Departure

Hearing Kou's earnest words, Anko slowly lowered her head.

Those usually bright and assertive eyes were now mostly obscured by her bangs, leaving only a silent void.

She seemed to be trying to process every word Kou had just said, or perhaps she was making a futile struggle against a reality she didn't want to face.

Seeing Anko's unusually vulnerable state, the light in Kou's eyes dimmed slightly.

He had anticipated Anko's reaction long ago, when he made up his mind to reveal the truth.

But when he actually saw this usually carefree and optimistic person, who seemed ready to face anything, now huddled on the bench like a sparrow with its feathers soaked through by the rain, he...

His heart still couldn't help but ache.

Logically speaking, I shouldn't be like this.

He murmured bitterly in his heart:

"Didn't I already prepare myself for this?"

Kou subconsciously raised the hand that was hanging by his side and gently pressed it against the left side of his chest.

Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to face the cruel reality that he has been trying to hide behind layers of pretense.

In the long twenty-two years since he transmigrated to this Ninja World, he had already changed without realizing it.

Wearing a mask is real, deceiving them is real, wanting to profit from these Konoha comrades is real, and initially just wanting to survive... is also real.

But in those days and years of living together, he had to admit that the love and attachment he felt for them were also real.

If she could, she could simply continue wearing this mask and fool them for the rest of her life.

After all, even he himself is increasingly unable to distinguish whether his actions at certain times stem from the carefully crafted mask or from the heart that has long since become one with the mask.

"But this can't go on."

Looking at the Anko with its head bowed before him, a hint of pity flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it with reason.

Bonds built on lies and deception, no matter how beautiful or warm, are essentially castles in the air, rotten to the core.

"I don't want to lie to anyone anymore."

He sighed heavily in his heart, then took one last worried look at Anko, who was curled up on the bench, before quietly leaving the peaceful street.

At least on the surface, it's no longer appropriate for me to stay in front of Anko.

Let's wait until we've secretly confirmed that she's safely home before we leave.

Just as he turned around, preparing to silently disappear into the darkness at the edge of the park, a hoarse and trembling shout suddenly came from behind him.

"Stop!!"

The footsteps that had been knocking stopped.

He stood there, hesitating for a long time, before finally turning around resignedly.

Anko was looking up at him, her eyes, already red from crying, fixed on him.

Two streams of tears, like beads from a broken string, burst forth from her reddened eyes, rolling down her soft cheeks and gathering into glistening teardrops on her chin.

Then, drop by drop, it fell onto her knees, which were covered in fishnet chainmail.

That little face of Kou's, which always habitually carried a teasing and mocking tone, was now filled with deep grievance and resentment.

Kou's lips involuntarily twitched, almost instinctively wanting to offer words of comfort.

But after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately said nothing.

"You bastard, do you even have a heart?!"

"You made me cry! At least comfort me, you jerk!!"

Anko complained to Kou, her voice choked with sobs. She stared intently at Kou, not even blinking.

Knock away, somewhat guiltily.

"Sorry to disappoint you, the real me is just a jerk."

"You, you--Ugh, so annoying!!"

Anko rubbed her head vigorously, as if trying to shake out all the jumbled thoughts that had been stirred up by the knocking.

"It's all your fault for saying all that nonsense! My mind is a mess right now, I don't even know what to say anymore!!"

Kou gazed at her quietly and said in a calm tone:

"It's okay, you can take your time to think about it."

Once you truly understand the current situation, you will naturally let go of that obsession with me that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

He paused, then muttered to himself:

The real me doesn't deserve your affection.

After saying that, Kou looked away, turned around, and prepared to take a step.

"I told you to stop!!"

Anko's voice suddenly exploded behind him, tinged with sobs.

Knocking did not stop.

As Anko watched that receding figure, something in her heart felt as if it had been forcibly torn apart.

She gritted her teeth, raised her still trembling hand, and quickly formed a hand seal.

"Seal up!!"

The moment she finished speaking, Kou's stepping figure suddenly froze in place.

Countless black stripes silently emerged from his body, densely covering his entire body and firmly imprisoning him in place.

Kou looked down at the black patterns that had suddenly appeared on his body, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes:

"The Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal? Was it placed when you hugged me earlier...?"

"Since you've mastered this level of Sealing Jutsu, it seems you've indeed put in a lot of hard work over the years."

"Shut up! Who do you think I'm working so hard for?!"

"That's a real shame, for someone like me."

"You actually know that?!"

Anko raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the tears that were still rolling down her face.

She sniffed and shouted back defiantly at Kou:

"Although my mind is a mess right now, I have absolutely no idea what you just said!"

But there's one thing I do understand!

If I let you leave like this, I will definitely regret it for the rest of my life!

Therefore, no matter what, I will absolutely not let you leave so easily!

Looking at Anko before him, who was already crying so hard she could barely speak, yet still stubbornly refusing to back down an inch, he sighed helplessly.

Even if I've actually been lying to you all along?

"... I'll have to calm down and think it over before we talk about it!"

Looking into Anko's eyes, which were still stubbornly staring at him, he sighed deeply.

However, just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly sensed two very familiar Chakra.

"Is that Kakashi and Kurenai...?"

He murmured to himself, lost in thought.

"It seems we must leave as soon as possible."

He made a decision in an instant, then mobilized his Chakra and calmly whispered:

"Untie."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black curse marks that had been emanating binding power over his entire body vanished silently, as if they had never existed.

Anko stared wide-eyed as she watched the high-level Sealing Jutsu she had personally set up, which should have been extremely difficult to break, being so easily broken by Kou.

"How... how is this possible?!"

While she was still reeling from the shock of how easily the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal had been broken, Kou gave her one last deep look before silently disappearing from the spot.

"Wait, wait! Don't go! I--!!"

Anko suddenly sprang up from the bench and lunged headlong toward the direction where Kou had just been standing.

She opened her arms wide, using all her strength, as if trying to grasp something she never wanted to lose again in her life.

But in the end, she couldn't hold onto anything.

The air still carried that person's familiar scent.

But that wisp of scent was slowly dissipating in the night wind, and no matter how hard she tried, she could no longer grasp it.

Anko stood there, stunned, her arms still in that futile embrace.

Looking at her empty embrace, she felt as if a piece of her still-beating heart had suddenly been emptied.

Two lines of tears, uncontrollably, rolled silently down that fair and soft face...