"Where did this brat come from?" Kurosuki Raiga looked down at the kid who barely reached his waist, his bushy eyebrows furrowing. He turned to Zabuza with a low growl." Another one of your trained tools?"
"Shut it," Zabuza snapped irritably. "Like I've got time to run a damn kindergarten."
"Heh, so an enemy then," Raiga sneered.
Once someone was marked as an enemy, age and gender meant nothing to him. Chop first, ask questions never.
"What are you doing here?" Konan glared at Yuto, her brow furrowed. "I told you to stay away."
" I'm here to save you," Yuto said, stepping up beside her tiny frame.
"Not needed. Leave. Now." Her voice was ice-cold.
It wasn't out of concern, just professionalism. Yuto was her client, and a mission was a mission. She could die, but the Akatsuki's reputation couldn't.
"Young lady," Yuto sighed, "you're flopping around like a beached sunfish at this point, and you're still talking tough? Is your mouth the only hard part on you?"
And that wasn't just an expression her body really was soft. He'd noticed earlier when she carried him mid-flight. Warm and squishy, like a sponge.
"You!" Konan choked on her rage, coughing up two mouthfuls of blood.
"Whoa, easy there. That poison's no joke." Seeing the blood turn black, Yuto quickly knelt, ready to slit his wrist.
His bodily fluids were now "Elixir of Life" with insane healing properties. But let's be real, other fluids weren't exactly appropriate here.
'Blood it was.'
"Something's off," Kushina's voice suddenly piped up.
'What? Another ambush?' Yuto stayed low, senses locked onto the two rogue Mist ninjas.
"No. Your curse hasn't triggered yet." Kushina sounded puzzled.
'Damn it, don't jinx me!' Yuto's eye twitched.
"You're yelling at me?"
'It's not yelling. It's commentary.'
"Woe is me! Just a poor woman betrayed by her student, cast aside for some 'Konan lady'!" Kushina fake sobbed in her spirit orb.
'Jealous much?' Yuto deadpanned.
"But seriously, it's weird," Kushina mused. "That curse of yours always acts up around pretty women. No way it'd ignore her."
Silence.
The atmosphere turned awkward.
After a long pause with no response, Kushina asked, "Why so quiet?"
'Lady, are you a crow in disguise?' Yuto's lips trembled, his expression crumbling.
Before him, the golden interface unfurled:
[Choose.]
[1. Sneak a Kiss: Steal Konan's first kiss while she's immobilized!]
[2. Taste of friendship: Gift Raiga a friendship bracelet. Earn his friendship]
[3. Stab While She's Down: Give Konan a backstab. Teach her the meaning of betrayal]
'What the'
Option 1 was already unhinged.
Options 2 and 3? Peak villainy. Could this system be any less human?
"It's here? Really here?" Kushina gasped.
"Thanks for the heads-up, ma'am," Yuto muttered, his face red. He turned to Konan. "This is for your own good. Don't misunderstand."
Before she could react, he went for it.
Mwah.
Time froze.
Konan's golden eyes widened in shock.
'I… got kissed? By a kid?!'
As she snapped back to reality and tried to shove him away, a wave of warmth flooded her body. Every cell sang in bliss, her mind fogged with craving for more…
Raiga and Zabuza stared, dumbfounded.
'Bro. This is your dynamic?. Lady, you're old enough to be his mom! And this is how you act during a life-or-death fight?!'
"Disgusting," Raiga spat, shaking off his shock. "Then die together!"
He hurled another poison vial at them.
Snap.
Yuto caught it without looking, then gently pushed Konan aside.
[Reward: Memory Transfer Jutsu.]
'Huh. Not bad. Worth the perversion? Debatable. Wait Did I just… accept being a creep?!'
NO!
Outwardly calm, Yuto examined the vial. "Your secret weapon? What's in it?"
"Try it," Raiga sneered, pale from blood loss.
"Good idea. You're so kind." Yuto chugged it like a shot, exhaling purple smoke.
Everyone: "???"
"Tastes floral," he mused, tossing the empty vial. "Not bad."
"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!" Raiga screeched.
"Don't worry about me." Yuto cracked his knuckles. "Mr. Raiga… ever heard of the Eight Gates?"
Instantly Raiga's face drained of color. "You"
WHOOSH.
Yuto vanished, reappearing to kick Raiga's thigh inward.
CRACK.
"THIS ISN'T THE EIGHT GATES!" Raiga howled, crumpling.
"Never said it was." Yuto winked, then turned to Zabuza. "Are you still fighting?"
Zabuza sweated bullets.
This kid was not normal.
And Konan? Fully healed, skin glowing.
'What kind of scam is this?! Time for Plan B.'
Zabuza steeled himself.