28. The Red-Haired Prize

I hear the roar of a bear and know I’m close. I activate my Byakugan and Sharingan simultaneously.  Originally, I expected to have to awaken the dormant Sharingan in my Uchiha eyewig. Instead, the first time I opened my right eye, I realized I’d already unlocked one tomoe. I think it’s from losing Haku, and my resolve to save the cute Kunoichi of this world. They say the so-called 'Mirror Wheel Eye' is the 'eye that reflects the heart' because it gets stronger after the user experiences powerful emotions like grief. My eyewig prosthetics have better synergy with my body than a stolen eye-implant, so having them both active at once isn’t prohibitively expensive for my chakra reserves. The Sharingan increases perception, mental clarity, and reaction time. Meanwhile, the Hyuga's 'All Seeing White Eye' can see through walls, observe everything in an almost 360 degree bubble, and even look inside humans to their internal organs and chakra pathways. I had to spend hours practicing how to match my body’s movements to my new senses.  Individually, they are two powerful dojutsu. Together, they are greater than the sum. My world expands to encompass a fifty meter bubble, my mind accelerates to process an immense amount of sensory data, and I move my body from a third-person perspective like a videogame character. I do a flip for the joy of it and land on a branch in my 'blind spot' with practically no effort. It feels like I can do anything, any stunt, any gymnastic fucking pirouette I can imagine first try, no mistakes. I could even recreate martial arts technique I've seen in movies! Later, I need to focus on this rescue. With a kunai in hand, I'm confident I can dismantle a mere animal bear with surgical precision and inhuman grace. Watching myself as if having an out-of-body experience, I meticulously plan each step of my approach. Then comes a feminine scream. A girl with crimson eyes, bright red hair, and glasses cowers before a hulking beast. Sure, it’s big for a bear, but someone having trouble with this creature sure wasn’t becoming a Chunin this year.   Searᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It’s Karin, aged up to eighteen like everyone else I knew from the Anime so far. My plan to cuck Sasuke hard gay involves stealing every woman who dares crush on the emo boy. Actually, I like Karin enough to pick her up anyway. Her more questionable traits revolve around her unrequited obsession with Sasuke, so maybe genuine affection will improve her personality. It’s revealed during a Shippuden flashback she starts pining for him after he saves her from this bear, so I’m inserting myself into her backstory here. I’m interested to see how she reacts to me.  “Hey, where are you guys?” she says, looking for people who long since jumped ship. Her teammates are nowhere to be found. The bear roars again, and she tries to flee but trips in fear and drops an Earth scroll. Her glasses fall to the forest floor. The bear charges her prone form.  My movements are swift and efficient. I leap from a branch onto the bear’s shoulders and gouge out its eyes. Then I slit its throat and dodge away from a paw swipe. The creature is dead within seconds. It all happened so fast! I didn’t even get blood on my clothes.   Damn, dojutsu are stupid-overpowered. I grab her glasses from the ground and wipe away the mud. Karin sits up in a crouch as I return her glasses. She dons them, her hand lingering on mine, and looks at me as her eyes focus. I flood the area with Pheromones.  “Your chakra… it’s like a roaring fire!” Huh. Not how I expected to be described. “Flames that spread and consume, but not burn?” She stares at me as if seeing through my dark glasses and long coat into my soul.  I look at our touching hands and say, “Do you want me to leave?”  “Oh, no! That’s not what I meant!” she says.   I smile and lift Karin to her feet, not letting go of her hand. “Good. I’d like to continue admiring your eyes. They glitter like rubies.”  “My… my eyes!” she blushes and looks away to hide her face.   “And your hair is an incredible shade of red.” I touch a strand with my other hand, “It’s so smooth and glossy!”   “M-my hair?” Her blush deepens to match her hair and eye color. She tries to hide behind her bangs.  I glance at the scuff marks on Karin’s clothes from her fall. “Are you hurt? You shouldn’t leave any wound untreated.” With that excuse, I inspect her body and push up the sleeve of the arm I’m holding.   Her skin is littered with old bite marks.  “What is this? Did someone hurt you?”  “No! This is a… a jutsu of mine. I heal people who bite me. Um, I shouldn’t have told you that.”  “Of course, clan secrecy and such. Still, you must be proud to have a healing jutsu when those are pretty rare!”  “Proud?” Karin scowls. “This ability cost my mother her life! They used her until her chakra ran dry, and she died.” From her downcast eyes and defeated expression, I guessed Karin often wondered how long she’d live before meeting the same fate. “That’s terrible! At least you found some teammates who appreciate your gifts.”  “Hah! They don’t give a shit about me. They’d drain me to the last drop and walk over my corpse.”  That much is obvious by the fact they gave the Earth Scroll. Like a lizard dropping its tail, they gave their most expendable teammate bait with the intention of sacrificing Karin if they encountered strong ninjas and had to flee. Since only teams of three advance from this round, those trash Genin left both girl and scroll behind while escaping the forest. Despicable. “Then why are you with them?”  “Where am I supposed to go instead? I’ve lived in Kusagakure since I was little. Other villages would think me a spy if I tried to move; or I’d become a Missing-Nin if I ran away.”  “That’s awful! But know you’re not a spy. You could fake your death and come live with me. I’d reward your efforts handsomely, care for you, and protect you.”   “W-why would you do that for me?”  I step into her personal space and run my fingers through the long silky strands of her hair. “I’m sure you could think of a way to repay me… .” Pheromones pour from me in waves, and I haven’t let go of her since we started the conversation.   Her voice trembles. “W-w-why me? Y-you could have any number of girls in your s-s-service.”   I bring my mouth to her ear and chuckle. “Yes, I will. You need someone to save you… and you’re cute. Isn’t that enough?” Love has to start somewhere. Karin’s breaths come harder and faster. “W-what’s your name?”  “Shino Aburame.”  “Shino—” I nibble her ear. “—!”