Walking through the forest, an ANBU squad was escorting Team 11 back home.
One of them carried Yasu's body, wrapped in white sheets, while the others carried Miroku and Kouta, who were still unconscious.
Yamato sighed tiredly. The last few hours had been stressful.
Luckily, he had managed to send a messenger bird to alert the ANBU forces. Now they were here...
At the same time, Ino walked off to the side with a distant and disturbed look in her eyes, while Toru walked ahead of everyone, his face stained with dried blood. Hinata was being carried by Yamato.
"I understand. Someone being able to maintain such a powerful Genjutsu for so long is impressive," said the ANBU shinobi wearing the boar mask.
"Yeah. It was difficult for everyone," Yamato said.
"But, senpai, are you alright?"
Yamato simply sighed and gave a slight nod. He was still surprised by what his students were capable of.
Toru and Hinata were strong and intelligent, but Ino, on the other hand, was too proud and selfish. All of that had gone straight to hell when she saw Toru killing Yasu.
'Kakashi-senpai... You said this would be a vacation.'
—Near Konohagakure, Hours Later—
The sun rose into the sky, illuminating everything in its path.
'Toru...'
Ino stared at the ground, remembering. The blood, the screams, the spear and the daggers, Toru's eyes... All those memories sent a chill through her entire body.
'Me...'
She still had trouble walking. She felt like she was about to collapse again, overwhelmed by panic.
'I don't know what to do...'
She clenched her fists tightly as small tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Even when her own life had been in danger, the only thing she could do was cry and beg for help.
It was miserable, pathetic...
Toru knew that. He was aware of how useless his teammate had been, yet he hadn't done anything about it.
"We're almost there, senpai," said the ANBU shinobi.
"I have to report everything to the Hokage, so we'll handle the interrogation at noon," Yamato added.
"Understood, Yamato-senpai. We'll take the two survivors with us. We'll also take the Hyuga girl to the hospital."
'Boar' approached Yamato, waiting for him to hand Hinata over. However, his gaze shifted toward Toru and Ino.
"By the way, senpai, should we take those two to the hospital as well?"
"That won't be necessary. I already gave Toru an antidote for the poison. If he rests for a few days, he should be fine. Ino only has a small cut on her face. I don't think that'll be a problem."
"If you say so..."
Minutes later, Team 11 finally arrived home.
Yamato was slightly surprised to see Hiashi standing in front of the village entrance with his hands behind his back.
As they passed through the gate, Toru felt Hiashi's gaze pierce through him for a second. He shrugged and kept walking. Right now, he wasn't in the mood to have a friendly conversation with anyone.
Soon after, the ANBU shinobi entered the village. Two of them carried Hinata on a stretcher.
Hiashi saw his daughter, covered in blood, beaten, and barely clinging to life, and a trembling sigh escaped his lips.
'You were far too reckless, Hinata...' he thought.
"Hyuga-san, please follow me," said one of the ANBU shinobi.
Hiashi nodded and walked forward.
—On the Way to Ino's House—
"How am I supposed to explain everything that happened to my father?"
She looked at her hands. They were trembling. She clenched her fists tightly and closed her eyes, trying to suppress the frustration and fear threatening to consume her. Then, when she opened them again, she looked up at the morning sky.
'Kill or be killed...'
Toru's face, that almost possessed expression he had worn at the time, as if he hadn't been himself. Or maybe that was the real Toru.
'I can't understand it.'
She tried to forget it, but she couldn't. Toru suddenly appeared in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Ino..."
The moment she heard that dull voice, Ino's eyes widened and her entire body trembled.
"What do you want? I don't want to see you. Leave me alone..."
Toru let go of her shoulder, but he didn't leave. Ino stood in the middle of the street, and he did the same.
"I want to talk to you, Ino. I need you to come with me."
Without looking at him, Ino shook her head.
"We have nothing to talk about. I'm going home. Goodbye."
"Please."
Ino stopped. She swallowed and looked back.
There he was, stained with blood beneath the sunlight. He looked completely different from the night before. He wasn't some monster with glowing eyes. He was... just another kid.
—A Little Earlier—
During the trip, Toru had looked at Ino several times. She was so traumatized that, somehow, it weighed on his conscience.
'I can't understand how she could save me and then start crying like that... I think it's time to clear things up, because this can't keep going, and it shouldn't.'
That was why, after everyone went their separate ways, Toru quietly followed her until he found an opportunity to talk to Ino.
As expected, she tried to refuse, so Toru had to resort to the magic words.
"Please."
He was quite surprised when Ino turned around and looked at him. The expression on that girl's face was... different for a second.
Then, Ino lowered her gaze.
"Where am I supposed to follow you?"
Was she scared? Most likely, and very worried too. Toru already knew something like this would happen. For both of them, what had happened last night had been completely traumatic, and there was no middle ground.
It was kill or be killed.
Then, without even asking for permission, Toru took her hand and led her through the village streets to their usual ramen stand.
Ino looked at Ichiraku's stand with a crooked smile, but she sat down next to Toru. This time, Ichiraku himself was preparing the broth.
"Rough night, huh? ANBU moves fast when they feel like it," Ichiraku said, leaving Toru and Ino completely confused.
"How do you know that when you just...?" Ino said.
Ichiraku smiled and went back to cooking.
Tired, Ino rested her forehead on the counter. From there, she looked at Toru, who, like a robot, stared silently into nothing.
'I've lost count of how many times I've seen him do the same thing during class.'
He was like an alien, even though he was really just an idiot, or at least that's what she thought.
Suddenly, Toru looked down at the counter and said:
"We're a team."
"?"
Toru looked her in the eyes.
"Since that day, we've been a team. We have to work together and stop getting along so badly, because from now on, we're going to have to go through even more."
Ino held her breath. Toru continued:
"Nothing guarantees that this will be the first time we find ourselves on the verge of death, much less that we'll have to kill someone. That's the life of a shinobi as I know it, and the life every shinobi in the world already knows."
"..."
Ino looked down. She didn't want to hear that. Just thinking about it scared her too much. However...
"And... thank you. You saved me, and then I was able to save both of us. If you hadn't risked entering that man's mind, we both would have died."
Toru stared into nothing once again. The blood in his memories made him say:
"Kill or be killed. This is the world we live in."
Ino tried to think about it, but it was too difficult to accept. She gave Toru a small glance, as if he had an obligation to explain more, but instead, she noticed that the boy was staring at his hand, which was trembling slightly.
'Toru, you...'
Kill or be killed wasn't the same as staying sane. Ino understood that that day, from the person she trusted the least. Toru, the orphan of the Asahi Clan and the lonely boy who never showed how he felt.
Suddenly, two bowls of ramen landed on the counter.
"If you're going to talk about gloomy things, you'd better eat before you lose your appetite. Come on, it's on the house."
Toru looked up.
"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Ichiraku-san."
Ino followed suit, but she couldn't say anything after that. They both ate until their bowls were empty and went home in complete silence. It had been a long, exhausting night filled with trauma. The least they could do was rest before bringing the subject up again.