Chapter 68 - The Boldest Moves

Ekyt silently carried Hidan’s corpse, thinking something wasn’t quite right. But damned if he knew what. He guessed it was just the thought of having killed someone for the first time. Just as Ekyt convinced himself that was all it was, Kakashi suddenly barked out an order.

“Ekyt, drop his body and get away!”

Ekyt did, but it was too late. Hidan had sprung his trap.

“So, you finally figured out I’m immortal, did you?” Hidan growled. Suddenly, the pendant around his neck suddenly formed on the ground, and Ekyt was in the center.

“Interesting that YOU were the one to kill me, Dragon Boy. Surely you had more sense than to think I would be THAT easy to kill!” Hidan withdrew a kunai from under his cloak. He plunged it into his arm. Ekyt grabbed his arm, swallowing a scream- blood?

“That’s right. Whatever I do to myself, I do to you. This symbol connects us. What happens to my body, happens to yours. Funny damn thing- I can’t die, and YOU can!” Hidan raised the kunai, and plunged it into his thigh.

“shoot!” Ekyt snarled. “Let me guess: Anything that I do to you, I do to myself?”

“Precisely, dipshoot. So, I’m going to kill you. Is there anything you can do about it?”

“Only make sure you die alone!” Ekyt shot back. He had used the body-flicker jutsu to land behind Hidan and grab his neck. He snapped it, only to buy time, he knew it wouldn’t be permanent.

“Leave! Go! Get the kids out of here!” Ekyt shouted.

“NO! WE AREN’T GOING TO LEAVE YOU, EKYT-SENSEI! WHATEVER HAPPENS, WE’RE STAYING RIGHT HERE!” shouted Naoto. The kids refused to leave, and everyone else was too rooted to the spot to make them.

“There’s a hole in your plan, Hidan. Just as big as the one in your head!” Ekyt dragged Hidan outside the symbol.

“So what? You STILL can’t kill me!” Hidan crowed, his head healing.

“Oh no? I CAN do this. You’re a menace, and I’ve been itching to use this jutsu! But first, I have to do one last thing…In case this goes wrong…” Ekyt snapped Hidan’s neck, arms, and legs, and ran over to his group.

“I want all of you to promise you’ll study hard, and become the best Shinobi you can. No matter what happens, NEVER give in to evil. You’ll learn when you get older that right isn’t always easy. You may learn it right now. This is the hardest thing I’ve had to do, and I don’t want any of you even THINKING of this jutsu until you’re older.”

Ekyt bowed to his Kakashi, Sarutobi, Hayate, Kimimaro, Naruto, Sasuke, Kankuro, and Gaara. He stopped in front of Sakura. Throwing a kunai over his shoulder to slow Hidan down, Ekyt asked to talk to Sakura for a second. But that second was over rapidly, and all Ekyt could do was hold her hands, look her in the eyes, then do the impossible.

Ekyt Kaguya finally kissed Sakura Haruno. He didn’t say why; he didn’t need to. But Sakura seemed to understand. All the same, she was frozen to the spot.


Ekyt ran back over to Hidan, making handsigns as he went.

“What is this?! I don’t know this jutsu!” Hidan complained. “Whatever. Do whatever the hell you want, you retard. I can’t die!”

Ekyt finished the handsigns. “Reaper Death Seal!” Ekyt grabbed onto Hidan.



Sarutobi and Kakashi exchanged glances; they couldn’t stop it now.

“He was determined to take someone out like that…Master Sarutobi, didn’t he say he had a plan to get around death?” Kakashi wondered.

“Yes…but it wasn’t complete…failure is more likely than success, I’m afraid.”


Sakura put a hand to her mouth. Had Ekyt really just kissed her? Whatever he’s doing must be incredibly risky…or he would never…That kiss…it wasn’t a superficial ‘thank you’ kiss. There was something behind it…Something my kiss with Sasuke was missing…Could he…could he really be in love with me?

Behind Ekyt, it was unmistakable- that was the death god, Shinigami. Hidan had never been so terrified. That’s when he felt it- the death god, using Ekyt’s chakra, latch on to his soul. Hidan fought the jutsu, but Ekyt held on as long as he could. With a last burst of chakra, Ekyt pulled out Hidan’s soul. The death god greedily lapped up both souls, then disappeared.

“DAMN YOU!” Hidan shouted, falling to the ground. Ekyt fell down beside him, his world going black.

“Immortal, huh?” Ekyt said with a smirk, before letting his head hit the ground.

“Ekyt-kun?!” Sakura was the first one at Ekyt’s side. She knew this jutsu’s effects. But to her surprise, she found a faint heart beating.

“He’s alive!”

--

A day later, Ekyt came out of his coma. His eyes were impassive, and his words were toneless.

“Our theory was correct, Master Sarutobi. The death god was happy to eat my emotional soul. And what of Hidan?”

“Sealed inside the emotional soul that you sacrificed,” Sarutobi told him. They were alone for the moment. “After today, I want to ask you a question Ekyt. Do you think that you are ready to be a jonin? And no modesty.”

“I do. I’ve done everything that’s asked of a jonin. If all the children are alive, and everyone made it out of that crisis, I did my job.” Ekyt had his emotions taken away once before, and knew that his mind was more clear in this state. He didn’t have his usual self-depreciating attitude, and wouldn’t be shy to speak up. But he had still grown to appreciate the chakra his emotions gave him, whatever pain they caused. After all, that very chakra, created by those very feelings, had just saved his life.

“Well, I don’t think anyone will argue now. Ending the life of someone immortal…and with THAT jutsu…you’re a special boy, as I’ve come to understand.”

“Without my second chakra, I’m weaker, and therefore less powerful. That would make me less effective as a jonin. Perhaps my words were hasty, and said more out of desire than truth…wait…Master Sarutobi, this isn’t normal…I can feel an emotion…desire…how is that possible? I sacrificed my second chakra in place of my soul. I shouldn’t be feeling anything…”

Sarutobi exhaled a wreath of smoke. “I don’t believe your second chakra left you entirely. The Akatsuki extracted your chakra, rather than your soul, which made the circumstances different. Your emotions…they’re growing back. Try to summon your second chakra.”

Ekyt did, and found a small blue flame sitting in his hand. Sarutobi smiled.

“Well then, it seems you have emotions. And a good thing! In case your coma damaged your memory, or your memory became selective, you kissed a certain girl yesterday, and I do believe she’ll want to talk to you…”

Ekyt suddenly looked horrified. “Oh God…I DID kiss her…What was I thinking?! I love her, but still…had I died, it would have hurt her more! I’m such a selfish bastard, I do this unconsciously!”

“I don’t think you’re a selfish bastard…” Sakura was standing at the door. Sarutobi smiled, got up, and walked out. It looked like the kids needed some time…


Ekyt gulped, and turned ten shades of red.

“Sakura…I’m sorry. I can’t take it back, and I don’t want to. I know I’ve just made things harder for you, and it was horrible of me…”

Sakura smiled kindly and sat down on the bed next to Ekyt.

“You know, I thought it was really sweet of you. I mean, I could tell that you really meant that kiss. No matter what you say, you can’t take that back. And…well, Naruto and Lee have been dropping hints about this for a while. I didn’t piece it together until you actually kissed me.” Sakura was blushing slightly, but not out of embrassment. Desire, perhaps?

“I DID mean it. And I still do. It’s been three years, and I’ve…well, I’ve had a crush on you for three years. It’s kind of pathetic I didn’t say anything, I know, but I didn’t want it to be hard on you when you turned me down…I mean, you’re out of my league…what would you want with a scrawny, older genin anyway, right?”

“Wrong. VERY wrong. You see…I’ve been thinking…well, let me see your chest. Come on, I did the other night, it won’t kill you.” Sakura needled. Ekyt realized that his shirt and vest had been replaced with a doctor’s shirt, so he shrugged it off.

“I saw the cuts, all across your body…and I realized…who was the one taking the knives for me? Who defended me, no matter what? The answer should have been clear to me, but it wasn’t. So much happened. But yesterday, when you kissed me, then finished that man off, it hit me- I’ve never felt safer. You’re strong, no matter what you say. And all those cuts on your chest…they were for me, weren’t they?”

Ekyt looked away, but nodded. “I couldn’t let you get hurt. But I couldn’t say it either…three little words…damn, my emotions WOULD have to come back during this conversation,” Ekyt joked, a smile visible even under his mask.

“You don’t have to be shy. You know…I…I thought I understood love. With Sasuke. But that was infatuation. There’s a difference. And…maybe…it was love that I felt in that kiss?” Sakura suggested, head down, but her eyes looking up through her bangs.

“It was. On my part. I don’t know how you’d interpret it…but it was.”

“Then, do it again. Or, better yet…” Sakura shifted to face Ekyt. For a long moment, her green eyes met his hazel eyes. An IV restrained Ekyt’s arm, which was seriously annoying him. But when Sakura slipped the mask down around his neck, and leaned forward, he forgot all that. All he knew was that her tender lips met his, and he was in heaven. The kiss lasted a long time. That would have been enough for Ekyt, but out of habit, Sakura had a hand of his chest, so she wouldn’t fall over. All too soon, though it seemed like forever, the kiss was over.

“So…what did you feel?” Sakura questioned, smiling at Ekyt. His emotions had fully returned.

“I felt…it’s hard to describe…I’ve never known love, not like this. That must be what I felt.” Ekyt still couldn’t believe it.

“Well, you either felt love, or some of the taste from the dumplings I just ate. Either way, love was in there.” Sakura playfully tugged Ekyt’s mask back up into place, and then hugged him, burying her head into his shoulder.

“I…” Ekyt began.

“Ekyt-kun, just say it. I’m not going to kill you. Besides, I just kissed you, do you honestly think I won’t understand now?” Sakura murmured, still happily snuggled into his neck.

“I…I love you!” Ekyt managed. He was amazed; the girl who could smash boulders was hugging him so tenderly…and he could feel it? His mind flashed back to the horrors of seeing the death god. But Sakura’s kiss knocked the scary demon out of his mind. Ekyt draped the one unrestrained arm around Sakura.

“WHOA! Ekyt-sensei, is this part of the curriculum?”

Sakura sat up, inadvertently headbutting Ekyt under the chin. The entire class of thirty was just standing there, gaping.

“How long have you been here?!” Sakura demanded.

“Long enough! So, were you two gonna…ya know…” Naoto teased. By now, even the senseis, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai had filed in.

“I told you, Naruto-kun. Ekyt-kun’s dick is bigger than yours!” Sai smiled. Sakura blushed, Naruto raged, and Kakashi grabbed Naruto before he killed Sai. It was just like old times, except now Sakura understood that she had a new future, and it involved the shy boy who had made a name for himself.

“It’s great that you two are tight and all…but Ekyt, if you can move, we need to get back to our own village. And on the way, you might read one of my favorite books…” Kakashi led the troop out of the room. Ekyt yanked his IV out, feeling a rush of pain, but that didn’t matter. He put on his shirt and vest, and smiled at Sakura one more time.

“Is Lady Fifth going to kill me for kissing you?” Ekyt asked with a smile. He suddenly noticed Sakura had put her hand in his.

“Maybe. Although, she might have been playing matchmaker herself. We’re scheduled to do missions. Of course, that might change, Ekyt-sensei.”

“Huh? Oh, that! I forgot! It figures. I land the girl I’ve had a crush on for years and get the promotion I’ve wanted in the same day. All while lying in a hospital bed. Somehow, that’s not entirely surprising…’

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