Chapter 50: Reunion with Hanabi

AN: Hey everyone hope you're all doing well! I've been sick with the flu for the past few days but I'm getting better. Regarding the story, I'll work on it as much as I can, but just so you are all aware sometime around the end of November I'll be leaving the country for about a month on vacation! That means I won't be back till late December or early January...I roughly have up to chapter 53 written and in my files already. I also have a general idea of how the rest of the story will progress and end so don't worry, I'm not abandoning the project! That's all I wanted to say. As always, thanks for your continued support and thanks for reading!

A quick recap of the happenings of the war:

First Division: Locked in battle by the sea against White Zetsu Army and reanimated shinobi.

Second Division: Hanabi and Kimimaro are currently facing off against the White Zetsu Army.

Third Division: Kakashi, Haku, Guy, Sakura, and others in this division are currently facing off against the 7 Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist as well as Might Duy and Fugaku.

Fourth Division: Gaara's company with the aid of Onoki are currently facing the former 4 Kage and Jiraiya.

Fifth Division: Aiding the First Division

Others: Hiruzen is still held up in a fight against Kagami and trying to make his way to the Fourth Division. Reanimated Tobirama and Itachi attacked HQ. Inoichi, Shikaku, Ao, and Mabui are dead. Tobirama left for the 3rd Division battlefield while Itachi and Nagato have encountered Sasuke, Naruto, and Izaya.

Alright that should do it for the quick recap.

Chapter 50

BOOM! BANG! BOOM!

At this moment six shinobi were engaged in a heated battle of epic proportions that had been going on for more than 3 hours now. They were exactly Sasuke, Naruto, Killer Bee, and myself engaged in combat against Itachi and Nagato. Trees flew in the air as they were chopped down or uprooted. Water from the river sprung forth towards the sky for hundreds of meters before falling back down. Craters of tens and hundreds of feet wide and deep were formed from the force of the battle.

WHIIIIRRRR!

A fierce high pitched whistling of the wind could be heard as an orange blade swung downwards through the air with great force while a purple blade swung upwards, both clashing at the halfway point. The blast generated from the contact of the two great Susanoo blades decimating the forest surrounding Itachi and Sasuke.

FWOOSH!

Amongst the scattered trees being thrown around through the area was also Killer Bee who tumbled through the air as he turned, twisted, and rolled uncontrollably past the clash between Itachi and Sasuke. He was launched incredibly far away from Nagato's attack while Naruto attempted to launch a Rasenshuriken only for it to be completely absorbed by Nagato's Preta Path ability.

I took note of Nagato's temporary lowered guard and quickly threw my special kunai at him and Itachi while activating the Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu creating more than a thousand kunai. They shot forth like bullets launched from a gatling gun leaving only a white and silver streak of light wherever they passed. Itachi quickly shielded himself with his Yata Mirror while Nagato utilized his Almighty Push ability deflecting my attack. Just as Nagato ended his Jutsu Naruto quickly stuck his hand under the ground and created an orange chakra arm that rose up from beneath Nagato capturing him and preventing him from moving. I used that chance to form the Snake sign and stuck out my right palm saying, "Wood Style Wood Snake Jutsu!" A giant wooden snake shot forth from my hand at high speeds biting Nagato's body before completely smothering him in a tight coil of wood with a sealing tag on it. Just before Nagato was completely sealed away he smiled and apologized. "Sorry for the trouble I caused. Take care, everyone."

Itachi smiled in approval as he praised, "Good job! Now quickly seal me away next!"

Sasuke had his Susanoo shoot a purple arrow at Itachi who blocked it with his Yata Mirror. Naruto created several clones to attack and distract Itachi while Bee shot forth a Tailed Beast Bomb. Once again Itachi used his Mirror to block the Beast Bomb. I used this chance to once more launch a barrage of hundreds of Kunai Shadow Clones aimed at the back of Itachi's Susanoo while Sasuke kept Itachi's Totsuka blade occupied by attacking with his own Susanoo's sword. Just before all of my kunai were about to hit their mark I activated the power of my left Mangekyo shrinking them to a fourth of their actual size. The piercing power of my attack increased exponentially and punctured a hole in the back of Itachi's Susanoo. Itachi quickly jumped out of the protection of his Susanoo only to be met with Naruto's punch. Just as he placed his arms up to guard I teleported to Naruto's location and placed my right hand out as a wooden snake emerged once more. Just as the snake was about to engulf Itachi he incinerated it with his Amaterasu and jumped backwards away from us.

Right as he landed on a treetop Sasuke managed to grab Itachi's body with his Susanoo's purple hands and squeezed crushing Itachi's reanimated body. As paper quickly tried to reassemble his form another wooden snake emerged from my hand and finally ensnared Itachi. As he was being sealed he smiled one last time and said, "Izaya, take care of everyone."

"Mn." I nodded.

Itachi turned to look at Sasuke as the wooden snake began to slowly cover his entire frame. "Sasuke. I'll leave the rest to you."

Sasuke could only nod in sorrow as he watched his older brother become completely sealed.

Thud.

I dropped down on one knee as I started to pant heavily.

Huff. Huff. Huff.

I took in some deep breaths and mentally frowned as I observed my stamina and chakra reserves. Senko is really taking a lot of my energy. Currently Naruto in his chakra mode has the most chakra out of Sasuke and I, then Sasuke, then me. Normally I have more chakra than Sasuke but Senko's taken at least half of it. Not only that, the speed at which I recover my stamina and chakra are far slower than it normally is. Senko wasn't lying when he said I should take more care not to get injured. On top of that I just finished my fight against Muramasa and didn't get a long time to rest. Itachi and Nagato were tough to deal with when they are together. It would have been more difficult if Nagato were more mobile. I had to mostly rely on Naruto, Sasuke, and Bee in that fight and save my chakra for sealing them away. Well, even with only half my chakra reserves it should still be okay as long as I'm careful about how I spend it and plan my resting periods appropriately.

A moment of silence befell the area as two wooden coffins containing the soul of Itachi and Nagato stood side by side. Naruto and Sasuke walked before those wooden coffins deep in their thoughts. Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts first as he said, "Suigetsu, Jugo, Karin. Go with Naruto and Killer Bee. You three provide assistance for them."

The three of them were hiding in a corner away from the insane battle that took place earlier after they had successfully got rid of Nagato's summons. After hearing what Sasuke said they were immediately confused and wanted to protest but Sasuke spoke up again in that moment. "Izaya. I want you to send me as close as you can to the battlefield that my father has been reanimated in. I'll stop him."

I widened my eyes in surprise after hearing what Sasuke just said. Placing my blindfold back on I focused my senses to find out that there really was another signature that closely resembled Sasuke's and Itachi's. "Alright. I can indeed sense that there is a chakra signature that is similar to yours. It seems that his presence is near Kakashi's and Haku's." I paused momentarily checking and making sure that I would still have enough chakra reserves left to protect myself before facing Sasuke again. "Aren't you going to ask me more about my Sharingan?"

I watched Sasuke's facial expression change from a complicated look to a look of indifference as he replied, "I'm curious, but I don't care about that right now. Big brother trusted you and he seemed to know that you had it for some time now. You've also helped me out before. I don't know why you've been keeping it a secret but I imagine you have your reasons. As long as you aren't like Danzo then it doesn't really matter that much to me. Like you said, we can talk more later. Right now the most pressing issue is for me to stop my father."

Naruto quickly cut in at this moment. "Sasuke, are you sure you don't need help?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Naruto, don't you need to go stop Jiraiya?"

I widened my eyes in surprise again as I listened to Sasuke and Naruto's conversation. Even Jiraiya was reanimated this time? I focused my senses and increased the scope of my detection range confirming that Jiraiya was indeed reanimated a bit further away. Naruto snapped me out of focus as he responded to Sasuke. "One of my clones has reached that battlefield. I will free Jiraiya-sensei from this Jutsu while the real me and Bee go find Madara and stop him. What will you do Izaya?"

I stood up still in my tattered and disheveled form. "I'll try to find the caster of the Reanimation and stop the technique. There's a place I want to checkout."

"Then...Be careful." Naruto replied.

I nodded my head and walked next to Sasuke placing my hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"

"Mn." He responded.

Not a moment later I teleported him away to Kakashi's location. I watched as Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu grumbled dashing away with Naruto and Killer Bee leaving me all alone. "Something feels off...If memory serves me correctly the Great Ninja War only lasted two days. But according to my estimations and the information that Itachi, Nagato, Naruto, Bee, and Sasuke provided during our fight, the war has already been going on for about four or so days. Also, shinobi that weren't reanimated before in my past life are being reanimated right now. I suppose this is a Great Ninja War after all. Seeing it in my past life and living it in this life...I need to be a bit more cautious. Things aren't going as expected."

I quickly dashed off in the direction of where I recalled Kabuto was supposed to be from the memory of my past life. After traveling for a few hours nonstop I finally arrived at the mountain graveyard. "This is supposedly where Kabuto remained in hiding. Once I confirm he's here I'll need to rest for a day or two to recover enough chakra to fight him." I jumped down into the ravine walking past a giant pile of bones from the corpse of who knows what creature and into the cavern. "Looks similar to what I remember in my past life." I noted as I walked past the stalagmites protruding from the ground. I focused my senses on the area but found nothing. I searched around with my Sharingan and scoped out the entire area but still came up empty causing a frown to appear on my face. "It can't be...Kabuto isn't here? Did the story really change so much from what I remember? Itachi was able to see through the barrier Kabuto set up with his Sharingan but there's nothing here. Where the hell could he have gone?"

I stood in silence contemplating what to do. "Guess I'll check out how the rest of the alliance is currently doing right now first then. I only did a quick sweep for Fugaku and Jiraiya's chakra signatures before. Let's see how the alliance is holding up as a whole." I closed my eyes and focused deeply on the energies around the world only to be completely stunned. "What is going on? Everything seems to be in disarray! Isn't Shikaku supposed to be the strategist at HQ? And...H-Hanabi?! Why is she on the battlefield? Isn't she supposed to remain behind in Konoha managing the Hyuga Clan?" My heart rate sped up as I took note of how dire the reality of the situation was in every battlefield. "Why is it like this? This isn't what happened at all in my memories. I can't afford to be lazing around here." I quickly placed my hand up in the seal of Confrontation activating the Flying Thunder God Jutsu disappearing from the graveyard caves.

888

Meanwhile the Second Division under captain Kitsuchi continued their fierce battle with the enemy.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Large explosions filled the battlefield from all sides as paper bombs went off. Konan floated in the air as she watched on in horror at what she was being forced to do. She stuck out her palm and activated some more of her paper bombs to explode.

BOOM!

"AAAAHHHH!" One of the shinobi from the Second Division screamed in agony as his right leg was blown off of his body. Blood pooled everywhere as someone tried to run to his aid. As that shinobi got near, both his head and the injured shinobi's head were decapitated from Hanzo who was standing in a nearby forest hidden from sight.

"NO!" Hanabi yelled out in anguish as she witnessed this all play out. She felt extreme rage well up inside of her. These past few days she had gotten to fight alongside these people and considered them her comrades. She felt her emotions continue to fade a little inside every time she witnessed someone on the battlefield die that she couldn't save. It especially hurt when it was someone right in front of her. Hanabi stared at Hanzo with her Byakugan and shouted, "You bastard!" Just as she was about to charge towards Hanzo she quickly stopped herself and jumped backwards dodging a well timed strike from one of Chiyo's puppets.

Hanzo smirked and said, "Not bad girl! Even if your Byakugan lets you see that attack you actually possessed the reflexes to dodge it. But what will you do about this?" At that moment a giant salamander popped up from under the ground and attempted to swallow Hanabi only for her to successfully counter by jumping in the air and spinning at a rapid speed using the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. The powerful force of the rotation hit the head of Hanzo's salamander knocking it back letting Hanabi retreat a safe distance away. The salamander opened its mouth once more as it spewed out a large amount of purple gas. Just before it could reach her she jumped back and thrust out her palm shouting, "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!" A powerful force of air shot forth blasting the poisonous gas away before she had the chance to inhale it.

Konan floating in the sky pointed her finger downwards at Hanabi's location causing several hundred paper shuriken to fly in her direction. Kimimaro fending off a hoard of White Zetsu not too far away immediately noticed and quickly said, "Skeletal Wall Frame Jutsu!" A giant and sturdy wall made of bones appeared just in time to intercept the barrage of paper shuriken as Hanabi retreated next to Kimimaro's side.

"Maro, we need to move back. We've accomplished our mission of distracting them so the other members of the alliance could retrieve the wounded. If we stay out here any longer then the ones they'll have to be retrieving would be our bodies."

Kimimaro nodded. "I'll try to create an opportunity to retreat."

At that moment several hundred paper bombs fell from the sky towards Kimimaro and Hanabi. Hanabi quickly formed the Tiger sign and shouted, "Fire Style Art of the Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Five large flames in the shape of a dragon head flew in the air causing the paper bombs to explode in the sky while Kimimaro quickly placed his hands on the ground shouting, "Dance of the Seedling Fern Jutsu!"

Hanzo and Chiyo immediately retreated as thousands upon thousands of strong sharp piercing white bones protruded from the ground in all directions. With the smoke in the sky caused by the earlier explosion obscuring Konan's vision and the bones forcing Hanzo and Chiyo to retreat, Kimimaro and Hanabi quickly dashed back to the safety of their camp. Just as they walked back through the tent areas in their completely battered and war worn look they heard a scream of anguish and agony. This caused them both to have a look of surprise on their faces since the direction of the shout came from the main tent just up ahead.

"Isn't that the tent where captain Kitsuchi was staying at?" Hanabi asked.

"Mn." Kimimaro nodded furrowing his brow as he felt a bad premonition coming on. They both walked to the main tent which was currently being guarded by two shinobi members who had expressions of grief and sorrow on their faces. Hanabi and Kimimaro saluted the two guards to which they did the same.

"Our mission is accomplished. We are here to report to captain Kitsuchi." Kimimaro said.

The expressions of the two guards immediately faltered at the mention of Kitsuchi's name. It was at this moment that a voice could be heard from inside the tent. "You can report to me! I am the new captain of the Second Division." Kurotsuchi said as she opened the flap of the tent and walked out. Hanabi and Kimimaro opened their eyes wide in shock after hearing what Kurotsuchi just said.

Kurotsuchi took note of their expressions and quickly wiped away her tears putting on a stern face. "Captain Kitsuchi died in battle. He died a death befitting of a shinobi. And he died a death that I, his daughter, can be proud of. Before his death he named me captain of the Second Division. What is it that you need to report?"

Kimimaro closed his eyes taking in what he just heard knowing that for there to be any sort of order in the chain of command and amongst the troops he couldn't falter here so he replied, "Yes captain! Reporting, Hanabi and I have successfully distracted the enemy shinobi allowing for most of the wounded to be retrieved from the battlefield. The reanimated shinobi Konan has placed paper bomb traps on the east and north areas of the battlefield. For now Hanzo and Chiyo have retreated back deep into the forest. Fu and Torune have not made any movements and Konan doesn't seem to be pressing her attack any further than the area she was stationed in."

Kurotsuchi nodded in appreciation for Kimimaro's willpower to continue his tasks even when he just learnt that his original captain just passed away. "Then you are dismissed for now." She replied. Just as Maro and Hanabi were about to walk away a shinobi from the intelligence division rushed over with a pale look on his face. Kurotsuchi frowned noting that it was probably bad news. "What is it? Report immediately."

That shinobi quickly nodded his head in a nervous response. "R-Reporting, n-news from HQ...H-H-Q-Q was attacked a-and everyone died except for the F-Fifth Hokage and the F-Fourth Raikage."

"WHAT?!" Everyone who was close enough to hear the news shouted in complete and utter shock.

BOOM!

Before anyone could move a figure fell from the sky and crashed into one of the the tents nearby leaving it in shambles. Everyone immediately took up a battle stance as they focused on the figure shrouded in the rubble. Hanabi raised her eyebrows in surprise as she could clearly see who it was with her Byakugan. "N-Naruto?" She exclaimed in confusion. To her knowledge a Naruto clone had already stopped by their division yesterday so why was Naruto here again? Unless this wasn't a clone? Or maybe it was another clone?

Everyone relaxed their guard a bit as they heard Hanabi say Naruto's name only to be completely shocked in the next moment as another figure descended in that pile of rubble and began attacking Naruto.

Bang!

Naruto was knocked flying through the air but was quickly caught and brought down to safety by Hinata. "Naruto-kun! Are you alright?" Hinata asked.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine. I'm actually just a clone but ran into Madara-dattebayo." Naruto grumbled as he steadied himself in a standing position. His chakra mode wore off of his clone at this moment after exhausting its power. A figure soon walked out of the rubble revealing Tobi's form in his new mask and purple clothing holding a giant Gunbai fan.

Kurotsuchi immediately reacted and formed the signs of Hare, Ox, Dog, Snake shouting, "Lava Style Quicklime Jutsu!" A white sticky cement like glue shot forth from her mouth straight at Tobi who simply walked forward letting the attack phase right through him. Kimimaro placed his hands on the ground shouting, "Dance of the Seedling Fern Jutsu!" Hundreds of white bone protrusions erupted from the ground all around Tobi who stood completely still as the white bones also phased through him. After Kimimaro's technique was completed Tobi began walking forward again only for Hanabi to shout, "Lightning Style Falling Thunder Jutsu!" A dark storm cloud hovered above Tobi and struck downwards once again phasing through him. This caused everyone to frown and become extremely anxious.

Tobi just stared at everyone with indifference, especially at Naruto and said, "Hmpf. So you're only a clone. Not worth my time. Now then. Since I'm already here should I just kill everyone now or go find the real Naruto."

Everyone became angry at Tobi's statement who made it seem like he could just kill them whenever he wanted like a fly swatter swatting away some insignificant insects. Tobi couldn't care any less about what everyone was thinking and jumped up in the air as one of the Jinchuriki under his control, Fu, transformed into her Tailed Beast form of the Seven Tails which had the looks of a flying rhinoceros beetle. Tobi looked down at the Second Division camp below and commanded, "Kill them."

The Seven Tails charged up a massive Tailed Beast Bomb in the air and just as it unleashed its attack the Bomb crashed right into a giant space-time barrier seal midair before being completely absorbed and disappearing. With the large Tailed Beast Bomb no longer obstructing Tobi's view of the camp below he took note of a tattered, worn out, disheveled, and beaten looking figure. Narrowing his eyes he said to no one in particular. "Karasuma Izaya…"

BOOM!

In the far distance a giant explosion could be seen and heard as I had teleported the Tailed Beast Bomb away to a barren location. "No one is hurt are they?" I asked as I stood out in front of everyone. Kurotsuchi who was just named captain breathed out the breath that she was secretly holding in. She felt despair from the bottom of her heart when she saw the giant Tailed Beast Bomb, after all, she had just been named captain and she resolved herself to fulfill the role that her father entrusted to her. However, she felt that she was about to let everyone down by not being able to protect anyone when she was faced with the power of a Tailed Beast. She silently thanked the heavens that this wasn't the end of the road for them.

Hanabi had a different reaction than Kurotsuchi at this moment. "I-Izaya?" She whispered as she stared at my back. I continued to stare straight at Tobi who scoffed at me. "Well well, you look worse for wear."

I put on my best poker face and said, "The next Bomb will be dropped right on your head."

Tobi just laughed and laughed some more in amusement. "Ha-hahahahaha! I will say that I was quite surprised when someone of your calibre did not turn up at the very beginning of the war. For a moment I thought that perhaps you had come to understand exactly what I was trying to do and decided not to interfere for the sake of making the world a better place. For you to turn up now, I truly wonder what it is you were up to."

"Always so curious about my affairs. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you're in love."

Tobi immediately scowled at my remark. "Hmpf. You all can live another day. I've business to attend to. Cherish what days you have left," Tobi turned to Naruto's clone, "Especially you, Nine Tails." The Seven Tails turned back into Fu as they both vanished into thin air within a swirling distortion. I collapsed at that moment with Hanabi jumping forward to catch me.

Huff. Huff. Huff.

I panted trying to catch my breath taking note that my stamina was really near rock bottom. I frowned thinking to myself, my chakra was already pretty low after my fight with Muramasa. Then I helped fight Itachi and Nagato right after and now I had to use nearly the rest of my chakra to send something as large as a Tailed Beast Bomb away. It's a good thing I'm skilled at controlling my own chakra. Senko...Please hurry up the process a bit so I can have my normal reserves back I silently lamented.

Hanabi held me in her arms as I leaned back in her warm embrace and looked up at her face which had some light dirt smeared on her cheeks.

"Hi." I softly whispered.

She clenched her fist and looked at my battered form but was unable to bring herself to say anything to me. She simply turned her head to look at everyone else and said, "Izaya needs rest. I'll show him to his quarters."

Kurotsuchi sighed in relief after truly confirming that they were alive in reality and that this wasn't a Genjutsu. She nodded at Hanabi. "Very well. You do that. We need to discuss the news about what happened at HQ. Kimimaro, go round up all the available platoon leaders and have them come to the main tent for an emergency meeting."

"Yes." Kimimaro nodded. He looked at me and placed his hand on my shoulder comfortingly before he dashed off. Kurotsuchi looked at me as well and whispered, "Izaya, you came just in time. Get some rest for now. We'll talk later."

I nodded my head as Hanabi placed my arm over her shoulder and assisted me in walking to her tent.

Plop!

She dropped me down on her mattress and continued moving around the room grabbing bandages, a bucket of hot water, and a bunch of other various items in order to patch up all of my wounds. I watched as she sat down in front of me in complete silence as if she were waiting for something. I quickly understood and removed my battered shirt revealing all the scars and wounds I received from my battle against Muramasa. We sat in silence as she continued to clean and patch up my wounds. My heart ached at the sight of her. I could tell that deep in the depths of her eyes she was suffering. Suffering from the trauma of war. The trauma of death. I knew that she was bottling it all up because she thought that letting out her emotions for what she felt would make her weak. I could tell that she didn't want to be seen as a weak and unreliable person. I could see that she wanted others to be able to rely on her and come to her for help.

I watched her continue to work in silence as she moved to my neck area and cleaned the wound I received there from my fight against Muramasa. I watched her long beautiful dark brown hair fall and caress the side of her face as she looked down to dip the cloth in her hand into the basin of warm water. I took in the sight of her slightly shaking eyes every time she took a new cloth to clean a new wound on my body. The thoughts of my time with Hanabi all these years flitted past my mind as I sat completely still in front of her like an obedient patient as I recalled our memories together and how every time we met I would learn something about her. By now I had gotten to know her quite well so I knew how headstrong she was. I knew she was reliable. I knew she was kind and caring. I knew she had a side to her that was always teasingly playful. I knew she was stubborn at times. I knew she was smart and quirky. I knew all these things about her and I have always known these things about her. So I knew, at this very moment, she was hurt. She was hurting inside and she kept it all to herself.

I clenched my fist and mentally scolded myself. Stupid stupid. Everyone here is a living, breathing person with their own thoughts, own emotions, and own dreams. What about me? What the heck do I want? What the heck have I been doing? So what if I knew about certain aspects of this world because of my past life's knowledge. I tried to live in this world continuing to choose my actions based on what I knew from my past hoping to guide the world on the path that I knew about, but this isn't some sort of game. I'm not some sort of god and I can't know for sure if things are going to happen exactly as they did as I remembered. Things change yet I still stuck onto the idea that things will play out the same as they did even if I stepped in a bit here and there. But the situation is different now. I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next. I don't know how things will turn out. All I know is that Hanabi is right in front of me. All I know is that if I didn't show up when I did she might not have been sitting here before me at this moment.

I clenched my fist even harder and felt my heart throb in pain. If I feel such pain when I think about the possibility of Hanabi not being next to me anymore then Hanabi must be suffering even more than me. Not only did she have to witness her comrades die right in front of her in this war, she felt what it was like being unable to save them even while being so close. And now she sees me all battered and torn up. Just as I am worried that I might have lost her, she's just as worried that she could have lost me. What an idiot I am.

I watched as Hanabi's hands slightly trembled as she worked on cleaning the 14th wound on my body. She took the warm wash cloth and started cleaning the long scar that ran across my chest. It was at this moment that I raised my arms and pulled her small frame into my chest embracing her in a tight hug. I held her close to me while she remained completely still in my arms. This prompted me to hold her even tighter to me wanting to make sure that she knew I was real. That I was in front of her here and now. As I held her in my arms I lowered my head and said in a soft whisper, "It's okay. It's not your fault. You're okay...You can let it out...I'm here Hanabi...I'm here…"

Immediately after those words left my mouth I felt her entire body tremble and shake uncontrollably. I felt the wet drops of tears on my chest and a quiet sob from Hanabi. It wasn't until another second had passed when Hanabi's sobs turned into loud cries of anguish and sorrow and pain as her tears streamed down her cheeks. She cried and cried and cried some more as she shouted in frustration in my arms. "Why! Why couldn't I save them?! They were right in front of me! We were comrades! Nari, she had a son back home! Ven had a wife! Suki was only one year older than me! She had a baby brother back home! She was going to introduce us after the war! She was so happy when I told her I'd visit her home. We were supposed to share all of our stories together, the good and the bad! B-But I couldn't do anything for them! I trained so hard! All for what?! What did I even accomplish in the end? They still died!" Hanabi continued to shout and cry as she let out all of her anguish and frustrations out at once. I remained silent as I listened and continued to hold her tightly to my chest.

Sniff. Sniff.

After a long while the only sound that could be heard was some soft sobbing noises as Hanabi reigned in her emotions. She rubbed her head softly into my chest as she fiddled with the necklace I gave her a while back. "Izaya?" She whispered almost inaudibly.

"Hm?" I voiced back as I cradled her in my arms.

"I don't want to lose you." She whispered.

"I'm right here." I whispered back.

"But you won't always be."

My heart lurched at her words knowing exactly why she said that. And I remained silent for a while not knowing what to say. Hanabi sensing my silence clenched her hands into a fist and apologized. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. Forget what I just said. I don't want to hold you back."

I frowned and looked down at Hanabi as I placed my fingers under her chin and lifted her face upwards to look at me. "I never once thought that you were holding me back. Rather, it's the opposite. The thought of you gives me strength. Tell me, do you think I hold you back Hanabi?"

Hanabi widened her eyes as she quickly replied, "No! No...You give me strength Izaya. The thought of you is what gives me the strength to move forwards."

I stared down at Hanabi for a moment considering her words before replying, "Then never forget that. We're each other's strengths." I brought my lips closer to hers as we shared an intimate kiss. It wasn't a kiss fueled by desire or lust. It was a kiss of unwavering love. A kiss of unwavering loyalty and of unwavering trust. It lasted for a few seconds before our lips parted ways. Our faces, still incredibly close to each other allowed us to feel the warm breath of the other person. I swallowed as I fought hard to resist doing anything more. Hanabi noticed my internal struggle and smirked as she watched my adams apple move from swallowing down my desire for another taste. She felt her body heat up and finally took note that it was just us alone in her tent.

Before I could pull my face further away from her she reached up with both her arms and entangled them around my neck bringing my lips down to meet her own. We kissed. Then we kissed again and again and again. I lost it completely and forgot the reason why I stopped earlier. Her lips tasted like sweet cinnamon and I just wanted more and more. I wrapped my left arm around her neck and my right arm around her waist as I held her close to me. Hanabi didn't complain as she turned her body straddling my waist and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Izaya…" She whispered in between our kisses. I smirked as I heard her call my name and kissed the soft nape of her neck. "Hanabi…"

At some point during our heated make-out session I had ended up laying down on the mattress with Hanabi lying on my naked chest as we both panted heavily trying to catch our breath. Hanabi traced her fingers over the scars on my chest that she didn't get to bandage up yet and frowned. "How did you get these?"

After taking a couple more deep breaths I placed my hand on top of hers which was tracing the scars on my chest. "Before I came here I discovered the Tengu Sojobo. He was possessed by a powerful spirit. I fought a fierce battle against him and the end result was his defeat and these wounds. Because of certain circumstances during that fight my body's ability to regenerate and recover chakra are currently below average. I'll recover to my peak condition in time. I'm not exactly too keen on the details but the state that I'm currently in is just temporary."

Hanabi furrowed her brow as she struggled to come to terms with how I lived my life. In the end she clicked her tongue and let out a soft sigh. "You idiot...Always doing such dangerous things on your own...Did it hurt?"

I sat up on the mattress after Hanabi got up and returned to dressing up my wounds. "Would you believe me if I said it didn't hurt?"

Hanabi narrowed her eyes and pressed down really hard on a large cut on my leg.

"HiiiiiiSSSsssssss….." I winced in pain from Hanabi's action which caused her to frown. "You could just be honest you know. You don't have to act so tough in front of me...Okay?"

I nodded. "Mn. Then, you too Hanabi. Earlier you were suffering inside because you kept everything to yourself. But when you're with me you can let it all go okay. All the pain and hardships and frustrations. The anger the sadness the hurt. I'll share them all with you."

Hanabi remained quiet for a moment but in the end she nodded with a smile. I smiled as well and pinched the sides of her cheeks. "Wow, my girlfriend has such a beautiful smile!"

Hanabi narrowed her eyes as she slapped my hands away and said, "W-Who's girlfriend? Who said I agreed?"

I put on a fake hurt look and said, "Then...Was I the only one who thought we were together this whole time? I-If you don't want me then-" Hanabi covered my mouth with her hands as her cheeks flushed bright red.

"You need to make these things clear. How would I know we're considered together if you don't say it properly."

I smirked and removed her hands from my mouth holding them in my own while staring Hanabi straight in the eyes. "Then let me make it clear. From now on you're mine and no one else's."

Hanabi pouted. "You make me sound like I'm some sort of object."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Then...from now on I'm yours and no one else's. Better?"

Pfffffft! "Hahaha!" Hanabi laughed and wiped a tear from her eye as she finished up dressing my wounds. "You're an idiot, " she smiled, "but you're my idiot."