（ she's been lucky, she knows. kakashi always shielded team seven — but maybe especially her — from the acts of violence that are so normalized in shinobi villages and in their lives. she has killed people. watched their blood blossom beneath her knife. death is memorable. the way a body goes lax. the way light leaves the eyes. the smell, coming across a corpse in its varying stages of decomposition.

but she's lucky. she's saved more lives than she's taken. she doesn't usually go to bed with someone's last guttural gasps and the awful, rusted rattle of their final breath echoing in her ears. she doesn't close her eyes and see blood scythed out in an arcing pattern on the earth.

but there are so many more people who had to pattern themselves in death's cruel cloak to survive. he doesn't know how hard his statement hits her, because she immediately thinks of sasuke — who had been so gentle once — and she bites her lip at the unexpected emotion. she really is just a mess tonight, huh...? ）

I don't think anyone here would begrudge you that.

（ and if she sounds a little miserable, a little wan... well, maybe it's allergies?? ）

You're good at it. You should do it more often! It's not like there are vampires that need hunting here, right? So... I hate to say it, but you're sort of out of a job.