What does the world have for me [Fleeing]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ami was conflicted, even more than she had ever been in the past few weeks. She had struggled with herself, struggled with her relationships with Keiji, and her teammates. There had been so much emotions, so much conflicting events happen that she wasn't sure she was ready to handle any more. The girl would make her way to the village gates, almost uncertain of what she was doing at this point. She felt she had wronged everyone that cared and were close to her. It was heartbreaking to know that she had intended to be there for everyone only to be left by herself. Her fallout with people in her village and those in the Sun village were enough to tip her off the edge. The only thing that held her together was her clan. The responsibilities, the duties, the honour...and all other superficial things that came with being born to one of the most prestigious clans in Gekkousato.

She had never shown her weakness, except that one time to Keiji, knowing that she was an adult that could and should be able to handle her own messes and everything that came with them. But ever since she had come back from week long missions with Sojiro, and then her encounters with Keji after that, she hadn't quite been herself. And to top things off, her teammates had gone off to do their own things, her lack of contact with them drawing more of her mentally than she had imagined. Ami was left with no one, other than the people who didn't care for her as much as she did for them. Even though she hated the prospect of ever betraying her village, of betraying her clan, she had thought more than once that perhaps that was what she had to do...

What she had to do to maintain her sanity...

The girl looked with a painful expression as she turned to look at the main streets of Gekkousato. She wasn't prepared to leave just yet, her hopes and dreams of being the strongest shinobi and perhaps one day being the Kage of her village still hanging above her head. She felt responsible, felt the need to be loyal and true to the place that had given her the life she had now. As she turned to face the gates once more, the young woman would be surprised to see a figure that was...crying? From where she was, she couldn't recognize the figure but only someone who was on the ground. Were they alright? Ami would hasten her step as she passed through the gates, giving the guards a little nod as they recognized her. She would come close to the person and recognize immediately the white hair..."Jayy...? Are you alright?" She could tell that he obviously wasn't but...for lack of a better way of making her presence known, that was all she had to offer. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why did it have to be you?"

Ami could tell something was amiss, even without seeing him on the ground and crying. It hurt her a little to see that one of her closest friends was nearing a mental breakdown, even though she herself was nearing it too. She felt that she wasn't being a good friend, wasn't a good teammate to him. Indeed, she had went on missions with others, had neglected him after their spar. The girl had to push aside her internal guilt as she knelt down beside him, her hand lightly touching his shoulder gently. She was at a loss for words, knowing that whatever came out of her mouth would just sound like a desperate plea for him to do something that he obviously couldn't do. "I'm sorry Jayy..." was all she could muster, as she took her hand off of his shoulder.

He would walk away from her more, his intention clear. She struggled internally, knowing that as a Gekkousato shinobi, as a Hyuga, it was necessary for her to stop him. For once, she was beginning to have thoughts of leaving the village, of throwing her village and everything with it behind. She shook her head, her hand already grasping the hilt of her sword subconsciously. Ami was going to have to stop him, if he was going to go further. She hated that feeling...the torment that she now felt against her friend, against one of the first people she trusted. The girl had also fought him so many times that she hated the thought of having to clash him. But if he was to leave now, leave what he had built and what he believed, she felt compelled to do something. "Don't leave...there has to be another way..." her voice laced with a plea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I must leave this village... I must make my own way... Will you be the one to stop me... will you kill me just like I... Just like I..." Ami's eyes widened a fraction as she pondered his words. She had been having this internal conflict with herself since finding Jayy here. But to have him call her out on it, put her on the spot so to speak, was another matter all together. He was her friend, her teammate, and a person she deeply cared for. Even though they had fought numerous of times, almost to the death a couple of those times, even though they didn't see eye-to-eye on certain things, she no doubt treated him like a friend. Perhaps more so...as a brother. Like family. The girl struggled with this concept because she knew that what she did and said at this point could and would turn tides. The girl knew him well, well enough to know that he was prepared to take her down if she even attempted to stop him. But her loyalty to her village, her righteousness and lawfulness told her, pushed her to stop him. She closed her eyes a moment, taking a deep breath before she spoke. "...you know I'd never kill you...not before you kill me..." her voice was soft and almost inaudible.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHY I WANT TO LEAVE! OR WILL YOU JUST SIT THERE AND SEE ME AS THE BAD GUY!" It was true...she didn't know. Now that she thought about it, she didn't really know him very well. Ami always had the thought that he had a troubled past, or perhaps one that was secretive. She knew he kept things from her and had not pried. This was out of respect and consideration, knowing that if he really wanted her to know, he would one day tell her without her having to ask questions. But obviously it was her oversight, as she now listened to him screaming at her. Had she been that terrible of a friend that she hadn't even considered his feelings? Had she done the wrong thing thinking that if he initiated conversation then she would ask questions? The girl reflected on the relationship she had with Karite at this point too, as they were closest to her. She suddenly realized that she had treated them the same way, just that Karite had been more vocal to her about her problems. She bit her tongue as she wanted to ask him now, his bloodshot and tear stained eyes telling her a fraction of the pain that he carried with him. But would it be hypocritical or even too late for her to ask these questions?

She took a deep breath, walking towards him. She would close in the extra seven meters to her friend, her hand releasing from the hilt of her blade. All the while she would look into his eyes. Not menacing nor calculating, but a simple look from that of a caring friend to another. It was true, she didn't want him to leave, to betray the village. As a ninja she knew her duties, but she also wanted to hear Jayy out, if only the first and last time. In her mind she was formulating what would happen, thinking of the many options she could take. She only wanted him to talk to her, to vent to her. She was willing to listen, and prayed that he would give her that chance. "Talk to me...please...I'm sorry I never asked until now...but please talk to me..." it was evident that she didn't and wasn't going to try and stop him with brute force, not that she thought for a moment that she would be capable strength wise. She knew him well, knew his kekkei gekkai. The last thing she wanted was it to end in a fight. She allowed her words to hang in the air, her facial expression softening as her gaze never left his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last thing she expected out of his mouth was what he had said...and her facial expressions would match the train of thought. It was one thing to kill someone, another thing to kill someone close to you, but his mother? Her first thought wasn't to blame him, in fact, it was to empathize with the fact that he had had to live with such guilt for such a long time. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be labeled a murderer, and a murderer of your parent. The pain that he had had to live with, the turmoils and conflicts that she had faced in her life now paled in comparison. Ami's silence would drag on for a good minute, and during that time he would move away from her, another seven meters. He was going to leave...and there was no stopping him.

"I'm sorry Jayy..." a tear would roll down her cheek as she looked into his eyes. She hadn't cried a tear for many, and it felt a little weird for her to do so for him. But she was't going to ask anymore, the hurt in his eyes and on his face telling her the rest of his unfinished story. It didn't matter why he killed her, how he killed her, or anything of that sort. It mattered that he was living painfully, that by being in this village, he was hurting more than he was healing. That much she knew... and she could empathize. Ami cleared her throat, her eyes never releasing their hold on his as she spoke, her tone a little colder than before. "I won't stop you. But I have to be lawful to our...to my village." And with that, she unsheathed one of her katana, her gaze finally moving from her friend to her own blade. She knew she couldn't fight him, and knew she wouldn't want to. There was only one other option that she could think of.

And with a flick of her wrist she would turn her blade, the tip of it to her own body. Her village was not going to let her side with him, and she had to show them that at least she had put up a fight against the boy. It would be her incompetence as a fighter, as a shinobi, that people would see on the outside. But she hoped Jay could be set free. Ami drove her blade into her torso, deep enough that she lost her balance, a small smile forming on her lips as she looked back at Jayy, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I've failed as a shinobi to try and stop you...and you won in our 'fight' Jayy...promise me that we will always be friends, that you will be safe...." Between what was right and wrong she had chosen a middle ground, a ground that she would have chosen again and again if she had to. She only wanted her friend to find that peace that he so deserved, even if it meant letting him go. Although seen as stupid and rash to an outsider, she knew that it was the only way she could retain her loyalty to her village while not betraying her friendship to Jayy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She could feel her body weaken, her muscles give way to the pain that was now finally starting to set in when she pulled her blade out of her body. Ami dropped her own katana, the sound of metal colliding with concrete echoed in her ear. The girl dropped to her knees, blood trickling to the ground as she held the wound with her left hand, as though the mere motion would stop it from bleeding. As she dropped to her knees she was still conscious, her eyes fixated on her friend. It seemed her actions had not gone unnoticed nor ignored as it tore her apart to see him break down, punching the ground. That wasn't what she had meant to happen as she continued to stare at the transformations that were happening. Was the demon from before, the one who had fought her at the tomb, overtaking him? If so, he would have no trouble taking her down now, as she half clung onto her life.

But this was different...

He had screamed her name...his voice breaking as he called out to her. Tears trickled down her face as she closed her eyes, her features depicting the pain she now felt, not just from her own sword but from the emotional pain she now felt for her friend. A cloud of black mist had formed where Jayy had been, engulfing him. She couldn't see him at that point, but she could definitely hear him. "I'm sorry..." she whispered more to herself than to Jayy. He wouldn't even hear her as she apologized, for what she wasn't even sure anymore. The familiar voice of the demon she had fought would emerge, and his words chilling her to the bone. He had said that they, meaning the demon and Jayy, would grow stronger, and that she should as well before the met again. Ami had no doubt that her friend would get stronger, having seen his potential and capabilities many times before, witnessed first hand that he was already a strong fighter, if not a strong ninja. The girl's eyes widened a fraction as she then heard a very different voice, one which she didn't recognize. It would tell her that at some point Jayy had felt love for her, as a friend, which had in turn broken him. This indicated that he would no longer be the man she had once known, loved and cared for. It broke her heart that it had come to that...that she bore absolute responsibility for breaking the last resolve that Jayy had.

Would it have been different if she hadn't done what she had? Would it have been better to just have fought him?

All of the questions would remain unanswered as she would see him turn to leave her. It didn't disturb her much that he had chosen to leave regardless of her state, having accepted full responsibility that it was going to happen before she even drove the blade into her body. It would take a couple of seconds to take composure of her fleeting body, the hand that covered her wound now bloodied. Her right hand would find her dropped blade. Jabbing the tip of her katana into the ground she would attempt to use it as leverage to hoist her feeble body from her kneeling position. Ami's body swayed as she got up slowly, taking in the pain that came with moving. Her vision was slowly blurring as she would try to make her way back to the village, hoping that one of the village guards would see her in time to get her the help she needed.

At the back of her mind she would still see the image of Jayy...

She only hoped he would be safe and grow strong while not losing himself entirely.