Chapter 70 - Arc X: True Form- Chapter 4

Yuji was approached by the breathtaking creature. He was genuinely surprised and didn’t know how to react. He did not know her at all; and yet she was approaching him. Did that denote a sexual attraction, he wondered? Or was there another purpose to her attention?

“You’re Yuji, aren’t you?” Kuroko began the conversation.

Break the ice slowly. I don’t know how he’ll react. He seems like the dominant type at first glance, but I suspect he’s actually more gentle…The girl-shy types usually are.
Kuroko didn’t date often, and she didn’t sleep around. But the girl-shy types were her specialty. She could reign in her personality to suit them, and then slowly re-assert herself. Satoko came at you like a hurricane, one short step from being slutty. That turned any decent guy wanting a relationship off in hot minute.

“I am. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’ve met you…”

“No, no, you haven’t,” she assured him, making sure to stay in control yet seem feminine. “My name is Kuroko. It’s spelled with the kanji for ‘black’ and ‘child’. Weird, I know…”
Give him an opening…

“No, not at all,” he assured her. “I wish I could tell you what kanji my name uses, but I usually just use katakana…”

She gave him a dark-eyed glance, knowing that her pale skin made the deep obsidian of her hair and eyes stick out more. He took the bait. I’ve got him talking, and I’ve probably made him feel like he knows me. Now, how to control this so it goes where I want…
“Pardon my asking, Yuji, but don’t you usually hang out with those two…”

“Naruto and Sakura? Oh, yes. They’re friends of mine. Also my job description.”

shoot, he threw me a curveball!
Kuroko contained herself in an instant, flashing a toothy grin, revealing her very white teeth.
“Oh? How is that?”

“It’s my job to serve them.”

“Someone as powerful as you?”

“You flatter me. I’m not all that powerful.”

Okay, apply a compliment. Everyone likes those. Kuroko thought, going through her playbook in her mind.

“I’m sure you’re strong. I can tell. You’ve got a good, strong chakra about you. Besides, you practice a lot…”

Yuji offered her a sardonic grin. “It keeps me out of trouble.”

Finally, something open to interpretation! Kuroko thought, congratulating herself on cracking him a little bit. It was no small feat. Maybe he was attracted to her already?
“Oh? Am I…”
She paused dramatically, taking in a breath, and nearly whispering the last word.
“…trouble?”

Yuji raised his eyebrows comically. “You tell me. I’d say it’s a distinct possibility.”

Yuji had planned to let this girl go. She was clearly trying to play him. He had to give her credit- she was good. Her mind was analytical, but lazily disciplined. Her intentions were obvious from the start, despite her apparent self-assurance otherwise. Perhaps the girl was unreadable to her friends? They didn’t look like the brightest bunch.

Yuji inwardly frowned. That wasn’t a fair judgment. They were the norm; not he. He, Yuji, was the one who was the oddball. This was a normal exchange between a guy and girl who both had physical contact on the mind. So why the hell was he analyzing this conversation like that?

At that point, he turned off that part of his mind and focused on the girl. She was attractive, apparently intelligent, and definitely not a girl who fit into any mold. An independent thinker. And apparently one who was used to being the smartest one in the group.

How would a normal guy react to this? Yuji wondered, not really needing an answer. He knew full well what would come next if he even attempted to be like a normal guy. Either he’d get a girlfriend out of the deal, or he’d get a one night stand with meaningless yet oddly fulfilling sex.
Huh.
Well, flirting didn’t hurt anyone. He just wouldn’t seal the deal. He wasn’t super attracted to Kuroko, despite admitting that she’d be hot by anyone’s standards. So he would just ‘play the game’ for now, and try to have a little fun. Heck, maybe this girl would loosen him up and he’d take her up on her ‘offer’. He wasn’t attached to anyone and had no prospects. As long as she didn’t get pregnant, who did this hurt?

“Hey! Yuji!” came Naruto’s voice.

Yuji looked up, grinned, and after telling Kuroko “Excuse me. I’ll be right back. That’s my job walking over to me,” and made his way over. He gave Naruto and Sakura an appraising glance, nodding to himself. Naruto was wearing a pretty standard Yukata; a grey and black striped deal. Sakura was wearing a nicer one; pink with a gold obi. Her hair was done up a little bit. She looked cute with her bangs like that.

“You two look great! Having fun?”

They both replied in the affirmative. Yuji kept his grin in place, nodding cheerfully to whoever he happened to know who walked by.
“It’s been a year, huh?” he intoned. “Amazing, isn’t it?”

That’s right! It’s our one-year anniversary! Mine and Naruto’s, I mean! Sakura thought, surprised. She wondered if Naruto remembered.

“You bet! Hey, Sakura, here!” Naruto declared, handing her a box with a bow on. He was grinning widely. “Betcha thought I forgot.”

Sakura smothered Naruto with a hug, so touched that he would remember this anniversary that she forgot Yuji was there. She met his eyes for a moment, and he just gave a small nod and a smile. Then he turned and walked away, a hand extended over his shoulder in a wave.

“Wonder who that girl is?” Naruto muttered idly, not really caring.

“I don’t know. Wonder what she wants with Yuji…”

Naruto raised his eyebrows. “Same thing as any normal girl. Didn’t know Yuji had normal impulses, though…”

Sakura was a little disturbed at the prospect of Yuji having a fling. It took her a moment to figure out why.
It’s just really out of character for him, she decided. Am I really going to think less of him for something like that?
Sakura knew, better than anyone, what kind of therapy sex could be. She hadn’t experienced it firsthand, but it was a documented medical fact. God knew that if anyone needed some feel-good endorphins in his system, it was the perpetually dark Yuji.

Still feels off. But good luck anyway, Yuji.

She took Naruto’s hand to lead him off to a more secluded area. Naruto wouldn’t get sex out of her yet, but this was worth at least a little make out time.
--

Another hour, for good measure.

Yuji had drank, gambled, and even let a couple girls flirt with him. He had wound up turning down Kuroko’s offer. Whatever his body told him (or begged for him to indulge in), it just wasn’t his style. Kuroko wasn’t interested in any kind of relationship (Yuji had managed to get that out of her. To Yuji, a relationship came first. Kuroko wanted to see if they had chemistry. Rather than finding it to be slutty, Yuji found it to be intuitive behavior. She had clearly observed him for some time before deciding to ’target’ him. He managed to make a friend of her in the end, which surprised them both). So he tried to relax and have some fun, with the promise of future contact with the lovely Kuroko ringing in his ears.

It was, of course, mirthless, fake fun. He tried to enjoy himself for real, and at times he succeeded. But most of the time, he could only lament a love that never happened and the girl he had come so close to marrying. But there was no reason to worry Naruto and Sakura over that. They should be enjoying themselves- not pitying him. So he made sure lots of people saw him having fun.

After an hour of this, he made his way to the top of the Hokage faces, deciding to stand and watch the party from up there for a while. In his hakama and black haori, he made for a heroic silhouette against the stars. He held a pipe in his hand, but he didn’t smoke it. He just let the tobacco burn. It was partly a silent, inconspicuous offering to the dead; partly a relaxing, familiar scent.

He closed his eyes, and for a short moment felt a measure of contentment. This quite time was just what he needed. The rich tobacco, the cool night air, the only sounds to be heard were in the distance.

How much longer will this last? This power…this life.

The prophecy that between him and Sasuke, one must die in their inevitable mortal combat hung uncomfortably in the air around him, dampening his spirits.

I don’t want to die, for the first time in a while. I actually care for my own life. But I don’t want to kill anyone, let alone their (Naruto and Sakura’s) best friend. But what choice is there? One of us needs to die.

“Natural order. The stronger of us will live. As a warrior, I owe him nothing short of my personal best in combat. I don’t know how he sees it, but that’s the only recourse I can think of. Pure chance; a flip of the coin as to who lives or dies.”

Speaking aloud helped Yuji organize his thoughts. He was amused at himself for thinking that way, instead of retreating into a secluded shell. He plopped down, not caring to sit formally, and began to nibble on a variety of snacks he had picked up over the course of the night.

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