（ her immediate instinct is to argue, to promise all the love in the world the same way she used to. to swear that it's not about hurting her or not, that she'll help him learn to trust himself again — but intellect calms instinct, and finally — ）
I'm not asking you to be that person again. We've both changed too much to go back. If there was mourning to be done for who you used to be, I've already done that years ago. The only direction for us now is forward.
（ even the thought of finding him and killing him had meant setting certain things aside. she isn't like naruto, who can drag anyone back from the howling precipice of madness. she made her choice then, and she'd make it again now if she had to — the difference is, she wouldn't be so foolish next time, overestimating her own skill while underestimating his. she'd thought that sentiment might get her close enough to kill him, but his cold disregard had shocked her, even then. ）
As for soulmates, I think it helps. At least, it helps more than it hurts. But I understand the concern of being at risk and not wanting to endanger anyone else. Do you have anyone else you could see yourself as being compatible with? I don't believe there's anyone here capable of matching you in combat like Naruto, but it could at least be a stopgap to buy us time.
And I can get stronger, too.
（ she's not going to offer herself as a soulmate candidate — everything between them is too fraught, too tangled. it might legitimately make it worse for both of them. but the one thing she can do for him that would help is train — she's been on equal footing with them both before, she can do it again. the clinic at the docks still takes less of her time than the hospitals in konoha — she's been devoting her free time to reading, mostly, but it's an easy pivot to throw herself into more than just skill maintenance. ）
no subject
I'm not asking you to be that person again. We've both changed too much to go back. If there was mourning to be done for who you used to be, I've already done that years ago. The only direction for us now is forward.
（ even the thought of finding him and killing him had meant setting certain things aside. she isn't like naruto, who can drag anyone back from the howling precipice of madness. she made her choice then, and she'd make it again now if she had to — the difference is, she wouldn't be so foolish next time, overestimating her own skill while underestimating his. she'd thought that sentiment might get her close enough to kill him, but his cold disregard had shocked her, even then. ）
As for soulmates, I think it helps. At least, it helps more than it hurts. But I understand the concern of being at risk and not wanting to endanger anyone else. Do you have anyone else you could see yourself as being compatible with? I don't believe there's anyone here capable of matching you in combat like Naruto, but it could at least be a stopgap to buy us time.
And I can get stronger, too.
（ she's not going to offer herself as a soulmate candidate — everything between them is too fraught, too tangled. it might legitimately make it worse for both of them. but the one thing she can do for him that would help is train — she's been on equal footing with them both before, she can do it again. the clinic at the docks still takes less of her time than the hospitals in konoha — she's been devoting her free time to reading, mostly, but it's an easy pivot to throw herself into more than just skill maintenance. ）