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Oops, I'm Kimimaro? Guess I'll Be the Final Villain!
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(You can find the link for it on my profile page.)
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Ryusei hadn't saved her out of pity for some tragic fate. And it certainly wasn't because of her pretty face, a bit more athletic, attractive type of figure, or that harsher and 'darker' kind of beauty she carried overall, different from Tsunade's, but just as striking. Of course not.
No, it was obviously because of her strength, her potential, her Scorch Release blood. Obviously.
He already had a very fitting job in mind for her right away, the one better handled by someone else, not him directly next.
As for her possibly brushing off and disregarding the fact that he'd saved her, that didn't bother him.
He could already read her type. Blind loyalty, through and through.
The kind who only ever cared for the village that raised her as a tool, indifferent to anyone outside of it.
But now? That village had betrayed her.
The neat ending point of her life had been broken, the path she was meant to walk shattered.
So where would she go, with no master to serve and no flag to follow?
The answer was obvious.
She needed something new to fill her head with, and that "something" might as well be him.
Therefore, while his thoughts ran, Ryusei's hands never stopped working.
His chakra flowed steadily into her system, his palms now pressed firmly along the toned but also smooth line of her bare back.
She let out a low groan, hazel eyes narrowing.
"…Didn't you already expel the poison? Then why are you still healing me? What exactly is your purpose?"
Ryusei chuckled behind the mask, his fingers not pausing for a second. "Purpose? Nothing complicated. I've got a job for you, something that'll let you repay me sooner rather than later. But for that, you need to be fully back on your feet."
Pakura's breath caught, but she steadied herself, her usual steel creeping back into her tone. "…So this was truly never charity. I should've known. Okay."
Her gaze hardened, even through her fatigue. "But, if you're expecting me to just follow your orders, from now on, just because you saved me once, you'll be disappointed. I do repay my debts, but I don't take chains anymore."
Ryusei's hands stilled for a moment, then pressed a little deeper into her back, sending another steady wave of chakra through her.
"Chains?" he echoed lightly, almost amused. "Relax. I don't need a dog on a leash. If that's what I wanted, I'd have left you for that guy, Sasori? He's very good at that kind of thing."
He leaned back slightly, letting the words hang before adding, "No, what I want is different. You're strong, Pakura. Strong enough that even your own village decided they'd rather see you dead than risk what you might become. That kind of talent… wasted if you just disappear."
The grin behind his mask carried into his tone as he finished, "So call it what you like, repayment, cooperation, mutual benefit. Doesn't matter. I'm not asking you to kneel. Just stand."
Pakura's lips pressed into a thin line. Even weakened, her pride held.
"You speak too easily," she said, her voice rough but steady. "Strong or not, I'm still Sunagakure shinobi. Whatever I decide, it won't be because some masked stranger wants to use me."
Her eyes narrowed, but there was no denying the faint hitch in her tone, the pause before her next words.
"…And yet, perhaps I should at least hear what kind of 'job' you think I'm fit for now, to at least try and repay you without delay."
Her gaze lingered on him, sharp even through fatigue. "Don't mistake that for obedience. I only want to know why you risked yourself to pull me out, when letting me die would've been simpler."
Ryusei didn't waste time dressing it up. "The only reason I crossed your path is because I was using this raid as cover in the first place," he said, voice even. "There are Hyūga here, Main Branch, more precisely. I came to take a Byakugan. I have my own reasons for that."
Pakura's brow furrowed, her breathing still heavy. "You—"
"But," Ryusei cut across calmly, "my identity is… complicated. Using my original powers for something like this wouldn't be smart. It's better if someone else does it. With your strength, it won't be too hard." His fingers pressed once more along her back, steady. "Of course, I won't leave you to do it alone. You saw what I can use openly, that peculiar chakra only. That'll be enough alongside you."
Her lips parted in disbelief, then pressed shut again, her eyes narrowing sharply.
"…You save me, only to admit you want to use me for theft? And from the Hyūga of all people?"
Her tone was cold, but behind it, a spark of thought flickered.
'Hyūga. Main Branch. Byakugan.'
If he was this cautious about hiding himself, so unwilling to use his "original powers" against Konoha, then only two possibilities made sense.
He wasn't some wandering mercenary.
He was either tied to Konoha itself or already well-known enough in the shinobi world that showing his true abilities would expose him. Maybe both.
Her eyes shifted and narrowed faintly, suspicion tightening. "…You're not some nobody. You're hiding something."
Ryusei didn't confirm or deny. Instead, his tone turned softer, almost mocking.
"Don't think of this as the end of our meeting or some one-off transaction. Think of it as the beginning of some greater partnership."
"You may act like you don't need anything, but I know better than that. You still have some ambition left, don't you? You don't look that broken."
Pakura's chest tightened at the word. Ambition.
She wanted to snap back, deny it, but the truth cracked through before she could close the door on it.
She had no illusions left about Sunagakure.
Betrayed once, she could never again assume its current form as her village.
Every glance at its leadership now only conjured hatred.
Her burning thirst for revenge against Rasa and the elders was all that kept her from collapsing.
She wanted them gone, crushed under the same fate they had forced on her. That was her first ambition.
Her second was quieter but no less sharp.
She still carried a sliver of the dream she once had, the dream that Sunagakure could change.
That it could be led into a better future, away from that rot, away from the endless circle of sacrifice.
If Rasa was replaced, if the old order was swept away… then maybe.
But she couldn't do it alone. She had no clan, no backing.
She had only her name, her strength, and her flames.
For the first time, she realized her ambition required allies.
She lowered her gaze, hazel eyes darkening as her chest rose and fell.
"…You think you can give me more strength? Enough to realize what I want?"
Ryusei tilted his head, the faint grin behind his mask audible in his words.
"I can. Strength in return for cooperation. That's all."
Her lips pressed tight, her breath shaky. "And if I refuse?"
He leaned closer, voice lowering like a whisper through the mask.
"Then you go back to being Sunagakure's discarded weapon and some forsaken missing nin, waiting for the next knife in your back."
Pakura's eyes narrowed, but she didn't argue. She couldn't.
Not with the poison's echo still in her veins, not with the memory of Sasori's threads still clinging to her skin.
She clenched her fists weakly. "…Fine. For now. Cooperation. But understand this—"
Her gaze burned hotter than her voice. "I will never belong to anyone again. Not Sunagakure. Not you."
Ryusei chuckled softly. "Good. I don't need you to belong to me. I just need you to burn."
Pakura thought it through in silence.
This masked stranger hadn't only saved her, he was still healing her even now, calmly, as if certain she couldn't possibly threaten him.
That kind of confidence only came from real power. To oppose him here would be suicide.
And he was right, she wasn't broken by Sunagakure's betrayal.
She was burning with rage, thirsting for revenge.
But where would that lead her now?
As a discarded kunoichi in her early twenties, branded for death by her own village, what future was left?
As a missing-nin, she would be hunted everywhere, with no clan, no allies, no path to grow stronger.
With him, at least, there was a possibility.
His age didn't match his strength, and that strange green chakra she had seen was just one of his powers.
If he could wield something like that so openly, what else was he hiding? Her curiosity sharpened as much as her instincts.
And as she lay there, weak and unable to summon even a flicker of her Scorch Release, she felt his chakra flowing earnestly into her, steady and controlled.
He hadn't bound her, hadn't marked her with some cursed seal, hadn't spoken of ownership or chains. Instead, he spoke of cooperation, of an equal pact.
The combination was undeniable. Power, mystery, and the promise of strength, without shackles.
Pakura's hazel eyes softened slightly, though the steel in them remained.
"…Very well. I'll walk with you, for now. But know this, when the day comes, I'll choose my own path."
Her words carried defiance, but deep down, she had already agreed.
Ryusei gave a low, amused hum at her words, but didn't argue.
"That's fine. Walk your own path when you can. Until then, you'll need strength to get there."
He kept his hands on her back a while longer, sending steady waves of chakra into her until her breathing evened out.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he produced a spare cloak and mask, roughly made, but identical to his own.
He draped it over her shoulders without asking.
Pakura blinked at him, brow furrowing. "…You expect me to wear this?"
Ryusei nodded once. "Of course. One masked, one not, that draws more eyes visually than two masked figures, even if they guess it's you from your flame. Better to confuse the world."
Her lips tightened, but after a beat she slipped the mask on. "…Tch. Fine. You're right."
Not long after, Ryusei's senses stirred again. His eyes narrowed behind the mask.
"Main Branch chakra, running south. Surrounded by a few Side Branch and Konoha escorts. Looks like they're fleeing what's left of this mess."
Pakura straightened slowly, still weak but steadier than before. "Survivors. Or cowards."
Ryusei stood, adjusting his cloak. "Perfect target. Let's go."
And without waiting, the two masked figures slipped into motion together, toward their prey.