Kuro's mind raced, trying to make sense of what he'd just witnessed. A memory surfaced: after Sasuke was bitten, Orochimaru had sought out Anko. Could this enter mean it was happening now? The timing seemed to align.
The snake-like man, his gaze lingering on Kuro for a final, unnerving moment, began to melt into the shadows. It was as if the darkness itself was drawing him in, ing him. "See you ter, boy," he hissed, the words ced with a chilling amusement. "I have something to deal with." His form dissolved pletely, leaving only a haunting, sinister ugh eg through the trees, a chilling reminder of his presence.
Kuro stood motionless for a moment, staring at the spot where Orochimaru had just been. His heart was still pounding from the enter, adrenaliill rushing through his veins. The tension, however, seemed to dissipate as Orochimaru disappeared. Kuro let out a quiet breath, his body slowly beginning to rex as the fight was no longer immi. The immediate threat was gone, but the situatio a lingering unease.
“What a waste of time,” Kuro muttered to himself. “Couldn’t eve a det fight in before the drama unfolded.”
He turned his gaze to the ground, trying to ter himself after the intense enter. He had expected a csh, expected to test himself against the formidable Orochimaru. But that wouldn’t happen today.
The mention of Xaker earlier, though, still g him. That name... That name shouldn’t have even e up. It didn’t make sense. How was Orochimaru involved with Fire Fly Corporation? It seemed like fate had spired to remind him that no matter how far he ran, no matter how much he tried to leave behind his old life, the threads of his past would always be pulling him back.
Kuro sighed deeply, pushing those thoughts aside for the moment. There were bigger s now. “Whatever,” he muttered, g his fists, “I’ll deal with Xaker ter. For now, I o focus on what’s in front of me.”
Without warning, a sudden shift in the air made Kuro freeze. He caught the fai flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, but before he could fully react, it was go was like a shadow moving too quickly for him to grasp. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, but he didn’t turn to chase it. Whoever was out there, he didn’t o deal with them right now.
Kuro returo the rendezvous point as twilight paihe forest in shades of deepening blue. Xero and Reika waited amidst the hushed stillness, the air growing cool and heavy with the approag night. The forest opy, once a vibrant green, now resembled a dark, imperable ceiling. While Xero’s eyes held their usual spark of mischief, Kuro noticed a subtle undercurrent of worry. Reika remained posed as always, yet even her calm demeanor betrayed a hint of uhe sileself spoke volumes, a pregnant pause anticipating his return and bearing unspokeions.
"Finally back to the nd of the living," Xero greeted, his tone ced with pyful exaggeration. "Lost your way again? Or perhaps stumbled upon a secret ninja spa you were keeping all to yourself?” He winked, nudging Kuro’s arm lightly, a transparent attempt to break the tension and gauge Kuro's mood without directly asking. He knew Kuro sometimes wandered off, but the gravity in the air felt different this time.
Kuro offered a tight-lipped smile, a fleetiure meant to reassure, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Just… cheg things out," he said, his voice deliberately casual, aiming for a lightness he didn't quite feel. A shadow lihere, a hint of the somber se he had just left behind, unseen by his panions. The reality of this world was sinking in, a stark trast to the manga panels he had once read with detached i. He had seen suffering today, raw and unfiltered, and it resonated deep within him.
"Cheg things out," Xero repeated skeptically, raising an eyebrow. "That's awfully vague, even for you. Discover anything iing beyond the usual trees and overly friendly squirrels?" He leaned in slightly, his pyful demeanor noened with genuine curiosity. He and Reika both knew Kuro was observant, and 'cheg things out' could mean anything from finding rare herbs to stumbling into trouble.
Kuro sighed inwardly. Lie a little. Keep it simple. "Nothing of io us," Kuro stated, maintaining his nont tone. "Just firmed the general dire is safe enough. For now." He offered a half-truth, enough to deflect further questions without revealing the emotional turmoil brewing inside him.
Reika’s voice, calm and steady, cut through Xero’s pyful probing. "Did you enter something troubling, Kuro?" Her direess, as always, was disarming. She had watched him carefully since his return, her perceptive gaze missing nothing. She saw past the casual facade, reizing the subtle shift in his posture, the restrained energy beh his movements.
Kuro paused, meetieady gaze. Hoy, he knew, was the best policy with Reika, even partial hoy. "Let's just say I saw a side of this world… less appealing thaourist brochures might suggest,” he offered vaguely.
Reika sidered his words for a moment, her expression thoughtful. She didn't push further, respeg his boundaries. “Uood," she said simply, a small, almost imperceptible nod. Her quiet acceptance was a silent aowledgment, a reassurahat she registered his unspoken distress and would be there if he chose to eborate ter. Sometimes, the most f response was simply aowledging someone else's burden without demanding they unpack it pletely.
Xero, sensing the shift in atmosphere and Reika’s quiet uanding, toned down his pyful banter. "Well, whatever you saw, leave it behind now," he decred, g Kuro on the shoulder with more force than usual. "Night's closing in. Time to find a det spot and recharge. Fet gloomy sery, think delicious campfire ramen.” He was redireg, practical a and the promise of simple fort to cut through the heavy mood. He might tease relentlessly, but when it mattered, Xero knew how to shift gears, how to offer support in his own way.
