Resident Evil: The Naruto Project

Episode 2: The Hearts That Burn

Chapter 8: Thermal Explosion, Hope Lives!

Grunting as her head connected with the cold concrete, Hinata felt a rib give way. One of the many injuries that she knew were piling up. Thus far, she hadn't been able to successfully land a jab that would cut the red-head's life off, and that sneer that plagued her was still plastered all over the girl's face.

Kicking a chair out of her way, Tayuya grinned down at the blue-haired girl, kicking her in the broken rib, as if knowing that the injury had occurred. "What's the matter, little prissy bitch? Are you done already?" Another kick aimed lower, smashing into ribs that weren't broken, but badly bruised. Hinata gasped at the pain, ducking her head to cough onto the ground. Was that...red? She must have internal bleeding by now, accented by the bright blood issuing from her mouth. "Get up, bitch! I'm not done with your raggedy ass yet! GET UP!" A hand grasped her arm, and the smaller girl felt herself lifted off the ground. Together, like a crazy mandolin, the two twisted, faster and faster, until Hinata couldn't see anymore. Then, she was airborne, flying through the misty vision that her enemy had given her. Hitting the ground, she tumbled, head over heels, until she was stopped forcefully by a wall. She coughed again, rubbing her mouth and staring with horrified fascination at the blood on her wrist.

Tayuya smiled again, kicking a broken table at the other girl before stopping mid-way through the room. Her smile became even more twisted, snarled, bending shape in the light that reverberated about the room and in Hinata's head. "You know, bitch? I was having fun. But I think I want some more! What do you think?" Not taking her eyes off the girl, Tayuya back-stepped, avoiding broken pieces of furniture and appliances in the once pristine office area. Walking to a wall behind her, she slammed an open hand against the smooth tile. All at once, a small opening appeared, some mechanism sliding down and leaving a hole where a whole wall had once stood. Tayuya, her arm about a foot above the aperture, had to bend down before shoving her hand into the back of the hole.

Hinata took each breath as it came, slowly, painfully. She could almost count the ribs she would need mended. She could almost taste the blood in her mouth, had her sense of taste not been knocked from her tongue. Her vision blurred, and she shook her head, counting a concussion on her list of injuries she had sustained. Slowly, her eyesight focused, and she was able to see what Tayuya had taken from the wall.

The girl smiled in triumph, holding a musical instrument in her extended fist. "This...is my flute. Sometimes, I let Sasuke-kun shove it inside me. It makes me feel extraordinary," the girl said, laughing lightly at her own sick joke. Hinata shuddered slightly.

Where are you, Sasuke? Hinata could almost see his face, his eyes. Those piercing, red eyes. That face so full of sorrow and pain. Oh, how she wanted to scratch that face...to rip those eyes from their sockets.

"But," Tayuya went on, seeing the girl momentarily distracted by her thoughts. "I also have a certain ability that you may find interesting. Many of the workers here have been outfitted with a wonderful little chip. It sits here, behind the cochlea." Tayuya tapped her head, right behind the lobe of her ear. "That's the part that filters in sound."

"I know what the fuck a cochlea is, bitch!" Hinata screamed, attempting to right herself.

Tayuya found herself momentarily thrown off by the girl's outraged exclamation. She...she just called me a bitch! That...that...bitch! Snorting derision, the flute came up to her mouth, Tayuya placing her index finger and middle finger on the second and third note holes.

"I hope you enjoyed your life thus far, Hinata. It's about to end." She gave a sharp intake of breath, exhaling slowly. The tweet of the flute bounced about the room, Hinata finally having made it to her feet as she glared at the red-head.

In truth, she rather liked the flute. In fact, of all musical instruments, it rated quite high with her. But, the way that this girl played this one. It was...horrendous.

The tinkling noise resounded, echoing down the hallways and corridors of the building as Hinata attempted to regain her lost energy. Have...to...focus...Slowly, her hands lost their feeling, and for a moment, Hinata was scared that she had overdone it and was now in a worse position than before. Then, she could feel her power come back. Slowly, slowly...then there! She smiled, thanking Kami for the energy coursing through her. She could even feel her ribs beginning to mend on their own. Perhaps another of the advancements of the virus, she thought to herself.

Tayuya had watched this was peaked interest, her hands still playing her melody. This girl should be nearly dead with the amount of damage that I've done to her. She snorted again, playing her last trill. No matter, after this, there won't be any more of this shitty rat left.

"Tayuya..." The red-head paused, hearing her name echo through her mind. Hinata's head jerked up, her eyes veined and pulsing. "You...took away...my Sasuke-kun. You...you took away...my love! Now...I'm going to take...your life!" The girl ducked, beginning her run towards her adversary as her hands came back to force energy through the girl's body.

Out of nowhere, a slimy apparition wrapped itself around the girls back leg, dragging her to the ground. Her breath left her body as she stared at the girl in front of her, and then twisted to gaze at the licker that had her by the foot. "Wh...what?"

"My power," Tayuya said, her flute already to her mouth, "is to call on my 'friends' whenever I need them. So long as they are around," and they always are, she thought gleefully, "I can summon them to me." Another note, and another licker dropped from the sky-light above, the artificial light rebounding off of its hideous red skin. Hinata kicked out, catching the one that held her slightly below the chin. Not enough to stun, but enough to loosen its hold. Two quick jabs, and the tongue was paralyzed slightly, allowing her to roll out of its grasp and get back to her feet. By now, two others had joined the fray, each one bobbing and weaving to Tayuya's ragged music.

Hinata gazed across the room at the other girl, each breath threatening to shut down her lungs. Her ribs had stopped mending as her energy level dipped. "I thought...you said...that the workers..."

In-between trills, Tayuya chuckled. "They were workers, but Orochimaru-sama found a way to change the position of some of the DNA. Now, they're these things. The chips are working just fine. Right here," and now she placed a finger behind her own ear. "These are mine! There are hundreds of them here, hundreds! I have as many as I want! You...are dead!" She blew a sharp refrain, and the four lickers nodded as one, leaping into the air at the panic-stricken girl below them.

Hidan caught his breath behind a trashcan, listening to the roving bands of undead that were moving about on the street a mere few feet from his position. Glaring at his hand, which was slowly beginning to regenerate a finger he had lost to the bite of a overly fat female, he huffed. "This is just fucking great. Losing fingers and shit. Fuckers." Gripping his scythe in one hand, he chanced a peek out into the abyss. Two pairs of blue eyes glanced his way, but thankfully, they didn't see him. The two beasts continued on their way, still searching...still hungry.

Hidan had had enough. The mission was a complete and total failure. There was nothing more he or any of the others could do. For all he knew, the others were dead. Really dead. So fucking dead that he didn't even have a word to describe the dead. Bowing his head, he rattled off a quick prayer and blessing, crossing his arms over his chest in tribute. "Sorry Hinata, you big-breasted bimbo, but I ain't going to sit around, waiting for you anymore. Or for any of you other fuckers. I hope that gay kid dies. He was fucking pissing me off with his Elroy talk." Chancing another look out, he smiled. There didn't seem to be anything or anyone there. He had to get out of there...now!

Standing, he wiped off his arms and chest, picking up his scythe that he had leaned against the wall, and taking one more moment to honor his dead (or so he thought) comrades. Tipping his head at the empty alley, he smiled. "Here's to you, Hinata. I would have loved to have fucked you...but eh, whatever."

Turning back to the street, the white-haired man cautiously made his way downtown. He had to somehow get to a vent or some aperture to crawl back to the surface and get out of this hell-hole. By Jashin, he wasn't about to get killed for some weak-ass pansies who had him fighting some whole city while they were out having an orgy or something. Fuckers!

He took a side-street, angling back the way that he thought they had come. Then, there it was! A small vent in the top of the domed city! A ladder even went to it! He could hop on that ladder and be well away from this place! He'd just go back to the Umbrella Company CEO and explain that he had tried, but it didn't work out, and everyone had died, but he should get a raise and a mansion for his dedicated work, and all that! He smiled to himself, happy that he had thought of that ingenuous plan.

Suddenly, a yip on his right made him stop. Closing his eyes in anticipation of what he would see, he faced around, scythe gripped like a vice. "Ok. I'm getting out of here, and none of you fuckers are..." But, he stopped mid-sentence, seeing that his new enemy was...a small, white and black spotted dog? "Huh? Ak...Akamaru? What the fuck are you doing here? Where the fuck is that fuck Kiba?"

Akamaru barked again, a whine issuing from his mouth. Hidan blinked, his hand coming up to scratch his head in bemusement. "So...the fucker is dead, huh? Serves him right. OW!" A mouthful of teeth chomped down on his hand, and he flicked it, the dog doing a small somersault and landing gracefully on all fours. It yipped again as Hidan sucked a thumb, blood oozing out of a small bite-wound. "Bitch. Hey...what the fuck is that?" Noticing the tape that Akamaru had placed on the ground, he took it. "Wanna play fetch?" The dog shook its mangy head, letting out another yip. "No? Well, I don't want it...do I?" A shake and a nod. "I...I do?" Another nod. "Fine...fuck. More for me to do then. Fucking lame." Turning on his heels, he began jogging in the direction of the ladder, Akamaru trailing him. It didn't matter to Hidan if the fucking dog came with him. All he wanted was the sweet smell of freedom on the outside. That's all he wanted.

Kimimaro took a step back from the large control box that stood in front of him. Three dead guards sprawled across the catwalk. They had tried to stop his forward motion, but they had only barely turned before he had cut them down. Now, he stood in front of the master control of the whole city. It gave off energy that the man could feel emanating through the machinery. The metal hummed with power, the controls going back and forth as the energy coursed through the machine.

"Hm. How to destroy this thing?" Kimimaro asked himself, placing a hand against his chin in thought. If he could somehow destroy the main breaker that produced electricity for the city, along with every other vital technology. Medical, sewer, water...all of that! Produced right here!

Suddenly, a mix of messages shot through his head. Clutching his cranium in pain, Kimimaro crouched on one knee, his eyes blurring as words ran through his brain at lightning speed.

It was minutes later that they mercifully stopped, allowing the man to stand once more. Kimimaro closed both eyes, regaining his thoughts and gaining self-control. "I understand. It shall be as commanded." Both arms shot out to his sides, straight. His spine began to morph, squiggling and writhing as it began to expel something. Something metallic and foreign that he had not known to be previously there. His hands moved back, grasping the object and bringing it over his head.

What he held in his grasp looked like a stick, silvery and smooth. On one end, a small, red button. The other end stopped at a pointed tip. The object appeared to be a smooth, cylindrical rocket. However, Kimimaro's advanced knowledge of Umbrella Corp. technology told him otherwise. The man's eyes glared at the object for a moment before his smile returned. "Hn. Thermal nuclear explosive device."

The neural processor in the man's brain began to whir. Images, pictures, and sources of information began to rotate exponentially. Kimimaro's eyes began to close, taking in the information as the processor ran through it. Pictures of children, melting into the ground from the heat radiation. Deformed bodies walking through a decayed city. Knowledge on cell reconstruction as radiation changed DNA. A man bleeding from his rectum. A woman who lost both breasts in the fall-out. The death toll from Hiroshima. The death. The death. The death...

Shaking himself, Kimimaro grimly grasped the object in his hand, turning it over to the red button, glaring at him like a beacon. "If I press this, I kill hundreds of thousands of people."

No brother. You kill hundreds of thousands of monsters.

Kimimaro's eyes perked, and he glanced about. "Who...who said that?"

You never were able to take the initiative. You must destroy the abominations. You must destroy the evil. You must...

"N...n...no! I can't! The innocent lives!" Clutching his head, the man stumbled, catching himself on a railing as his gaze drifted down into the molten rock flowing a few hundred feet below him.

Brother, you have the power to end this! It is lying in your hand! Do this!

His breath was ragged, and he could feel the tears pouring off his face. "I...I can't...do this..."

Yes you can brother. Yes...yes you can! I believe in you! I believe you! I believe in the truth and the right way to do things! This place is evil! You must end it! You have the power! The power to end it!

Kill everyone that lived within the city? How could he do that? "Do not ask me to do this...my brother."

I wouldn't if it wasn't necessary. But it is. You know it is, and you know what has to be done.

A hand wiped a tear away. Suddenly, Kimimaro found himself gazing at a lonely boy, his arms twitching and itching. Slowly, his face changed. The gentle boy in front of him took on a more demented glare, staring at the white-haired man with disdain.

You could never figure out anything for yourself! You were always a wuss! Even when I was five!

"Don't...don't say that!"

You are such a pansy-ass sissy! You need to grow up! Fucking figure out your life!

"Shut...shut up!"

Suddenly, the boy turned back, his face belying the tired innocence of a child again.

Brother...you...you must! Think about...think about what...what they...

The man hit the ground, covering his face as his own tears flowed. "That...that was an...an accident..."

Brother...please...you have to...

"No! Don't!"

Suddenly, the change came over the boy again, and once again, red-rimmed eyes glared across. You fucking idiot! You never were strong! Look what they did to me! To us! The boy's arms came up, and Kimimaro could see the writhing flesh and bone. I'm a freak! I...I was a freak! That's partly your fault to, brother! You said that you wouldn't allow them to!

"I...I'm sorry..."

You're sorry!? You fuck! You stupid ass fuck! What the hell do you know of being sorry!

"Brother...I...I..." The change again. Tears. Crying.

Brother...I can't...I can't see you...

Alarmed, Kimimaro glanced up, seeing the boy's image fading into the black. "No! Brother!"

Please, brother. Do this. Do this for me! Do...do it for yourself...

Slowly, the boy's image faded. Slowly...so slowly. "Brother! Come back!"

Goodbye...my brother...

The man gave a jerk. Feeling bullets zing around him, Kimimaro grunted as two ripped through his chest. The bone and sinew melded, and he was once again whole. Glancing up at the two guards firing from the other side of the ravine, he sneered. "I will make you proud of me...my brother..." His thumb didn't waver as it slid up the device, ending up on the red button. Slowly, his thumb descended, pressing the button and locking it into place. As more ammunition splashed around him, Kimimaro sighed. More guards poured through, and the ones who were on the walkway began to push forward, firing all the way.

Standing to his full height, Kimimaro eyed them again, feeling two more bullets ricochet into his upper right thigh and his wrist. A quick fix. His right arm extended, becoming hard, thin...deadly. A timer began to tick down in his mind. A timer set for one hour. He had one hour to find any of his cohorts and leave the area before the entire base was annihilated in a nuclear holocaust. Bringing his arm up like a swordsman's salute, Kimimaro smiled. "Juugo...my brother...this is for you!"

The countdown had begun. One hour to set aside multiple destiny's. One hour to save the world.

Outside of the compound, Hidan continued to run, clutching the tape under one arm and Akamaru under the other. Spiteful as always, the albino man spat on the ground as he dodged behind another tree. "Stupid fucks. Have to get the hell away from here. Bastards." The sound of whining and snarling took over his senses, and Akamaru growled lightly from his position under the man's arms. Cursing again, the man took to his heels, feeling the ravenous packs of animals behind him beginning to catch up.

The chop-chop of a helicopter blade turned Hidan's attention to the sky. The rotors whirred and whrummed as the helicopter proceeded to land. Hidan smiled. At last! Those fucks at Umbrella send me some help! Behind him, the increasing fervor reached a plateau, and Hidan braced himself, twirling with scythe ready. Suddenly, the ground was ripped apart by the bullets of a repeating machine gun. The animals halted, squealing as blue eyes were dulled by the thud of metallic death.

When the killing was over, the ground bled green and red. The bodies of incapacitated animals littered the landscape, hideous in their death and the smell already rising. Hidan smiled, a tear dripping from his cheek. "That's...so...beautiful..."

"Hidan!" His name being called aroused the man's interest. Grabbing up the dog and tape again, he ran to the cockpit, hopping in.

"What the fuck are you waiting for!? GO!" The chopped took off, Hidan collecting his senses as he set the dog and tape down. "Wow, you fuckers sure take a long time, don't you? Jashin-fucking-sama! You..."

"Yes, we took a little too long. We apologize for that, Hidan. Very sorry...kukuku..."

The familiar laugh and voice made the albino freeze. Slowly, as if he hadn't heard right, or if the dog growling beside him wasn't enough evidence, he turned, eying his saviour. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend how he had hopped into a helicopter with...this man. This one man in particular.

"Or...Orochimaru!?"

"Hn. Glad you still remember my name, Hidan."

"Wha...what the fuck are you doing here?" His hand already was on his scythe, and for the first few, tense moments, he thought about striking the man down.

"Oh please, Hidan. You don't think that I would take you on board my personal helicopter to kill you, do you?" Orochimaru asked. His right hand held a cigarette, and he stopped to take a puff.

Hidan's mouth grew even grimmer. "You son-of-a-bitch. Do you fucking have any idea what lengths I went TO kill you?"

"Yes yes. I'm sure you have. But, I have an opportunity for you."

"An...opportunity?"

"Yes, Hidan. One that could make you very rich."

Hidan blinked. Rich? He liked the sound of that. But what were the terms of this...'opportunity'? "What the fuck do you mean?"

Smiling, as if relishing the thought that the white-haired man had fallen for his ploy, hook, line, and sinker, Orochimaru put down his lit cigarette, glancing across. "I have a business associate, and together, we are in the market to make a pretty penny. Now, this involves some hard labor, and a little bit of groundbreaking new technology. Of course, we aren't involved in any of it. Merely overseeing operations. You would be under us, but still be making your weight in T-bills each day. Now, are you interested, or not?"

Hidan thought about it. His weight in T-bills per day? That was...that...that was... "Uh. T-bills? You mean...thousand dollar bills, right?"

Snorting in impatience, Orochimaru nodded. "Yes, Hidan. Thousand dollar bills." What a moron, he thought to himself.

Hidan went over the numbers in his head. I weigh about 54 kilograms. That means...that means..."Uh...how much does..."

"A thousand-dollar bill weigh? Don't worry about it. You'll be rich, that's all you need to know," Orochimaru said, taking a pile of papers from beneath the seat. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to initial here, here, and...here!"

Hidan took the pen that was offered enthusiastically, beginning to jot down his initials. Suddenly, in the middle of one signing, he stopped. "Hey. What about the others? The ones still down there?"

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Orochimaru sighed. "They are going to die. The Umbrella Corp. has already seen to it. No one but you, I, and a select few will know that they ever went down into that hell hole. It was merely an experiment, anyways. It already has succeeded and gone into stage two. So, I don't need it anymore. Easier still to be rid of it."

"But...Hinata...Lee...Kiba..."

"They were...expendable, Hidan. Come now, did you really like Hinata or Lee?"

Hidan had to think about that. Hinata? Did he care for her? "Well...she does have a nice ass."

"Besides the physical things? Don't contemplate her breasts, either."

"Oh...well...when you put it like that. No, not really. The rest of the fuckers can die to."

"Wonderful! Keep signing!"

"Hey, what about Sasuke?"

"Hm? Oh, another casualty. I needed his DNA, and I've got plenty of it. Amazing what you can get from discarded skin cells on a pillow," Orochimaru said, playing with a corner of one of the papers.

As Hidan signed the last one, not bothering to read what was written, Akamaru barked, growling and lunging for Hidan's hand. Hidan felt the teeth sink in, and in a fit of rage, threw the dog to the ground. "Ow! Fucking mutt!" A swift kick sent it into the side of the helicopter, where it lay motionless for a moment before whining slightly. "Uh oh...I...I think I hurt him."

"Who cares, Hidan. I have a solution," Orochimaru said, casting a jaundiced eye at the man. "Press that button behind you."

"Where?" Rotating his head, Hidan saw the small blue button. "This one?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Well..." Nervously, the man pressed the button. A small compartment opened, and Akamaru, with one last, pitiful whine, was sucked out into space. The helicopter was quite a ways in the air. "Hey! What...where did he go?!"

"That's an emergency hatch, meant for quick escapes or when the helicopter is under attack. Charming, isn't it?"

Hidan blinked, staring out the window at the fastly growing smaller object free-falling from thousands of feet in the air. "But...he'll die!"

Orochimaru allowed himself a small chuckle. "Really? Do you care?"

Hidan blinked again, confused for a moment. Money...wealth...friendship with those he had fought with below. All the questions buzzed about his head. Slowly, he sat back down, digesting all of the information. All of it.

Then, he smiled, glancing up at Orochimaru one last time. "No...not really."

Next Time: Has Hidan really given up his soul to the devil? What about the others? Will they survive? The bomb is ticking, and Kimimaro has to find the others before its too late, or will he abandon them and save himself?

Next Chapter: Cards On The Table

A/N: Sorry for the EXTREMELY late update. I've been busy, and my computer was down for repairs for about 2 months. But, it's back, and so am I! Thanks for everyone who stuck with me! The story continues!