The red-eyed monster

A series of murders against young and innocent's women put in check the police and the society. Without clues or any links to lead the police to the whereabouts of this cruel monster, can Hinata Hyuga be saved in time before her name join the list of the victims of the so call red-eyed demon?

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters don't belong to me, but Masashi Kishimoto.

Sorry for my english, it's the first time I write in english. I beg your pardon for my grammar errors.

I want to thank RenegadeSon for help me write this chapter. If it wasn't for your review, I wouldn't have continued with this fic. Thanks a lot.

Warning: There is kind a lot of swearing, mostly in the second part of the chapter. Sorry for the bad words. I don't intend to offend anyone.

Chapter XIV

All who knew Naruto, knew that one of the main characteristics of his personality was his willpower to achieve his objective. The Uzumaki was a person that did not give up so easily; for whom the most unfathomable obstacles can be conquer.

But sometimes, even the strongest will could not win against the force of destiny.

Naruto had never before experience such a big failure as it had been his intention to show to Hinata how much he loved her, and that Krupal Randhawa was a person of whom she had to watch out for. He could have never imagined, not even in his wildest dreams, that the efforts he had done during those Christmas vacation he had spent with the young lady, when he had tried to convey his message to the pearl-eyed woman, could fall flat with such a terrible way.

If something had come out clear of that adventure was that Hinata did not want anything of him, that Randhawa had brainwash her enough to make her belief that she was in love with the man; and that, in the end, if Naruto want to make amends with her, he had to accept that she loved Randhawa.

But, of course, Naruto did not sympathize with the demand. He, who had seen beyond Krupal Randhawa's disguise, was very sure of his impression about him and what the professor was doing to Hinata. If the price to reconstruct his bonds with the Hyuga was to accept her relation with the man, Naruto was not willing to pay it, even if that meant he would never be with her again.

But such decision had cost him dearly. Hinata and Naruto's friendship had been long and prosperous, and through the many years they had shared each other company, they had become inseparable. The Uzumaki still remembered the many memories he had with her, how one had helped the other, and he could not help but smile at the remembrances. And now, because that infamous being who was Krupal Randhawa, their relationship was in jeopardy.

It was incredible that such possibility could become a reality, but Naruto was not happy to be with Hinata as long as she was in a relation with Krupal Randhawa.

He knew that young woman was not responsible for her decision. After all, she had been enchanted by Randhawa; who through love promises had convinced her that she did not need anyone in her life but him. But in spite of this, Naruto could not forgive her. He was still profoundly hurt after she had rejected his feeling for her; he was still resented for their recent discussion.

If Hinata was suffering because he, being her best friend, and in most occasion her anchor, had reclaimed her for being in love with Randhawa, Naruto was also in pain; and for the Uzumaki his grieving was much more important than hers.

It was certainly a selfish way of thinking on his part. When it came see who of the two had to endure more pain, there was no doubt that Hinata took the lead. But could someone blame him for be self-centered? When someone hurt us we tend to think only in ourselves; we give priority to what we are feeling, as if our feels were more important than of other people. It was not that Naruto was looking down at Hinata's sentiments, but he could only think of the distress he was experiencing.

Until then, no one had broken Naruto's heart. It was not that his previous relations had been a bed of roses, but none of his love interest had caused him to feel so wrecked as Hinata.

Since the Hyuga had rejected his love for her, Naruto had had to learn to coexist with feelings of discomfort and rage. The Uzumaki was not a person who could deal easily with anger. Who knew him, knew very well that he was very hot-tempered. So it was not a surprise that when it came to control those strong and tumultuous feelings, he had let himself been win by them.

Throughout the hours, the days and the weeks that had passed since the last time he had seen Hinata, Naruto had been attack by a turmoil of feelings. In a moment he was in his room, screaming as high as his voice allowed him how much he hated Hinata, to surprise himself at the next second crying in a corner, hugging his knees, asking for her forgiveness. There were mornings when he felt he could not get out of bed, and he covered himself from head to toe with the sheets, as if them could protect him against his anguish. Sometimes he did not eat for days, or he did not even take a shower; and his dirty and greasy blond hair and unshaven beard made him looked like an indigent. But, more than anything, he had rejected any contact with the outside world.

His friends did not know what to do for him. It was Naruto who generally made them feel better with his cheer way of being; and to see him in such a way surprised them deeply.

Sakura, who understood quite well what the blond was feeling, and had taken as personal to take care of his well-being, was trying her best to help him feel better. She frequently visited him, accompanying him in his room, trying to convince him to eat or to take care of hygiene, but Naruto seemed deaf to her petitions. Sasuke, who, as his girlfriend, used to make him company, had tried to make him to reconsider his behavior, but without success.

Naruto felt too much pain. In his mind, in the very moment Hinata had broken his heart and had decided to love Krupal Randhawa instead of him, his life had met its end. Was there any reason to live if the one he loved did not love him?

Depressed as he was, he forgot that he had a life beyond his feelings for Hinata. Since he did not have the strength to face Life, he had stopped attending classes, and his grades suffered for that. It did not pass much time until his teachers reported this event to the college's rector; and sooner than later he was called to her office.

"I don't care if you aren't feeling well, Mr. Uzumaki", she had said to him, "but I'm afraid that if you don't compromise with your classes and don't get good grades, I'm going to expelled you."

When he had told his friends about the warning, they had tried to convinced him to continue with his studies. Even though Naruto did not want to listen to their admonitions, he finally had to accept that they were right. The Uzumaki did not want to be expelled from college, not only for what the people would think about him if that scenario even happen, but also because he had to recognize to himself that he had put much effort of himself to advance in his career. He could not throw away his entire life only because he was heart-broken, could he?

But his resolution to continue forward did not help him much to accomplish that objective. Even though of all the effort he had put to move onward with his life, the sadness did not help him; and trying to go against what he was feeling was for him like going against an invisible obstacle, that he could not move in spite of all his force. He tried to return to his normal life, but the tiredness that grew up in him for his lack of sleep, the fright which took over his body due the horrible nightmares he had been having, the little strength he obtained from the scarce meal he was eating and the depression that plunged his spirit made it impossible for him.

The life of a college student sometimes could be very harsh, especially for those who were having a bad time. The necessity to have good grades, to pretend to be a successful and popular person, could be overwhelming. In the past, Naruto did not have had much problems to fulfill those requirements. Even though he could be a lazy person, throughout his career he had obtained quite good grades; and being popular was not a problem for him. But in state of mind in which he was, what once was simple was now difficult.

And not only he had to endure these problems. In spite that he had made all he could to not face Hinata again, going to classes implied that he could not help but to see a milliard of faces every time he moved through the campus; and sometimes one of those faces belonged to the pearl-eyed woman. Every time he saw her, did not matter if it was from a close or remote spot, his stomach turned around and his eyesight became blur; and he could not resist the anger that boiled inside him, especially when he saw her accompanied by Krupal Randhawa.

Consumed as he was by the pain, it was difficult for him to concentrate in his studies. His mind only could think about Hinata, in Hinata, who was with Krupal Randhawa, in Hinata, that did not love him, in Hinata, that had broken his heart.

How he could try to feel any better if everything was against him? How he could find peace when the remorse and the ire was devouring him? Sakura had once reprimanded him for not being capable to see that Hinata had endured a greater distress than him throughout all those years she had loved him in silence. Naruto could not comprehend how she had tolerated such awful feelings when he could not.

In an attempt to alleviate his sorrow, he had sought to distract his mind. During those days, a group of friends had had invite him to parties, and Naruto had not thinking much to accept the offer, even if was only to forget his troublesome feelings for some hours. The Uzumaki soon realized the funny result that came from combining depression and alcohol.

Naruto was aware that he was a very good looking man, and of the effect that he produced in certain females; but he never had taken advantage of his charm in the opposite sex to his benefit. However, the mixture of a festive environment, plus his state of mind and the consumption of alcohol had made him behave in a way he would never act.

During this time of depression, Naruto had woken up in many beds that were not his, had opened his eyes to see walls that were not the same as the one he had in his bedroom; and when he turned around after opening his eyelids, he did not met his pillow, but the hair of an unknown woman.

Naruto was not a womanizer, but after realizing what he had done, to his surprise (since he had never see himself as a playboy), he did not feel bad. After all, he had obtained what he was looking for: forget for some minutes how bad he felt. During those seconds he did not think about Hinata, nor the big suffer that her memory occasioned in him. Besides – he thought – if the Hyuga could be loved, why not him? It was not unfair.

Naruto continued with this lifestyle for a while. The parties and the alcohol were for him like drugs. Inside him he knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he could not stop, he needed more of it.

His friends, after learning what was happening in his life, could not believe what he was doing. Sakura, highly dismayed by the way the Uzumaki was conducting his destiny, scolded him every time she could. What the hell was going through his head? Was this the way he was thinking he could regain Hinata?

But the Uzumaki did not listen. If that was what he had to do to be able to forget, even if it was only for some minutes, the pain he was feeling, he was more than willing to behave in that way; and the blond would have continued through this path if it were not for certain discussion he had eavesdropped between Sakura and her best friend, Ino Yamanaka.

"Is it that he has going crazy?!", Ino had screamed to Sakura. "I know he's having a bad time! For Christ Sake, if Sai would leave me, I would feel the same he is feeling! But what Naruto is doing isn't right! If Hinata finds out what he is happening with him, she will never forgive him, and you know this as well as me! And besides, he can't be that selfish! Hinata has suffered more than him! If he loves her as much as he says, he has to let her to be happy! And her happiness is with this guy, Krupal Randhawa! Why you and Naruto can't understand this already?!"

Immediately after hearing this, Naruto had begun to cry. He promised to Sakura, who had listened to his sobbing, and had soothed him by embracing him, that he was going to sort out his life. And the Uzumaki fulfilled his promise.

The days had become weeks, and the weeks had turned into months. Winter had gradually given way to spring; and in the same way as flowers had woken up from their hibernation and showed its beautiful forms and colors to the world, Naruto had made amend with himself and had finally obtained that so needed peace he had been looking for.

After he had stopped assisting to parties and had taken a break on alcohol, he had forced himself to concentrate in the studies; and progressively his grades had shown his efforts. When he was not studying, he took care of the many plants he had in his bedroom or volunteer himself in the programs the university organized to help the poor people.

Distracted as he was, the pain he had been feeling erased from his mind and heart, and slowly he began to behave as his usual being.

He had overcome the depression that had taken possession of him; but in spite of this, he still did not find the resolution to look for Hinata, to talk to her and ask for her forgiveness after he had treated her so badly. He was not sure if the pearl-eyed woman was willing to forgive him, but Naruto wanted to believe that somewhere in the future she was going to listen to him and allow him to say he was sorry for everything bad he had done to her.

That were the thoughts that were going through his mind that spring morning. At the same time that he wondered when the perfect time to ask for Hinata's pardon was coming, he was seated in front of the bar of one of his favorites coffees, holding a steaming cup of tea. Suddenly the young woman who was attending the bar walked closer to him and said:

"Eh, darling! Someone in that table is asking for you."

Naruto held his breath. Could it possibly be…? No! It was impossible. It could not be Hinata, right? But when he turned around his face, he got a disappointment. It was not the pearl-eyed woman who was waiting for him. It was…

"What is Neji doing here?" he murmured in low voice.

Hinata's cousin, Neji Hyuga, was seated in the table the barwoman had pointed out. With his brown long hair perfectly fix, his exquisite tailor suit and his cold and harsh expression, he looked out of place in that coffee fully loaded with college students.

The man indicated him to come closer with a gesture of his hand. Naruto took his cup of tea, rose and walked towards the table in which the Hyuga was settled without much enthusiasm.

"How are you doing, Naruto?" the brown-haired man said when he was near him.

"I've had better times. What are you doing here, Neji?" the blond said with the tone of voice of someone who want to get direct to the point.

The Hyuga retorted:

"I'm here because I want to talk with you about Hinata."

Naruto sighed, putting one of his hands on his face with a tired gesture.

"Look, I haven't spoken with Hinata in a long time. If you want to know about her, I'm not in the best position to say anything."

"I know this", Neji answered with a bother look in his face, as if he was receiving an information that he already knew. "But I still want to talk about her with you."

Naruto groaned.

Neji continued:

"Do you know a man called Krupal Randhawa?"

"Yes, I know him…" the blond said, feeling discomforted.

"What you can tell me about him?"

"If you want to know anything about him, ask Hinata."

Neji frowned and reclaimed:

"I can't do that because whatever she can tell me, would be impregnated by what she feels for him. What I want to know is the impartial opinion of someone who already had known this man, Randhawa."

"An impartial opinion?" the blond laughed. "I can assure you that you won't get an impartial opinion from me! I used to have certain… ideas about him… but since I don't have any proof that can confirm my theories, now I'm not so sure of what to think anymore…"

"And what were your ideas about him?" Neji insisted.

Naruto felt annoyed. He understood that if Neji was asking about Hinata and her relation with Krupal Randhawa it was for a reason, but whatever this would be, he did not care. The questions the Hyuga was asking was forcing him to remember the bad experiences he had lived throughout those times of agony, and he did not want to remembered, he did not want to feel those emotions again.

Once more, since Naruto did not answer, Neji continued the conversation:

"Three months ago I met Krupal Randhawa in my uncle's house. He had driven Hinata to the mansion; and she introduced him to us. My uncle, impressed by him, by his personality, invited him to have dinner. I only saw him for a brief time, but in spite of that, he left a strong impression in me. It only took me some minutes to realize that he was controlling Hinata, that he had her in his net. And I wondered what make that man so special."

"An intriguing personality?" Naruto spitted out with irony.

"Sarcasm isn't going to take you anywhere, Naruto" the Hyuga reprimanded him.

Neji put over the table an envelope, while saying:

"This is the main reason I came here. I guess you are going to find this interesting."

Frowning, Naruto took the packet and opened it. Inside it, were a series of papers; and all of them were talking about the same person: Krupal Randhawa.

"I'm investigating him", the Hyuga informed.

"Yes, I realize."

"I want you to help me."

Naruto smiled, but his grin was forced. He put the papers inside the envelope and handed it to his companion.

"Neji", he said, "if you want to play to be a detective, I'm not going to stop you, but I wish you luck, because you're going to need it."

He got up.

"I've already been through this. I've investigated him and I didn't discover anything. So, once again, I wish you good luck."

And after saying this, he began to walk towards the coffee's entrance.

But when he had almost reached the door, he heard behind him:

"I thought you care for Hinata."

The Uzumaki clenched his fists and shut his eyes with force, trying to contain the anger that had begun to boil inside him. That he did not care for Hinata? Damn it! He had been fighting all winter for what his love for Hinata had done to him!

He suddenly turned around, walked towards the table Neji was seated and made the object tremble by a strong hit of his fists. The cup of tea he had asked, which was still on the table, shook and fell over the surface, spilling its content. The faces of the people gathered there turned over him with surprise, with expressions of astonishment.

"Don't dare to say I don't care for Hinata!" he cried out loud. "She is for me more important than myself! I had done everything I can to show to her how significant she is for me, but she seems to doesn't care! I've had tried to show to her how worry I feel because of her relation with Krupal Randhawa, but she doesn't want to listen! So don't dare to say I don't care for her, because I've tried to do for her and for her well-being everything I can!"

Trying to control his rage, trying to gather his emotions, he left the coffee, apologizing for his uproar to the people inside the restaurant.

But it did not passed much time until Neji reached him.

"I'm sorry for what I said; but you have to listen to me, Naruto! We've to fight together if we want to save Hinata. I wouldn't say this if I wasn't sure, but I firmly believe that you're the only person who can reach her!"

Neji took his arm, making him to stop.

"Listen, I know what happened between you two. I know that both of you are deeply wounded because of the other. But you've to realize that you're the only person who can make her to reconsider. I'm sure she misses you. I'm sure that she needs you as much as you need her. Don't help me because it's what you have to do. Help me because Hinata will be lost without you!"

After those words, Naruto felt the urgency to lean on any surface that could hold him. He was feeling as he was short of air. His vision become blurry, and his legs were shaking so bad that he had the impression that in any moment he was going to fall upon him.

During the last moments of his depression, he had tried not to think in what he could do to put an end to Hinata's relationship with Randhawa. As Ino had said, when she was discussing with Sakura, he had to let Hinata be happy with whoever she had chosen to share her life. He did not have the right to interrupt her happiness. If Krupal Randhawa was the man she had decided to love, he had to accept it.

But now Neji was trying to convince him to break the promise he had made to himself. The Hyuga was trying to make him to think that he had the right to interfere in her relation with the professor. The other man was trying to make him to consider that when he had planned to show to Hinata the truth about Randhawa, he had not making a mistake. As him, Neji had his reservations with Krupal Randhawa, and if they two thought in the same way was because they were right to be suspicions, were not they?

Neji helped him to reach a bench. Naruto thanked him while putting a hand over his chest to calm himself down.

"I don't know if we can…" he murmured. "Hinata is going to hate us if she discovers that we are investigating Randhawa."

"But she will not", Neji promised. "And if the price to assure her well-being is that she will hate us, I'm more than willing to pay it. The only thing that matters here is to make sure that she's out of danger. And I'm sure you think in the same way as I."

Neji was asking Naruto to have faith, a confidence that he did not know if he had. There still was doubts in his mind. Hinata was not going to like what Neji was planning. But what if there it was any possibility that both of them could discover enough evidence to show to her the truth about Krupal Randhawa?

Neji asked:

"So, what are you going to say? Are you going to help me find out who really is Krupal Randhawa?"

After some minutes, Naruto answered:

"To say the truth, I really don't like Krupal Randhawa."

The Hyuga smiled.

"Is that a yes?"

"I guess so", the blond said, smiling too.

Neji gave him a friendly slap in the back.

"Let's do this for Hinata", he said.

And Naruto nodded.

"Yes, for Hinata."

The detective rose his eyes of the paper he was reading, suddenly feeling the weirdly sensation that someone was watching him. However, besides him, his office was empty. It was the tiredness, he said to himself, trying to return to his reading. But as soon as his eyes went down, the sensation returned to him with furious force.

In spite of him, drops of sweat began to form in his forehead. He tried to calm himself. There was no one but him. The sensation he was having was a product of his imagination. Yes, it was a product of his imagination. Nothing wrong was happening in the confine space in which he was.

But the sensation grew up once more inside him; and this time the detective was sure that it came from the office's door. Breathing heavily, saying to himself that whatever he was feeling must be nothing, he moved towards the entrance, desiring to put an end once and for all to whatever he was sensing.

As he walked closer to the door, he felt as his legs were shaking and his hands were trembling. Sweat began to run down through his face. His mouth dried out.

He reached the knob and turned it, opening the door. His eyes grew wider and his mouth hang in an astonish expression. Before him were a long hallway, dark as a pitch-black evening and with its floor covered with red petal roses.

The detective put a foot into the hallway, feeling inexplicable fearfully. As soon as he was out of his office, the door of the room suddenly close. Worried, the detective tried to open it, but the door did not budge. If he wanted to get out of there, the petal-covered hall was his only option.

Breathing slowly to calm down, he walked through the hallway, trying to find his way in the darkness. Suddenly, as he moved forward, the hall illuminated with a red color. Figures began to appeared in front of him. He advanced towards them, wishing to figure out who were that people. Soon he wished he had not done that.

The figures were women bodies, all eviscerated in the most horrible way. The detective felt pity for those women, trying, at the same time, to contain the urgency to throw up before such awful spectacle.

He began to count them: one… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… Eight women in total. Eight women who had encountered their end in the most possible horrendous way.

And suddenly, as he was walking next to those poor victims, two figures rose from the floor of roses. One of them was a woman, a woman heavily wounded, a woman he knew all too well…

"Help me…" she pleaded.

At the same time that she was asking for help, the second figure, a man covered in black, who was behind the woman, put a knife over her throat. A trickle of blood began to escape from her skin.

"Stop!" the detective cried out, running to reach the woman before that man could kill her. "Don't die, Alice!"

But the detective could not reach her in time. Before he could be by her side, the man covered in black moved horizontally the knife he was holding, cutting the woman's throat.

"Alice! Alice!" the detective screamed, as the man, showing his glowing red eyes towards him, began to laugh in a cruel way.

"Alice! Alice!"

David Craig waked up, covered in sweat, shivering from head to toe by the nightmare he had had. He put his hands over his face, trying to breath slowly to calm down, letting his mind to get off of the remains of the dreadful dream.

Trembling from hands and legs, he tried to rise up from the couch he had been sleeping, feeling the urgency to wash his face with a good amount of cold water. In the moment he left the comfort of the object, various empty bottles of alcohol fall from the couch to the floor, but the detective did not care for this fact. Trying not to fall, he moved towards the bathroom.

When he reached the sink, he opened it and washed his face numerous times. After it, he watched himself in the mirror that was above the basin. The reflective surface showed him the face of a broken man, of a person who had seen better times. Craig thought to himself, sarcastically, that this was the result any people would obtain after being abusing of alcohol from three months, as him had been doing.

And that was true. Since the moment he had been taken off of the case in which he had worked so hard, and, more than anything, after Alice's death, the detective had suffocated his hardship with the alcohol. In those three months, if anything had helped him to maintain a least a bit of sanity, it had been the liquor. Alcohol had been the only consolation to his sadness and anger.

"You're a fucking loser", he had said to himself many times in the past, during those months. "Instead of doing something to vengeance Alice, you're here, drinking and drinking, as if it was going to help anything. Is in this way that you supposedly are going to catch her killer? You're a fucking moron!"

Sometimes, he asked himself, watching his face in the mirror, as he was doing now, what his colleagues would think about him if they knew the detective had become a boozy; and imagining their reaction he laughed to himself and pointed out how much a failure he was.

But honestly, could someone, even him, blame him for the way he was conducting his life? His cherished Alice had met her end in a horrible manner at the same time he lost his job, and with it, all the effort he had done to put an end to the nightmare of the red-eyed killer. In a fingers snap, everything he had worked and everything he had loved had vanished from his life, leaving him empty handed, frustrated and fulfilled with deception. If he had encountered a solution to his emptiness and anger in alcohol, it was not entire his fault. If there was someone to impugn, for him, it certainly was… that man…

That man, who had killed Alice. That man, who was the direct cause of his firing of the case of the red-eyed monster. That man, who had been the protagonist of his nightmares, who laughed at him with his red eyes shining with cruelty. That man…

"Krupal Randhawa…" he murmured with a venomous voice.

Acting by an impulse, the detective dried his face and left the bathroom to head to the living room, where he had woken up. In a ramshackle coffee table were displayed various newspapers, which Craig had read so many times he could recite what they had written. There was a knife in one of them. The sharp object was positioned over the picture of a man. David Craig had stabbed Krupal Randhawa's image in the paper.

The vision of the knife rising up from the newspaper made him smile. In the many letters the red-eyed demon had send him, he talked of his victims as if they were art pieces. Well, he had also fabricated his own art by stabbing the knife in the face of the man he so firmly believed was the real killer.

He pointed a finger towards the picture and, smiling like a maniac, said:

"I'm going to catch you, do you hear me? Maybe you've won this battle, but you haven't won the war! I'm going to trap you. I'm going to put you in jail. And when I win, everyone is going to see I was right about you, you demon!"

But was he really going to win against his worst enemy? The shining red eyes… The merciless laugh of his nightmares… Did he really have the chance to put a finger over the red-eyed monster and to stop his trail of murders? Saying it out loud was one thing, but doing it?... Craig felt as his mouth dried. Where… where was that damn bottle?

Suddenly, the ring bell of his apartment began to sound. The detective startled up. Feeling frighten, he took the knife stabbed in Randhawa's face and headed to the door. His hands were shaking so bad that when he grabbed the keys to open the entrance, it took him more minutes than usual to unlocked it.

"Who is there?" he asked with a strong and serious tone of voice, as if in that way he could appall anyone who was at the other side of the door.

But, for his relief, there was not a man with red eyes, pointing a knife towards him with a malignant expression in his face. Through the ajar door, he saw two people. One of them was a blond guy. With his blue eyes and strong constitution, he looked like any normal American young man. The other one was also a man, or Craig thought that. The person was certainly an aristocrat. His expensive suit and cold expression betrayed him. The detective immediately thought he did not like him, not only because of his nob look, but also because he has a long brown hair tied up in the lower part of his hair. His daddy had taught him well. Long hair for men? No, thank you! In his masculinity, men must have short hair.

"Who are you?" the detective asked.

"Are you David Craig?" the blond questioned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and my friend there is Neji Hyuga. I don't know if you remember, but we met in your friend's funeral."

David Craig looked askance at the blond man; but he suddenly remembered. Oh, yes! He recalled the man's face, and only because, during Alice's memorial, he was the only person who was looking at Krupal Randhawa in the same way as he: filled with rage and mistrust.

"And what do you want?" he inquired.

"We're here to talk to you of your investigation about Krupal Randhawa, and to propose you something."

Propose him something? David Craig asked to himself. What those two could offer him? At least if it they were bringing Krupal Randhawa's head in a silver platter, he was not interested. He let them know this.

"Look", he said, "whatever you have in mind, it isn't going to work. Randhawa is a very dangerous man, and if you two appreciate your life, I suggest you to leave his investigation to the professionals, a.k.a me. I'm going to be the only one to bring him to justice. So, leave this place and don't come back. I'm a very busy man."

And he tried to close the door. But when the object was almost going to reach its destiny, something stopped it. David Craig tried to move it, but it did not budge. What the hell? He could not imagine (and would not even believe it if he did not have seen it with his own eyes) that one of his guests had blocked the door's movement. The blond one was holding it with his hands. What the hell?! How strong was that man?

"Listen to us", he said. "We didn't come here to ask for your permission to investigate Krupal Randhawa. Are you busy? Don't make me laugh! We know very well that you were fired from the red-eyed monster's case. I know quite well that you've been trying to incriminate him, but you don't have any proof against him. I don't know if he is the red-eyed killer, but I know he is a dangerous man; and my dearest friend, the woman I love, is trapped by him. I'm not going to let that anything bad happens to her as it happened with Alice Brown. We're going to fight against him, you want it or not. But I know that you, as me, desire to know the truth about him. I've suffered a great deal of pain because of him, and I'm sure you've also. So stop being a stupid and listen to us. Don't hear us because you have to, do it because this is the only way you can do justice to Alice."

David Craig did not say anything, completely speechless. He could not believe that young man. He was not only physically strong, but also had strong convictions and know what to say to convince others to do what he proposes. His speech certainly had touched his heart. Do it because is the only way you can do justice to Alice… Do it for Alice… Do it for Alice!... Acting as he did not know what he was doing, like he was enchanted by the magical spell of a divine being, Craig moved and let the door swung open.

"Enter", he said. "Sorry for the disorder. I would not know I would have guests."

Both men entered the apartment. After closing the door, Craig saw that they were studying the environment in which they have been welcome.

"Sorry" he said, apologizing. "Since my boss put me out of the red-eyed monster case, I've been drinking."

The blond smiled.

"Don't worry" he spoke. "And that make two of us. I've also encountered peace in the alcohol after my friend didn't want to listen about my worries in relation to Krupal Randhawa."

Craig also smiled. Maybe, after all, the blond and he weren't so different. He was beginning to like him.

"Do you want anything?" he asked. "Water? Coffee? A cup of tea?"

"There isn't need to" the brown-haired answered. "This is going to be quick. We won't bother you for too long."

The detective nodded.

"Ok", he murmured. "Why don't you seat down and tell me what you have in mind?"

The three men took a seat, and the brown-haired one made a signal to the blond guy. It was now his turn to speak.

"Mr. Craig", he began. "My name is Neji Hyuga. I don't know if you have heard about my family's name. I'm (we, Naruto and me) here in behalf of my cousin, Hinata Hyuga; and I also don't know if you have meet her…"

"Yes, and yes" the detective said. "The Hyuga family is very famous. And I also know your cousin. I have met her in one occasion, when I was investigation the death of her ex-boyfriend, Patrick O'Beirne. Is she the girl you were talking about?" he asked the blond man.

The blond one nodded.

Craig eyes shined.

"Oh, I remember I've seen her in Alice's funeral! She was with… oh… I now understand when you said she was trapped by him", he said to the blond.

"She loves Krupal Randhawa", the Uzumaki said. "I've done everything I could to show to her that she must leave him, but she doesn't want to listen."

"She is trapped, as the others…" the detective mumbled.

"As the others?" the Hyuga asked, concerned.

"Yes. The red-eyed killer's victims."

The brown-haired man sighed heavily, as if he was trying to contain himself from saying anything that could ruin what he was looking for.

"Look", he said, serious. "We aren't here to prove that Krupal Randhawa is the red-eyed monster. We are here to save my cousin. If in the way of our investigations were find enough proof to establish as certain that he's the killer, we'll reveal his true identity as the murderer and bring him to justice. But our main objective is to save Hinata and find anything we can to convince her to leave Randhawa."

"Well, in that case, I think we aren't on the same page" the detective answered with stubbornness.

"I'm going to pay you for your services. You're a detective, and you must know how to make a homemade investigation look like a certified inquiry."

Craig frowned.

"First", he said, "are you threatening me? By the way you talk, I can say that you're planning to use all the power of your last name and all your money to reach your objective, and I'm not going to tolerate that. And second, I don't need your money. As long as you don't offer me to prove that Krupal Randhawa is the red-eyed killer, I'm not interested."

"Are you sure you don't need the money? I bet you can use it to facilitate your life" the Hyuga retorted, smiling with superiority.

The detective swallowed. Damn rich guy! Only because he had money, he thought he could buy him. But the reality was that he really could give a good use to that money. On one hand, since he was not working, he could not count with what he used to earn. And besides, when had been the last time he had buy food? He could bet his fridge and counters were completely empty.

"And in addition", the Hyuga continued, "as I said, I offer no opposition in finding out if Randhawa is the red-eyed killer; but first, my cousin."

Craig sighed. He did not know what to do. On one hand, maybe that was the chance he was looking for to expose Krupal Randhawa as what he was; but on the other hand, even though he did not desire any harm to the Hyuga girl, it was not his job to intervene in a domestic dispute. In spite that he had recognized in the young woman's case one of the traits in the red-eyed demon's modus operandi, he hardly saw in which aspect could it be compared what had happened to Alice to what was happening with the other girl. And, besides, he was not a private investigator anyone could hire for the correct price. He was an official detective, certified by the police, God dammit!

But the money… and the possibility to prove that Randhawa was the red-eyed killer by helping those two… The detective saw Neji Hyuga, who, looking harshly at him, was waiting for his answer. And he saw Naruto Uzumaki. The blond fellow, who, with his words, had convinced him to listen what he and his friend had to say. Craig saw that his eyes were shining, as if he was pleading for him to accept their proposition.

He finally said:

"I accept. But with the condition that we investigate everything about Randhawa; and, if we really find anything that can prove that he is the red-eyed killer, let me handle it."

"We have a deal", the Hyuga said, nodding.

Naruto smiled.

"Thank you", he said. "Thanks for help us."

"Thank me once your friend is safe", he retorted.

Then he asked:

"Well, now you have my attention. What are you planning to do to help Hinata Hyuga?"

"This…" Neji Hyuga began.

The detective listened to what the brown-haired man said, feeling excited and amazed by every minute that passed. Sometimes, the first impression you have of someone is not right, and in Neji Hyuga's case, David Craig must confess to himself that he had committed a mistake. The man could be all the rich boy he wanted, but one thing that was certain about him it was that he was amazingly clever. The detective had never met someone as intelligent as Neji Hyuga.

Sometimes Naruto Uzumaki let known his presence when his friend behaved in a cold way with the detective or Craig did not understand what the Hyuga was trying to say. They certainly formed a good team. While Neji Hyuga was assertive and went directly to the point, Naruto Uzumaki was all heart and soul. The detective thought it would be interesting to work with them.

After the conversation ended, the three men rose up and shook hands.

"Well, detective, it has been a pleasure talking to you", the Hyuga said. "We will see again in a few days in my house. Here is the direction."

He gave the detective a card with the said address.

"We will see there, then", Craig said.

"And we will discuss your payment there", the brown-haired man promise.

The detective accompanied his guests to the door.

"Thank you for receiving us" Naruto said.

"Have a nice day", Craig spoke, seeing as the two left the apartment.

The detective closed the door behind him and sighed once more. He could not hold his excitement. At the beginning, when the two had begun talking about Krupal Randhawa and their plan to team with him to fight against the red-eyed assassin, Craig had been suspicious of them. But now he felt that with the help of the two men, he finally could catch Alice's murderer and can do justice to her. He closed the eyes for a moment and imagined himself taking Randhawa into custody, saying out loud and with a smile on his face: "Look! I have trapped the red-eyed monster! And see! I was right when I suspected he was the real culprit!"

After waking up from his fantasy, he moved towards the table in which he had stabbed Krupal Randhawa's face in the newspaper. In the surface were other papers. He looked at two of them. First he saw one that had been imprinted three months ago. In it was narrated the story of the last victim of the red-eyed killer, Eloise Parker. As the other crimes the man had committed, the police had not found any proof nor any lead that could help them to put an identity to the murderer (but David Craig did not have this problem, because he was sure the assassin was Randhawa).

The second one talked about Alice. In it was depicted a photograph of the young woman, smiling to the camera. David Craig stroked it, as if in that way he could caress Alice's real face.

"I'm going to put an end to this", he promised to the image. "I'm going to catch your killer, I promise."

Tears began to flow from his eyes. Yes, he promised that to himself and to Alice with a fierce look. Soon the nightmare was going to end.

I hope you like the chapter. If so, left me a review, follow the story, and all that stuff. See you in chapter 15, and thank you for reading.