Dear readers. I apologize a thousand times over for the delay in chapters D= I have been procrastinating this one since it is just now starting to be a major pick up point in the story in a while. The Yugakure half was very tedious for me so it sort of killed my motivation to keep writing this, plus I am worried about keeping everything believable and realistic for Nartuoverse...anyway reviews are always very encouraging to me and I always read them and appreciate each and everyone ^-^ Just helps me remember that yes people read and enjoy this and my efforts aren't completely wasted. I am working very hard to continue the development of the cult since we were left with literally nothing aside from the few episodes with Hidan included in them and the wikias provided little insight. Also I'd like to throw out an apology ahead of time since I feel like some of this was...unrealistic and rushed =/ So again I apologize if it isn't the smoothest read. Here is the next chapter and please let me know your thoughts. =D
Hidan hesitated in answering. What did you say to that anyway? Thank you? Surely not. He stayed silent for now, simply staring at him with wide, curious eyes. However the onyx irises turned away from him, looking at the monk he had journeyed there with.
"Well brother, you certainty went out of your way for this one. I trust you have good reason?" Looking at the boy, there didn't seem to be much to him. If anything, in his eyes, Hidan looked rather dull. The monk chuckled at the leader of the group, and his head dipped in a half nod. "Yes Taromaru-sama. You see, I personally witnessed the potential of this one. There is a village due south of here called, Yugakure."
The leader listened quietly, only dully noticing a flash of bitterness in the young shinobi's eyes at the name of the village. Hidan was not proud of where he came from. It was a disgrace to the name shinobi, and basically the middle finger to all Jashinists everywhere. Tourist attraction indeed.
"Well, it is currently nothing more than an empty ruin thanks to the efforts of this young man, all in the name of Jashin-sama."
Taromaru's eyes seemed to become sharper with interest, his head turning once more to look at Hidan. That would explain where the blood and burn wounds came from on the boy. "So, you are aware of who we are then? Usually we are brought with completely green members, and must teach them from the beginning...this is pleasing to the ears."
Hidan perked up his head slightly and nodded firmly, his own eyes meeting with Taromaru's. "Yea I'm aware alright. I've not been following this for very long, but I'm completely devoted to what I have studied."
Taromaru smirked slightly, challenge flashing through his eyes while his head cocked to one side. "We shall see...how about a little test first new blood?"
As if on cue to the man's word, the large number of smirking people seemed to shorten their circle around their leader and Hidan, making the silver haired shinobi's nerves grind together. They were so potent with their movements, especially in a large group, how could he not be ready to react on an instant? These people made their intentions so painfully clear unlike most shinobi, it was suffocating. Then again, the teachings of Jashin went against deception, so it made sense. However that didn't put his mind or body at ease with him being the new guy.
His shoulders tensed and his teeth bite together as his brow furrowed, his eyes never leaving Taromaru's. "What test?" The words were ground together as he finally shifted away from one side of the group to be closer to the monk whom had brought him in the first place. However upon a swift glance, he too was standing in the group, seeming to wait for an order to pounce.
Taromaru chuckled slightly, taking a step away from Hidan and reaching blindly into the crowd, fishing around with his hand until his fingers wrapped around the sleeve of a random boy in the ranks. He looked just a few years older than Hidan, but his eyes were hardened. He had definitely seen more battle in his day than Hidan, not that it meant anything.
Glaring, Hidan reached to grab his bo staff only to realize that he didn't have it anymore. All he had was the kunai knife he had used on the village in his pouch to defend himself! Beads of sweats glistened over his forehead as his rival pulled out a pair of wakizashi. Just perfect. On top of that, the circle of eager Jashinists was limiting their space to near nothing, giving him almost no room to fight. Looks like he would just have to make due with what little room they were giving him.
Once again Taromaru's voice rang out in the crowd, a wicked grin spreading over his face. "It's simple really. Kill him before he kills you...if you live, you're in! Now go! Let's see you spill the blood of a brother in the name of Jashin-sama!" Laughter boomed from his chest, his growing excitement radiating to the group, causing each of them to grip some hidden weapon in their robes and plant their feet to the cave floor. It seemed that even though the fight was numbered to two, they all were going to want a piece of the action as well. Perfect. Now he had to fight and watch out for somebody trying to lance him in the back on top of it!
Not another moment was wasting as the pair of twirling tips of the wakizashi were tossed towards his face, his imbedded shinobi reactions saving him as his hand flew up to block with the kunai. Sparks flew as the tips of the other boys blades slide off of the metal of the kunai knives, Hidan trying to move backwards to get some room to breath. However he was reminded of his limited space when he spotted the flash of another blade swinging at his back from one of the many faces in the crowd. He was forced forward again, however his body thankfully was acting faster than his brain could function. Everything was happening so fast, and this other punk was skilled. His heart raced and his grip was beginning to slip on his weapon thanks to the building sweat on his hands.
His chest heaved as pants began to beat from his chest, blow after blow being traded but none had yet been landed. It turned out this one was about as stingy for life as Hidan was. His eyes were wide and his smile was wider as he continued attempting to not only attack Hidan, but defend himself from offending weapons from his fellow Jashinists who were trying every way possible to cause bloodshed. The sound of his heartbeat began to fill his ears, sweat starting to run down into his eyes as he fought the assailant. He had to find a way to get in a hit. If he could manage just one, with how close proximity they were being forced into, he could finish him off within the next second.
However before he could strike again, he felt his side being torn into by someone striking out from behind him. He had been so focused on the one attacking him from the front, he had forgotten to watch out for the crowd. As his hand flew to cover the wound, the attacking dual wielder cackled loudly and cried out in a shrill whoop. "Yes! Yes that's what I want! Can you feel it!? Doesn't it just make you feel so alive!? To feel what fuels your very life washing over your entire body!?" He cackled once more, spinning the pair of blades in his hand once more as Hidan glared viciously at him.
"Shut your fucking mouth! Just wait till I cut your throat!" This was such a load of shit! What nerve did this guy have to gloat in his face like that? Anger now fueling him, he kicked backwards towards the crowd to try to at least get them away from his wound, before lunging forward with the kunai knife with the intent to kill.
Taromaru watched eagerly, his smile never once wavering. So perhaps he had judged the boy too soon. It seemed the with the inner rage he held, he could be very well worth something to the group. That is if he lived long enough to kill his opponent. Feeling his own fingers itching, he reached to his back and clutched the triple bladed scythe he had strapped to his back, the glistening ruby blades flashing from the light of the torches lined along the walls of the cave. His index finger toyed with the steel coils that linked the blade to his hip, itching to toss it into the fray simply to cause more bloodshed to the fight, however with as many members in the way as there were, he decided against it. No sense in getting everybody so stirred up that they began literally attack each other. Some might label it barbaric, but despite an outsiders belief; that his group of holy men and women acted like a pack of savage beasts, this was simply their way of life. It was just too easy for Jashinists to get carried away in the midst of battle. Hell one might go as far as to say that forcing a Jashinist to watch a fight rather than participate was almost sadistic.
His thoughts were broken however as cheering roared over the crowd, weapons being tossed into the air, the sound of a body hitting the rocks echoing through the room. His brow cocked and he stepped forward but was pleasantly surprised to see Hidan standing over the body of the now former Jashinist. His chest had been punctured and it looked like the blade had pierced his very heart. The onyx irises lifted to see the face of the newest member. His chest rose and fell rapidly and his eyes were wide set but fury boiled beneath the purple gaze. His teeth were bared and he was looking from person to person, as if he expected them to simply ignore the fact that he had won, and attack him next.
Chuckling pleasantly, Taromaru's hand lifted up and he whistled loudly to catch their attention. The hollers and cheers died down slowly, and soon he had all eyes on him. The savage grin on his face soon diminished back to the charming smile he had used to greet Hidan with earlier, his hand extending out to the young shinobi. "We welcome you into our family brother Hidan-san."
This caught Hidan's attention as he worked to slow his breathing down, starting to relax his defensive stance in seeing that nobody else was going to try to cut a piece of him.
Seeing that he had the boy's attention captured for now, Taromaru continued. "I shall assign to you brother Junpei-san to be your mentor. He shall inform you of how we function here as followers of Jashin-sama. So I leave you in his capable hands until you are ready for a second rank test. Until then." Dipping his head in a half nod, he replaced the large scythe on his back and turned away from the group, returning to his duties, the rest of the crowd seeming to also loose interest and return to what they were doing. Hidan only dully noted that the body of his opponent was being dragged away to some unknown place in the cave. His eyes followed curiously but he was distracted when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.
His head spun to the side as he was meet with another hooded monk, the one he assumed to be this, Junpei guy. "Well Hidan-san, it seems you and I are going to be very well acquainted for a time. Come with me and I'll show you to your quarters and introduce you to your new roommate."
Hidan blinked in confusion for a moment, mostly just at how quickly these people could go from jumping up and down in excitement, to acting as calm and casual like nothing had ever even happened. It was mildly disturbing. Pointing to the tunnel where the body had been drug off too he started off in confusion. "Where are they taking him?"
Junpei turned his head to see what the boy had meant, but waved a casual hand, turning back to lead him away. "The funeral chambers where he will be cremated and his ashes stored away for his services to Jashin-sama. He is only deserving of nothing less after all the years he has put in for Jashin-sama."
Hidan shook his head slightly, taking one last glance over his shoulder before looking back up at his mentor. Deserving of nothing less? If he didn't know any better, he'd say Junpei sounded almost relieved. Was there some bad blood between him and the other boy? "You sound happy about that," Hidan tested.
Junpei chuckled pleasantly, nodding his head as he lead Hidan through the cave to where a set of doors were lined along the walls of the cave on either side. "Of course. He has been lifted of his duties to his Lord and Master, and his suffering on this world can now end. You will learn that one of our main phrases that we live by here is 'Rejoice for a Death, and Mourn for a Birth.' It is something I personally will inform you more of later after you get settled in and I finish my duties for the day." The phrase replayed itself in Hidan's mind a few times, his brow furrowing. He hadn't read that anywhere before, but he decided to simply take Junpei's word on it for now and look it up himself later.
Moving through the tight and narrow hallways of the cave walls, Hidan stayed rather silent the entire time as he mindlessly followed behind his new mentor. His mind was still going over the events of the day, and his body was starting to feel heavy from the wounds. Come to think of it, it felt as though his burns might actually be bleeding now. He usually never really felt worn over much of anything, but even with his high stamina level, he could honestly say, the first bed he saw he was claiming and diving face first.
Eventually Junpei paused in his step, knocking softly on the surface of a rather old fashioned looking wooden door with thick hinges. His brow cocked as Junpei pushed it open with his hand, peeking inside and stepping further in, motioning for Hidan to follow him.
"Shou-san, look alive you have a new friend waiting to meet you."
Hidan frowned slightly, but stepped inside of the room beside of Junpei, looking at his apparent new roommate, who was still in the process of sitting up. He looked the boy over, and had to say, he seemed to speak for himself. Everything about this guy seemed to want to attract attention. His bright green hair was pulled back into about four braids. His skin was pale, almost sickly looking, but then again, the same could be said for everyone he had spotted. Must have been one of the perks from living underground. A pair of devastatingly orange eyes looked at Hidan through their groggy gaze, his face seeming only somewhat curious of the stranger in his room.
"Huh, so you're the new guy eh?"
Hidan blinked slightly, moving aside to let Junpei back out of the room. Closing the door behind him, Hidan took a seat on the bed placed across from Shou.
"Yea, seems everyone's a lot more informed than I am. People knew I was coming and I had no idea what to expect." His tone was somewhat bitter, still not being happy about what might as well have been an ambush.
Shou laughed good naturedly and waved a hand. "Yea you'll get used to that. We're kind of reclusive around here so information leaking outside of here's unheard of." Chuckling softly, his eyes lowered down Hidan's legs, his brows knitted together. "You might want to change your pants before someone sees that."
Hidan's head ducked down at once, his eyes scanning over the fabric of his pants, noticing the red stain that was spreading along his lower legs. "Shit...I don't exactly have anything else to wear...why is it a big deal though? It's just blood...isn't that sort of normal around here?"
Shou stared at him in a dull form of disbelief. "Well, yea it's normal but it also means you're hurt...hurt around here is fair game." Hidan stared at him for a moment as he watched him stand up and begin to shuffle around the room.
"If that's true then why aren't you trying to kill me?" What was the game here? There was no way that he was just extending a friendly hand. Was he?
Laughing lightly, Shou continued to shuffle around the room until he pulled out a small box from the inside of his nightstand. Setting the box down on top of the bed, he pulled out a small roll of medical tape, and gauze wraps. "Despite what I've been taught, I guess I'm just not as bloodthirsty as most of the others around here. Everyone will tell you that I'm the lazy man of the group. Here, get yourself wrapped up and I'll loan you a set of robes that might fit you until Junpei-san can get you a set of your own."
Hidan caught the wrap and tape as it flown towards his face, smirking at it slightly and taking starting to strip himself of his shirt, tossing it on top of the bed. Shou watched quietly, but his face became rather blank when he watched Hidan's pants follow his shirt on top of the bed, leaving him completely nude and rather unashamed. "Umm." He tried to think of more to say to keep the situation from growing more awkward than it already was, but nothing would come to his mind. He was snapped out of his thoughts immediately though when he watched Hidan turn his head to face him, his eyes somewhat set in a glare. Then again, it seemed that glaring was his one's main form of communication.
"What?" he demanded. Shou's mouth parted to give the explanation but only empty air would pass through. Another bark from Hidan was what finally got him to form words.
"You just...you know...drop your pants anywhere you feel like?"
Hidan scoffed slightly as he took a hold of the bandages and began to wrap his leg after trying to wipe away most of the blood rather unsuccessfully. This was why he never considered being a medic. "Ah for fuck's sake you're not one of those people are you?!" he shouted accusingly. "C'mon you wouldn't think being in the buff would bother someone like you."A Jashinist being shy over the human body? Not exactly something he saw coming. He didn't mind being naked, and he didn't mind naked people. He really couldn't grasp why it was so taboo in the world.
Shou jumped slightly at, what was to him, a sudden mood swing. Jezz, he only asked a question, was this guy bi polar? He held up his hands defensively and shook his head. "I didn't say it bothered me, it's just...nobody is usually that comfortable with themselves is all so it's not something I saw coming. Chill."
Hidan rolled his eyes somewhat, wanting to say more on the matter, but letting it drop for now as he went to work taping the bandages in place. At least this would help it heal over better. He glanced up as Shou held out a set of grey robes for him. The fabric looked worn, and the ends of the sleeves were tattered and somewhat stained with what couldn't be anything else but blood, and if he didn't know any better, the ends of the sleeves looked burned in some places. Was this guy a fire user? Either way, he accepted the robes with an inaudible thanks and dressed himself after tending to his wounds, much to the gratitude of his roommate.
Well guys what do you think? Good, Bad? Tell you what, if I can squeeze at least 20 reviews over all for this story, I'll post chapter 11, sound fair to you guys?We're already at 12 reviews currently, so let's see if we can ooze 8 more! I was looking over my views and traffic graph, and it seems that 698 people have viewed it but only 12 have actually commented XD Granted I do appreciate and do back flips when I do see new reviews, more is always encouraging for me ^-^ Thanks in advance you guys! MM