only the ground as he rolled away.

“Right! ASA KUJAKU!”

Gai had been warned by Kakashi (who had fought Kakuzu before) to not let him rest at all. Keep the pressure on him, keep attacking. Don’t let him unleash his full power. With that in mind, Gai broke out his strongest taijutsu. ‘Asa Kujaku’, or ‘Morning Peacock’, was a whole lot of power spanned across rapid-fire strikes. This high in the air, Gai had plenty of time to hit Kakuzu over two hundred times. While Gai landed on one knee, Kakuzu crashed and burned. His chakra was all but spent.

-

“Who’s the f****** hottie?” Hidan asked, upon seeing Kurenai. Asuma’s trench knives swung into his scythe, knocking it down.

“Now, Kurenai!” Asuma struggled to keep Hidan’s scythe down. Behind him, Kurenai began to disappear.

“Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death!” Kurenai’s voice came from nowhere and everywhere, apparently. A tree shot up from the ground at Hidan’s feet. It grew to adulthood and wrapped around him.

“What the f*** is this?! Some stupid illusion?! RELEASE!”

Kurenai’s illusion was released, and she was in a perfect position to be targeted by Hidan’s scythe. But Asuma wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Fire Release: Ash Burning Product!”

Asuma smoked a lot, but for a good reason- it became a weapon. He inhaled, then released a breath filled with ashes from his cigarettes. It was capable of causing third degree burns. And when used in tandem with his next jutsu-

“Flying Swallow!”

-It was usually deadly. As Ekyt had done before, Asuma pumped chakra into his trench knives and sliced away. Arms first to stop a counter-attack, legs next to make sure Hidan couldn’t run, and finally a slice to the neck.

-

Kakashi and Azami glared at each other. But Azami closed her eyes calmly.

“You win. The copy ninja is out of my league. Will you give Ekyt a message for me?”

Kakashi didn’t drop his guard. “I’d be happy to. Naruto, make sure the others are alright.”

Azami opened her mouth, but something at the door caught her eye. Or, rather, the door being kicked open violently caught her eye. She shook her head- he couldn’t be back!

But he was. Ekyt was flanked by Tsunade and Sakura. He limped toward Azami, his eyes locked with hers. When he reached her, he said this:

“I don’t know who you’re working for. The Akatsuki tried to kill you, so you can’t be just working for them because you want to. Someone has something on you. But you won’t trust me to tell me what it is. That, Azami, is why this relationship couldn’t work.”

Never mind the shock that Ekyt was still alive. The fact that he was saying this to Azami was shocking enough.

“I’m sorry. This relationship was doomed to fail. You never had any trust in me, or any faith in my abilities. A warrior prides himself on his strength. You distrusted me. I don’t know why, and I won’t ask. But you did. My love was true, and will be until I meet another, if I meet another. But for now…This relationship is over.”

If Azami had been surprised at him before, she was beyond surprised now. She had stabbed him, hit him, mutilated him, and of all things, her distrust was what destroyed them.

I was wrong. Ekyt wasn’t defeated. I was.

Azami raised her arms. “Shadow Control: Movement!”

Three black circles appeared on the floor. Each one swallowed up one of the defeated Akatsuki members.

The Leaf was safe once more. Ekyt finally collapsed from exhaustion and wounds, and was brought to the hospital. While he was unconscious, many stopped by to offer him support, and even bring gifts. There was masses of people ready to guard him. Ekyt had finally been accepted, it seemed.

Asuma came in with Kurenai.

“Damn shame…Still, he DID survive…I’ll have to see about getting him some kind of weapon made of the same metal my trench knives use…”

Kurenai had other ideas. “He won’t be himself for quite some time. If he needs to escape, maybe he could do that work with the Fire Daimyo, like you did.”

“Twelve Ninja Guardians?” Asuma thought for a minute, but shook his head. “No. I hate to say it, but he’s not ready for that. He needs someone to train him. He’s got the potential, though.”

Tsunade nodded silently, bidding them to leave. She pushed the hair off Ekyt’s face, sighing at his bloodied state.

When he wakes up, he will be going through hell…again…

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