Chapter 22: The Glasses of Invisibility and the Sand Defense Glitch part-2
At his feet lay three Rain Ninja. They were not moving.
"That guy..." Kiba whispered, sweat forming on his brow. "He is dangerous. Akamaru is shaking."
"We should retreat," Shino advised quietly. "Engaging them is irrational."
I nodded in agreement. Gaara was terrifying. He radiated a cold, murderous aura that made the air feel heavy.
We turned to leave.
However, the System was bored.
[System Alert: High-Level Threat Detected. Scenario: "The Unseen Observer." The Glasses are working too well. You are so blended into the background that nature treats you like a rock.]
A giant centipede, the size of a bus, dropped from the canopy above. It wasn't attacking us; it was just falling.
It landed on the branch we were standing on.
CRACK.
The branch snapped.
"Scatter!" Kiba yelled, jumping to the left.
Shino jumped to the right.
I tried to jump backward. But my foot was caught in a vine.
"Ah!"
I fell. Straight down.
Into the clearing.
I plummeted toward the ground, arms flailing.
(I am going to land on Gaara. I am going to die.)
Gaara looked up. His expression was bored. The cork popped out of his gourd. The sand rose up like a living wave to crush the intruder.
"Sand Coffin," Gaara muttered emotionlessly.
The sand rushed toward me. It was a wall of death.
[System Alert: Death Imminent. Activating Survival Protocol. Skill: "The Slippery Escape" combined with "Accidental Counter-Attack."]
[System Note: The Sand Defense is automatic. But the Rito Effect is inevitable.]
Just as the sand was about to crush me, my Indestructible Leotard (worn under my clothes) snagged on a falling twig.
This jerked my body into a spin.
I spun past the main wave of sand. I slipped through a gap in the defense that shouldn't have existed.
I crashed into Gaara.
But I didn't just tackle him. No. That would be too simple.
My glasses slipped down my nose. I was blinded. My hands reached out for something to hold onto.
My left hand grabbed the strap of his gourd. My right hand grabbed... his sash.
We went down.
Gaara, who had never been touched by a human due to his ultimate defense, was knocked off balance. His sand, confused by the close proximity, hesitated.
We hit the ground.
I landed on top of him. My face was buried in his red hair. My legs were tangled with his.
And, most crucially, my knee was wedged firmly between his legs, pinning him to the forest floor.
Silence.
Temari dropped her fan. Kankuro's jaw hit the ground.
Gaara lay there, eyes wide. For the first time in his life, someone was touching him. Someone was hugging him violently.
"..." Gaara stared up at the canopy. He seemed to be processing a system error in his own brain.
I lifted my head. I was straddling the monster of the Sand.
My glasses were crooked. I pushed them up my nose.
"I... I..." I whispered, terrified.
Because of the glasses, Gaara blinked. He looked at me, but his eyes didn't register "Threat." They registered "Confused Background Object."
"Why..." Gaara whispered, his voice raspy. "Why does the sand not kill you?"
"I... I am sorry!" I cried. "I tripped!"
I tried to scramble off him. But my sticky chakra (from the Chakra Control Boost) activated again due to my panic.
My hands were stuck to his chest.
"Let go," Gaara said, his sand starting to rise ominously around us.
"I can't!" I wailed. "I am stuck!"
Temari stepped forward, her voice shaking. "Gaara! Are you... okay? She... she tackled you."
"She is... touching me," Gaara said, looking at his hands. "It is... warm."
[Ding!]
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Beast Tamer." You have hugged the boy who kills everyone.]
[Reward: 2,000 Shy Points.]
[Bonus: You broke his brain. He doesn't know how to process a hug.]
"Get off him!" Kankuro yelled, pulling out a puppet.
"I am trying!" I screamed.
I yanked my hands back with all my strength.
Riiiip.
My hands came free. But they brought a souvenir.
Gaara's mesh shirt—the one under his robes—tore open down the middle.
I rolled backward, did a somersault, and landed in a bush.
"Run!" Kiba's voice whispered from the trees. He grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me into the shadows.
We vanished into the forest.
Behind us, Gaara sat up. He touched his torn shirt. He touched his chest where I had landed.
"Mother..." Gaara whispered to himself. "Mother... she... cuddled me."
Temari and Kankuro looked at each other in pure terror.
...........
We ran for an hour. We didn't stop until we found a hollow tree near the river.
Kiba collapsed, panting. "Hinata! What was that?! You just tackled Gaara! You took down the Sand Guy!"
Shino was checking his beetles. "My insects are agitated. That boy radiates killing intent. Yet, Hinata neutralized him with physical affection. This strategy is... highly risky."
I was sitting in the corner of the hollow tree, hugging my knees. My glasses were fogged up.
"I didn't mean to," I whimpered. "I just fell. And then I got stuck. And then I ripped his shirt."
"You ripped his shirt?" Kiba laughed hysterically. "You are a menace, Hinata! A literal menace!"
[System Notification: You have survived the encounter. Gaara is now 'Confused' rather than 'Murderous'. This may have unforeseen consequences for the plot.]
"I need to sleep," I said, curling up. "Wake me up when the exams are over."
............
Night fell. The forest came alive with screams and roars. We took shifts keeping watch.
When it was my turn, I sat by the small opening of the tree, wearing my glasses. I felt safer with them on.
Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes.
I froze. "Who is there?"
A figure emerged. It was Naruto. He looked battered and bruised. He was carrying a bucket of water.
"Oh, hey," Naruto said, squinting. He looked right through me. "Is anyone there?"
(The glasses. He can't see me.)
.....
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