Warning: This fanfic is a sequel to The New Generation: Students and The new Generation: Shinobis. It can be read by itself, but certain things are better understood after reading the prequels first.
Prologue: Midnight Call
A young man could be seen sitting at a stall in the middle of the Sand village, feasting on the barbequed meats he had been served. He was having a generous portion on his plate, his meal laced with chili and spices, the sizzling hot meal perfect for a freezing night, especially tonight in the village of the Sand. Temperatures have dropped below freezing point, and the young man needed something to keep him warmed up. Barbeque and spicy food was the way to go.
" Hey, old man, I think you gave me extra. I didn't ask for barbeque gizzards," the young man spoke in a deep, heavy voice as he suddenly noticed an oddity in his plate.
The old man who owned the stall turned around and spoke to him. " Oh…an extra for my valuable customer. Only old timers my age keep this stall running most of the time. I'm glad at least some of you young boys still visit my stall," the old man replied, laughing slightly.
" Hey, geezer, I'm not a boy anymore. I'm 19 this year, remember that," the young man replied, thumbing his chest while speaking with his mouth full. Surprisingly, he still managed to keep all the food in his mouth.
" Oh ho ho ho…an old man like me can't remember simple things like this anymore…" the old man replied as he continued to clean his utensils. At this time of the night, there would be no more customers coming to the stall now. The young man managed to reach the stall in time for the owner to cook him one last meal before closing up. " …How time flies. Seeing you this grown up reminds me I only have so few years life to go."
" Pfft, people like you, you will probably live until you are 120 years old. Heck, when I become a grandfather, I bet you will still be hanging around here somewhere," the young man replied. Knowing the owner personally allowed him to address him in such a crude fashion, but the owner knew him well enough that it was his personality to act like this. " Why are we reminiscing about the past? I'm not that old yet to be doing this kind of nonsense."
" Oh, don't say that, Hibiki. You were cute as a kid," the old man replied.
" Tch, whatever," Hibiki replied, finishing his meal, before spotting a small photograph that the owner hung on the side of his stall. " I can't believe you still have that photo after all these years."
It was a picture of Hibiki and his entire family when they were still alive. They visited the stall one day, the owner and Hibiki's father being good acquaintances with one another. In it was a 7 year old Gendou Hibiki, short, quiet looking with the 'nice-boy' look, and all his current scars on his body missing in the picture.
The Hibiki now was a far cry from the old kid from before. Hibiki stood a massive 6 feet tall, towering over a large number of his friends and companions now. He had an excellent build, all coming from the vigorous and disciplined training he always observed, his sinewy muscles always showing prominently when he wore tight fitting clothing. His dark green hair was now a massive crop of thick, wild hair. His body was still fairly scarred, always not wanting to allow it to heal nicely just because he saw his injuries as a mark of honour and bravery.
Hibiki hated wearing the standard issue Sand vest that was given to all shinobis when they attain the rank of Chuunin. His first, and last one, was given to him 6 years ago, and it was hanging in some closet of his in his home, collecting dust as it lay untouched ever since Hibiki got the vest.
Instead, he was usually dressed in a sleeveless shirt along with a leather jacket. Not only does he still have the two weapon holsters to keep his shurikens and kunais on his thighs, he had them modified, adding extra space and compartments, despite him almost never seen using a kunai or a shuriken.
On his back were two spears, one was his old original one he found in the academy's armoury. Despite the lack of maintenance, it still managed to stay intact all these years. Hibiki figured that it should have broken somehow by now, assuming a weapon stored in the armoury for the use of academy students shouldn't be seeing this much use, violence, and force in his line of work. Yet, it still stayed functional, and sharp. Hibiki sometimes wondered if he somehow stole a high-end weapon instead of a normal one. Hibiki called it 'Tsuki', which was literally what it actually functions as. He felt bad for his weapon, only giving it a name after so many years despite it being a personal weapon. If the weapon had a soul, it sure as hell would be disappointed in its master.
The second one was a newer one, given to him by a good Leaf-nin during his promotion to a jounin 2 years ago. It was made with some alloy in which Hibiki had absolutely no idea until today what metals it comprises of, but it was a sturdy weapon. It had an intricate carving of a dragon on the hilt, and a sharp pointed tip. Perhaps calling it a spear would be misleading, as it functions more as a javelin, as it was crafted mainly to be used in throwing at an enemy. When it was first given to him, Hibiki was irked at the light red tone it had, which looked slightly pink. Thus, in honour to the weapons more feminine side, Hibiki named it 'Hime'.
" Finished already?" the old man replied as Hibiki pushed the plate away from him as he got up.
" Yeah, thanks, old man. I'll be off now," Hibiki replied, breaking off into a quick walk as he went on his way.
The night life in the Sand village was quiet one. Hibiki could only spot a few people walking around, mostly middle-aged men, half of them usually drunk at this time of the night. He made his way towards the entrance of his village, where a lone shinobi was waiting, leaning on the wall, a thermos flash in his hand as he sipped on something warm.
" Yo, Makoto, is she back yet?" Hibiki asked.
The shinobi merely turned and look at him, not that Makoto could actually see. He rarely uses his eyes, due to a defect he suffered, and it was hidden behind his forehead protector. Thus, Makoto usually 'see' things using his ears. In fact, he had the uncanny ability to 'hear' things so well, it was hard to convince strangers he didn't actually have X-ray vision when he carried on his daily life.
Makoto was always dressed in the standard issue Sand shinobi uniform, mainly because he was a ranking officer in the administration circle now, and it was hardly proper for him to parade around in anything besides the standard attire. Still, perhaps due to him being slightly rebellious, he gelled his hair to make it spiky, standing upwards like a punk. Perhaps it was his way of trying to look different compared to the other shinobis wearing the standard issue vest, although having his eyes covered with his forehead protector was more than enough to make him stand out in a crowd.
" If she was back, I wouldn't be here sipping hot chocolate when I can be sleeping in a warm bed, no?" Makoto mused quietly.
" Your sarcasm doesn't work on me. Don't attempt it," Hibiki replied.
" Hey, I didn't know you guys were waiting…" a feminine voice spoke up.
" I have perfect timing as usual," Hibiki spoke, mainly to himself.
The figure of a young woman appeared before them, looking a little dirty and disheveled from all the travelling she had to do. Hibiki had to admit that Suzumi had grown into a fine young woman. He had decided to keep her hair long this time, tying it in a ponytail that hung down on her back so that it will not get in the way during a hectic situation. She still managed to somehow retain very fair skin despite staying in a desert village. Hibiki could not even vaguely remember the time when she still had a flat chest whenever he looked at her now.
" Lucky bastard…" Hibiki mused, referring to someone he knew personally.
" Nothing to it, we were just worried," Makoto replied.
Suzumi started to pout at them, and despite her age, she still always looked cute when she did that. " Whaaat? I can't believe you people have so little faith in my abilities. It's not like I have not taken a dangerous mission before, you know," Suzumi replied, huffing.
" Aww, it's not like that…so, how was your first mission as a jounin like?" Hibiki asked.
" Nothing to it, really. After all, I am pretty skilled, if I can say so myself," she replied. " That reminds me, I haven't told my parents of my promotion as of yet. Oh boy, it has been days since then."
" Don't bother, it's not like they don't know it already," Hibiki replied.
" How rude, I need to tell my parents personally," Suzumi replied. " How did Hiroshi go? I heard he did it at the same time as I did."
" Naturally, as expected. Being a specialist helps, I guess, but it's not like you doubted him, right?" Makoto replied.
" No, of course not. He would have become a jounin regardless. I feel happy for him," Suzumi replied, blushing slightly.
" That's great, but I feel the Hokage might be pushing him a bit too hard, even with his promotion. I heard our good friends in the Leaf got stuck with some dangerous mission, and this was after Hiroshi became a jounin," Hibiki replied.
Makoto looked at him curiously, raising his eyebrows. " Hmm, this is news to me," Makoto replied.
" Well, I don't know whether to believe it or not, cos it's more like a rumour, but apparently they needed to send something, a package of sorts. I don't know the contents, but apparently it was highly classified. I can only assume the package has something to do with Hiroshi's line of work, since it would be strange to give a newly promoted jounin a job like this," Hibik replied, sounding slightly worried.
" Really? I wonder what kind of package would require Hiroshi's skill," Suzumi mused.
" Apparently, I heard it was a bouquet of flowers. Roses, I think, very typical of him. To be sent to a certain Miss Nagato in the Sand village. I can't imagine the danger he has to go through to send the flowers," Hibiki replied with a straight face. " Can you imagine? The flowers would have dried up by then."
Makoto and Suzumi looked at Hibiki when he was done speaking, nodding his head in affirmation.
" Oh, you sly devil!" Suzumi exclaimed, her face obviously blushing despite the lack of light.
" Eh? When did they say they were coming?" Makoto replied.
" Today. They'll be arriving in three days time," Hibiki replied, running away from Suzumi as she attempted to kick him in the groin.
-
" Ah, I'm tired. After a good soak in the bath, I'm going off to sleep. I'll report in tomorrow when I have the time. It's good to see you two as well. Have a good night," Suzumi bade her friends goodbye as they escorted her to her home, as they waved at her. She entered her house, and both Hibiki and Makoto started to walk off.
Hibiki instantly threw his hands over Makoto in a friendly manner. Makoto looked at him, wondering what was up. " What is it that you want? Speak up, and stop grinning at me like that. It's giving my goosebumps, especially more so in the cold," Makoto replied.
" Come on, let's go drinking," Hibiki suggested.
" I must respectfully decline. Unlike you, I do not have a high tolerance to alcohol, and also, I like to watch my intake. Alcohol in large amounts is bad for health. Not to mention I am not in the mood for it anyway…" Makoto replied.
" Oi, now that you have a partner, this doesn't mean you can diss me and go drinking with her instead, you know?" Hibiki replied.
" Sorry, Mayuri doesn't drink as well," Makoto replied.
" Please, with some crude crystal we call sugar sprinkled in copious amounts on top?" Hibiki begged.
" Nope, don't bother me with drinking unless you can pay me a million ryou up front. Besides, if all goes well, your drinking partner should be coming in like three days, so I suggest you…"
Makoto was suddenly cut short when he heard a muffled cry of pain, followed by the sound of what sounded like a breaking vase. Both men stopped in their tracks when they heard the noise.
" …Did you hear that?" Makoto asked.
" Loud and clear," Hibiki replied tersely, his hand reaching to his back, grabbing hold of Tsuki.
Both of them instantly dashed back towards the entrance of Suzumi's house, bracing themselves. They had absolutely no idea what the hell happened, but from the sound of it, it could not be good at all.
" Five people, two straight ahead," Makoto replied.
Hibiki charged in without waiting. He burst through the front door, breaking it into bits as he charged into the living room like an exploding tornado. He was suddenly hit by darkness, since the entire living room was devoid of light. First thing he felt was something warm and wet on the floor.
His heart almost stopped when he saw the sight of a female body lying dead on the floor, face down with the head missing from her neck. Missing was probably a bad word to use. The woman's head was still there, except something seemed to have crushed it like an egg, splattering her head's contents on the sticky goo Hibiki seemed to be standing on right now.
" …Fuck…" Hibiki muttered as he realized that he was now standing on what remains of Suzumi's mom.
As soon as he noticed her, something flew past his head from in front of the courtyard of Suzumi's mansion. Hibiki ducked and ran forward, bursting into plain view in the middle of the courtyard. Two shadowy figures stood in the courtyard, kunais in their hands. They were dressed entirely in black, or either that there wasn't enough light for Hibiki to make out colour distinctively. They weren't the only ones. Despite Hibiki's inability to see, or detect shinobis at his level, he could still sense other shinobis within the house itself, possibly three more.
He suddenly leaped at them, only to stop all of a sudden. Hibiki wasn't sure why, but his entire body suddenly froze up, as if there were invisible chains holding him in place. His muscles refused to respond to his movements, and he could only stand stupidly in the middle of the courtyard.
Three other shinobis stepped out into the courtyard. Hibiki heard something come from behind him, only to halt in his tracks, most probably Makoto. One of the shinobis looked at him casually, as if Hibiki was not even there.
" We have wasted enough time here. Let's escape!" the man replied, and all five shinobis suddenly left the courtyard, jumping up on the wall and leaping away into the night sky.
As soon as the shinobis left, Hibiki suddenly found out that he could move again, all the while being irked at the situation. " Oh, that guy didn't even make an attempt on me! How dare he humiliate me like this! I'm going to…"
" Stop it, we need to find Suzumi!" Makoto replied, grabbing him and stopping him from running off as he looked like he was more than ready to charge blindly after them. " Stop! Help me find Suzumi, please!"
Hibiki merely grunted, breaking free, before following Makoto back into the house. They didn't need to search for long. Suzumi could be found in the dining room, her bloody body sprawled on top of her father's, both of them unmoving. Makoto and Hibiki were not sure if they were ready for the worst scenario. Makoto gingerly bent down next to her, touching her slightly.
" Suzumi…she's…" Makoto mused, just before a group of shinobis from the Sand village burst into the room, as if just on cue.
Writer's note: Probably the longest prologue I have written as of yet. After a 4 year timeskip, I wanted to devote a few chapters to showing how my main characters have developed over the time period, but considering the plot I have planned for this story, it would make it ridiculously long, and very tiresome, so I opted to start the story off with a bang.