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Chapter 85 No Place in Peace
🕑 Added 2025-07-16 08:36:48 +0000 UTCThere honestly wasn’t a whole lot we could do as we sat hidden away from the world. We had all dropped the transformation, using chakra was something we tried to minimise.
We didn’t know how we might be tracked, or if we were being tracked, so the goal was to eliminate every possible way we might be tracked, leaving nothing to chance, and Chakra could be tracked.
“So, what’s the plan after this?” Koji finally asked, unable to bear the silence that had slowly formed between us.
“I think it's time we leave River, we need new intel. It’s possible the situation has changed to the point we aren’t needed here anymore, or more needed somewhere else. And if a full war has broken out, our small team can’t do much.”
While small teams could still play essential roles in war, such as Minato’s team that would bring down an important bridge, changing the tide of war in Konoha’s favor, our team was very different from his, and our mission was different.
While an assassination could be impactful, it would only matter if it were a high-value target. Our mission was primarily focused on harassment, which was important, but limited; we wouldn’t be able to disrupt or take out important supply convoys. At most, we could deal with scouts and messengers.
Unless we could kill a S-rank target, a team like ours was wasted out here, and we didn’t have the ability to do that. It wasn’t impossible, just too risky, too hard to pull off.
We would have to find a target on their own, with their guard down… and anyone reaching that kind of level, having that strength, they wouldn’t make that mistake.
“Leaving, huh?” Koji’s voice was filled with mixed feelings, so much so that I couldn’t help but look over at him.
“Come here,” I urged, patting the spot beside me.
He was there almost instantly, and my hand, mid-movement, ended up patting his thigh as he moved in under it.
“Eager, aren’t we?” I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at how fast he moved, showing off his speed for something so silly.
“What can I say? I love being near you,” he teased and snuggled up against me.
I rolled my eyes in return, he really was just a dumb mutt, but he was entertaining if nothing else. “You are hopeless.” I muttered as I lay down, my head in his lap.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be giving me a lap pillow?” he asked, gently petting my head.
“The last time I did that, you couldn’t hold back, something about the scent of my sex being irresistible.” I reminded him.
Koji chuckled softly, not denying it. “Still true. You're dangerous, Yuki. One sniff and I forget what self-control is.”
“You didn’t have much to begin with,” I muttered, not quite hiding the smile tugging at my lips. His fingers in my hair were gentle, lazy, and slow. Calming. Comfortable.
For a while, we said nothing. Just listening to the sounds of the small village we found ourselves in, the voices of people going about their day, undisturbed by the war going on all around them.
If they were lucky, they would just experience a time with prices rising, and nothing more, ignorant of the horrors of war. The shinobi system, the village system, it wasn’t perfect, but it did bring peace to some people.
And for this short moment, we too, were among those who felt peace.
“I don’t want to leave,” Koji admitted quietly after a long pause.
I didn’t respond right away. I just listened, the soft thud of my pulse in my ears, the warmth of his thigh under my cheek.
“I don’t need to be an Inuzuka to smell a lie,” I whispered, my voice free of judgment.
“I guess that’s true… River isn’t a great place, so much stress, bad sleep. I miss my family, the clan… but if we leave.” His words trailed off.
“But if we leave,” he repeated, voice soft, “if we return to Konoha, won’t we lose what we have? Won’t you have to go back to your clan… won’t you… leave me?” He stopped again, the hand petting my hair pausing mid-motion.
His question hung in the air between us, heavier than any silence before.
I didn’t lift my head. I just stared at the faded ceiling, listening to the muffled laughter of children from outside, to the distant clatter of market stalls being taken down. Normalcy. Peace. A peace we would never be part of—not really.
I reached over, took hold of his hand, and placed it on my forehead, resting his fingers on top of the seal that marked my skin. “We have been over this before Koji,” I murmured.
“I know,” Koji’s fingers stroked against the seal, with a bit more force than necessary, as if trying to wipe it off.
“But this doesn’t have to be the end… not right away, we can still meet in Konoha, at least until the war is over… You have until then.” I whispered as I closed my eyes, feeling a bit of guilt settle in my stomach.
I felt bad… I was… truly horrible, wasn’t I? Not only was I promising Koji something I had no intention of delivering upon, a life together, a chance for him to be together with me.
Koji didn’t fully understand my position and status in the clan, he didn’t know how impossible it was that he could get permission to marry me.
He knew I was engaged to Hiashi, something he resented, but he didn’t know just how important that engagement was.
The Hyūga clan considered me a treasure, or at least my womb was a priceless treasure that would give birth to future generations of the main family, including the next clan head, who the elders hoped would be talented enough to reach the level of a clan lord, and become Hokage.
While it wasn’t unheard of that engagements could be broken in interclan politics, and the Inuzuka clan was a close ally, but with me? Koji would need to replace Minato as the next Hokage to have a chance.
Not to mention, by then, I would already be long gone.
I was honestly the worst of the worst, a cheating whore… Yet, I didn’t ask to marry Hiashi, and it wasn’t like I would… My path was destined to be different from his, from everyone.
Yuki… she wouldn’t live past the release of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, no matter what I did, once that happened, this life would come to an end, so…
“Yuki?” Koji asked, concerned.
“Thanks, Koji, my thoughts went somewhere dark,” I said, opening my eyes once more, looking right up at him, staring into his eyes.
He leaned over, brushing his forehead gently against mine. “Wherever your thoughts go, I’ll go with you. You don’t have to face that darkness alone.”
It hurt. His kindness, his love… I really was broken, wasn’t I?
“I don’t want us to go there, I would much rather you take me away to where your thoughts take us.” I said, reaching up and gently stroking his cheek, my fingers sliding over the red clan marking.
Koji leaned into my touch, his eyes fluttering half-closed, like my hand was the only thing anchoring him in place.
“Where my thoughts take us, huh?” he whispered, his voice rough around the edges. “Aren’t you brave? Following the big bad wolf into his dreams.”
I let out half a snort, half a laugh, running my thumb over the sharp fang he flashed me. “Why do I find these stupid teeth so damned sexy?”
Koji grinned, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Because somewhere deep down, you’re just as much of an animal as I am.”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “You wish.”
“I don’t need to wish,” he said, nibbling on my finger. “I already know, I can smell it.”
“Mutt.”
“Your mutt,” he whispered, licking my finger.
As I was distracted by Koji, Kuro, our trusted canine companion, clearly got jealous, and moved over, lying down, laying his head in my lap, as I had mine in Koji’s.
Kuro gave a low, contented rumble as he settled into place, his nose nudging my side like he was demanding equal attention. I glanced down at him, his dark eyes watching me with unspoken judgement—and amusement.
“You too, huh?” I murmured, scratching gently behind his ear with my free hand.
“This… this isn’t so bad, is it?” Koji chuckled.
The three of us, just relaxing there, Koji patting my head, me petting Kuro, just enjoying the peace for a moment. “No, it isn’t… would be better without the possible threat out there.”
Koji snorted, “Please, at this point, I doubt we have to worry about them following us, we lost that old lady long ago.”
Koji’s confidence brought a flicker of relief, though I didn’t let myself relax too much. “Maybe,” I murmured, still scratching behind Kuro’s ear. “But Lady Chiyo isn’t someone I’d underestimate, old she might be, but she is still dangerous.”
Kuro let out a quiet huff, almost like he agreed.
We continued to just stay for that for a few hours, and with each passing minute, and with every time I opened my Byakugan to scout around us and found nothing, I felt more confident that indeed, we weren’t being followed, that we were safe.
Still, we didn’t move; we didn’t act. We continued to stay there, hidden and quiet. There really wasn’t any reason to move too quickly.
In fact, we had reason to stay hidden. Rest, we needed rest, while Koji and I could move, the rest weren’t as lucky, well, Kuro was fine too. But for Haruto and Arata, I doubted they could even stand without great pain by now.
I could see them with my Byakugan, they were hidden separately, and both of them had the chakra flow in the legs messed up. Not deadly, not something that would leave any real injury behind.
Still enough to make moving painful, as if every muscle in their legs were strained. While I had no doubt, if I gathered them and said we were moving, they would do so without question, but it would be slow and painful.
I had no desire to cause them unneeded suffering, nor did I think it would be safer than staying here. This wasn’t in the path of Chiyo’s army, so the chance that another large group would randomly move through this town was minimal.
More likely to run into a patrol out there.
I shifted slightly, enough to tilt my head back and glance up at Koji. His eyes were half-closed now, but his fingers hadn’t stopped their gentle rhythm in my hair. The occasional twitch of Kuro’s ears told me he was still listening, still alert beneath his lazy facade.
Koji cracked one eye open as I moved. “What is it?”
“Thinking,” I answered, voice barely above a whisper.
“That’s dangerous,” he teased, but his voice was low and soft, not mocking.
I hummed in agreement, staring at the beams above us. “I’m thinking of having us stay here for three days, to rest, before heading back to the Land of Fire, and then we will likely return to Konoha.” I let my words trail off.
The hand in my hair paused for a moment as Koji processed what I said. “So four days together here and then.” He said, his voice teasing, his smile widening, and his fangs flashing in the dim light.
“Three days,” I repeated, eyeing the grin on his face.
“You said we would gather again in three, and return on our own in five, which means the others will be lying low here for at least four days, so we have four days here together.” He said, his voice deep and rumbling.
“Koji,” I warned, getting an idea of what he was planning.
“This might be the last chance we get.” He whined.
“That is why I allowed you to push it so far last time,” I reminded him.
“Well, then I best push it even harder this time.” He grinned, his free hand reaching down, groping my breasts. “Let’s have some fun, partner”
