"Ruiko?" Meruem called out softly. For some reason, looking at Ruiko at this moment made Meruem feel an inexplicable heartache.
Sigh, little one, I owe you my life. My life is very precious, so as repayment, I won't let you suffer even the slightest grievance. Meruem didn't know what kind of feeling this was - sympathy? Heartache? Or something else? This was a feeling Meruem had never experienced even in his previous life.
This was different from killing. Meruem could kill without blinking an eye, and could very casually watch his subordinates eat human brains, though he'd still find it disgusting. Meruem had never thought of himself as a good person - no, he was an evil person. He could kill others just for his own preferences, his own happiness.
It's just that at this moment, he only wanted to protect Ruiko.
Pitou, Ruiko - the only two people in his life he wanted to protect.
Perhaps because Meruem's voice was too soft, Ruiko showed no reaction and continued crying quietly, curled up like a lonely little kitten.
Meruem said nothing more, quietly walked to Ruiko's side, opened his arms, and gently embraced her body, feeling her trembling and warmth.
Faced with Meruem's sudden action, Ruiko struggled outward like a panicked little rabbit.
Only after seeing clearly that it was Meruem did she stop struggling, throwing her arms around Meruem and crying loudly.
"I thought, I thought you left! sob... Just now, just now I had a dream where everyone left me and I became alone again, living lonely, and finally dying lonely. Then... then I woke up and found you weren't there... I thought after you recovered from your injuries you left..." Ruiko sobbed as she spoke. Meruem didn't say a word, just listened quietly, but his arms held her even tighter.
"I should apologize. Actually... actually I'm very scared, very scared that once your injuries heal you'll leave this place, and I'll be alone again. So I kept hoping your injuries wouldn't heal, so you could stay by my side longer. Am I very selfish? Am I very bad? Maybe I should just be alone - this is heaven's punishment for me, punishing me, someone who brings misfortune."
You silly girl... At least I don't believe you bring misfortune. You're the benefactor who saved my life...
Holding Ruiko's body, gently patting her back, not minding at all that Ruiko's tears soaked his clothes. Quietly waiting for Ruiko's emotional release. People in the Naruto world matured early, especially children who were ninjas.
But in the end, Ruiko was still a child. All her relatives in the world had left her. Only a family that didn't care much about her remained, just because she hadn't awakened her eyes, had no talent. She had tried, struggled, and finally given up. For a nine-year-old little girl, all this was indeed too heavy.
Although such things happened constantly in the Naruto world, those people had no relationship with Meruem.
Until Meruem appeared. Although she had only been with Meruem for a few short days, for some unknown reason, when she was with Meruem, Ruiko felt very happy, felt she was no longer alone.
Emotions were very complex... No one could explain them clearly, no one could understand them completely.
But as long as there was happiness, that was enough, wasn't it?
"Ruiko." Meruem brought his head close to Ruiko's ear, gently resting on her small shoulder, smelling that scent from Ruiko's body that Meruem very much liked, and spoke his first words since returning.
"Mm?" Ruiko answered with a red face and teary eyes.
"I won't leave you, unless you leave me." Meruem's words were firm and powerful.
"No, I like Meru! I want to be with Meru! Forever together!" Ruiko's answer was equally firm and serious.
You're still young - who knows about the future?
Hearing Ruiko's words, Meruem was somewhat dismissive. People always change, especially with the passage of time. Words spoken now wouldn't be acknowledged when grown up.
Ruiko's sparkling eyes seemed to know what Meruem was thinking, so she did something even she didn't expect.
She pressed her lips firmly against Meruem's lips.
Meruem hadn't expected Ruiko to make such a move either, and was stunned for a moment.
Ruiko's kiss was very inexperienced - after all, this was her first kiss. However, generally a little girl's shy first kiss would quickly separate, but Ruiko didn't. Her lips remained pressed tightly against Meruem's lips. The recovered Meruem also began responding to Ruiko. This kiss felt very comfortable!
Afterward, the two kept kissing deeply, and only reluctantly separated after a very long time.
"Come on, let's go sleep. You still have to go to ninja school tomorrow, right? Otherwise you'll doze off in class." Meruem looked at Ruiko with slightly swollen eyes with heartache.
"Mm." Ruiko's voice was very small - if not for Meruem's exceptionally strong five senses, he probably wouldn't have heard it.
Ruiko's cheeks were bright red, looking exceptionally cute. Meruem couldn't help but gently kiss Ruiko's forehead again.
"Let's go, time to sleep." Meruem easily lifted Ruiko up - yes, the legendary princess carry. Ruiko's weight was as light as nothing to Meruem.
"Tonight... let's sleep together." Meruem said without shame or embarrassment. Rather than a consulting tone, it was more like a declarative sentence. That's right, Meruem was originally a domineering person.
"Mm." Ruiko didn't object, just buried her head in Meruem's chest.
I love Meru's scent so much. I want to live like this forever. With Meru, I'm no longer alone, no longer lonely. Dad, Mom, are you happy for me? Ruiko happily touched her chest - the position of the amulet hanging around her neck.
If you actively leave me, I'll kill you, then kill the person who made you leave me.
Meruem was selfish. Let go and leave? Sorry, I don't understand that.
You can only blame yourself - blame yourself for making this demon king develop feelings. This is both your fortune and your misfortune.
But was this really misfortune for Ruiko? No, this was Ruiko's greatest fortune.
In his previous life, Meruem had always loved that line Lelouch said to CC in "Code Geass":
"If you are a witch, then I just need to become a demon king."
Then if I am a demon king, who would become a witch for me?
With such thoughts, Meruem fell asleep holding Ruiko.
The next day
Since last night's events, the relationship between Meruem and Ruiko rapidly warmed up. Of course, they couldn't yet be called lovers - after all, Ruiko was still too young. It was just that their relationship had become much more intimate.
At noon, from within a huge cocoon deep in the Forest of Death came sounds of tearing.
Finally, a completely human arm extended from within, and at the same moment, the corner of Meruem's mouth curved into a smile. Finally, the evolution was complete.
"I didn't expect Golden Silkworm Gu's enhancement to have some effect on chakra in the ninja world too. This body's chakra has increased at least fivefold, and physical qualities have also greatly improved. But even so, it's still too poor. Oh well, since it's not my own body, it's barely adequate as a puppet." Meruem controlled Suzuki to crawl out from the huge cocoon shell. Suzuki's body was like it had been cleansed - skin became more delicate yet tough, physical qualities greatly improved, but still far from Meruem's ideal.
After all, Suzuki's aptitude was only ordinary, and this body had already developed its potential to the limit. Or rather, no matter how much training or cultivation, this body would never improve again in this lifetime.
But Meruem only wanted a puppet - nothing else mattered.
Fortunately, due to the Golden Silkworm Gu, although Suzuki's brain had been eaten, as long as Meruem controlled this body, Suzuki's memories would naturally surface in Meruem's mind. This was quite convenient and wouldn't arouse others' suspicion.
"Everything else is secondary - the key is to see to what degree the Uchiha clan's greatest cheat has evolved. Sharingan - activate!"
A pair of eyes like they suffered from pink eye slowly opened, with three tomoe of various sizes appearing on them.
"So this is the Sharingan? Quite a marvelous thing. Perception and insight ability has greatly improved compared to before - in other words, vision among the five senses has improved a lot. But even so, the visual perception ability is just ordinary, still not as strong as my true body."
Meruem observed the surrounding environment while using the Sharingan, though what he said was indeed nonsense.
First, the Sharingan wasn't famous for its perception ability.
Second, the reason the Sharingan was powerful was that it could be used with secret techniques matching the Uchiha bloodline. Even when the Sharingan evolved to Mangekyou level, the secret techniques would become even more powerful.
Third, and most importantly, what level of existence were Meruem's eyes? The ultimate pinnacle of physical perfection. To rival Meruem's eyes in perception ability, only Kaguya's eyes would suffice. Of course, not counting other miscellaneous abilities - we're only talking about perception, i.e., vision among the five senses.
However, the Uchiha clan's mystic eye abilities were truly powerful. Besides greatly improved perception, there were also hypnosis, copying, secret techniques, and other skills. Most importantly, these eyes could even evolve.
Eventually evolving into the Rinne Sharingan possessed by Kaguya. ––(?>ω<*?)––––––＠(￣－￣)＠
(End of Chapter)
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