Two more days before Thanksgiving break!!! Sw3333t!! Anyways, here's the next chapter.
disclaimer (as usual): Naruto is not mine. Never will be either. And guess what: no language this time!!
Over the next four days, Naruto and Hinata traveled south to Soukan from Hive City. They had made numerous stops along the way to pass off samples of the Agende Vhansin's drug to various outposts, which added up to one vial's worth.
Along the way, the pair discussed the detail of their journeys westward. Hinata now knew everything Naruto had gone through in his travels, and he knew everything about her trek as well. She also learned that during his time in the west he had developed a love of rock music so great that it rivaled his love of ramen, which was part of the reason they now traveled to Soukan.
When they finally arrived at the gates of their intended city, they passed through the light security painlessly and safely entered the city. Why the guards didn't ask Naruto to remove his sunglasses or inspect the duo at all was beyond her. "Did he develop some kind of mind trick?" The Hyuuga woman wondered.
"Ah, before we hit up the local scene," Naruto said as he paused from his skipping for joy, "There's someone here we've gotta meet."
"Who?"
He leaned in closer. "Master Sünden," he said in a hushed tone. "He's the first red-eye and the first of the three masters."
She found this fact interesting. "So there are leaders of the red-eyes?"
He shook his head. "Not anymore; he's the last one. The other two passed away already."
"Oh…" She said in understanding. "They must be real old…" she concluded.
"Anyways," the blonde easterner said cheerfully, "Let's get going! I want to finish up our business with him before the competition starts!"
"Competition?" She asked inwardly.
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After twenty minutes of casually strolling through the grungy city streets, the couple approached a modest house in a simple neighborhood. Naruto knocked on the door nine times in rapid succession and it cracked open. A mirrored eye glared at the smiling man's face and the door shut again. Numerous locks being unlatched could be heard on the other side before the wooden door opened again.
"Please follow me, Uzi," addressed a soft-spoken young red-eyed man. He led the easterners to a room close to the back of the homely building as a goggled man shut the front door and relocked it. "Master Sünden will be with you shortly," he said as he left the room.
"Wow," said a seemingly impressed Naruto, "This is a real comfortable safe house." The two sat on a smaller couch and felt the fluffy cushions mold around them. His eyes immediately began to flutter as he was tempted with sleep.
"Did you not get enough sleep?" Hinata asked curiously, seeing as how they set up camp every night and got decent amounts of rest.
"Just tired from all the traveling…" His voice sounded far off. "I haven't stayed in any one place more than a week for the past few months."
"Gotchya." She knew that it was true; he moved around quite often.
Uzi fought a losing battle with his tiredness for several minutes and finally fell into a light slumber. The blue haired woman began to feel her eyelids become weighted as well when she felt a presence enter the room.
"Oh wow," said a warm calm voice, "I got two visitors at once. I must be getting popular." The voice released a small chuckle as Naruto woke up and Hinata turned to see the voice's owner.
The man was probably in his mid-forties; he had aged well, so accurately determining his age was that much more difficult. He had jet black hair that was slicked back, somehow amplifying the dulled crimson in his dark eyes. The subtle wrinkles of his face gave the impression of a gentle warmness not unlike that of a kind grandfather. His clothes were simple; a long dark grey coat neatly tucked into an aging pair of pants. The only thing unusual at all about the man was that his arms and legs were extensively wrapped in belts.
"Master Sünden!" Naruto shot up as he broke from sleep and gazed at his leader. "Good to see you again!"
"Good to see again as well, Naruto." He responded with a warm smile as he took a seat opposite his visitors. "And you," he referred to Hinata, "I don't think I've met you."
"I'm Hinata Hyuuga," she responded with a tone of respect towards his warm friendliness.
"Miss Hinata," he bowed his head slightly, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sünden, first master of the red-eyes."
"So Sünden," Naruto continued, "What's up? You wanted to see me about something?"
"Yes." His demeanor turned to that of a professional businessman. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my seal is beginning to wane. Very soon my life will come to a close and I'll need to find proper replacements for my…" His eyes darted towards Hinata for a split second. "…gifts."
Uzi nodded his head in understanding. "I'm sorry we'll be losing you so soon, I really am." Extra moisture built up in one eye seeking to become a tear. "You've done a lot for me and I've haven't been able to pay you back for it."
"Um…" Hinata hesitantly interrupted the two red-eyes. "I'm a bit lost, so could you fill me in on what's going on?"
"Of course, young lady," Sünden replied with humble cheerfulness. "When I was about four years old, there was a large cult that was attempting to create a utopia. They realized early on that for such a perfect place to exist, the people residing in such a world would also need to be perfect. Of course no one can claim that title, so they came up with a contingency plan."
"And that was…?"
"They would use a child as a scapegoat for all their sins."
The Hyuuga cocked her head in confusion. Sünden noticed and chuckled at her befuddlement.
"They decided to seal all their follower's sins into one person. They chose a child so that the scapegoat would never know what 'good' was to make a comparison with its current situation so it wouldn't be as unhappy, or so it could easily be killed, I'm not sure which."
The white-eyed bounty hunter made the connection. "Were you that child?"
"She's a smart girl, Naruto." He commented to the blond red-eye with a smirk. "You should hang onto her. That's right," he replied to her revelation. "I was that scapegoat. One day, all those thousands of people sealed all their sins into me," he parted his coat and lifted up his shirt to reveal a dull seal in the shape of an 'X'. "And since there is no such thing as a perfect human, their combined sins released themselves and consumed them all." He described the horrid scene with a matter-of-fact tone and an unchanging kindness in his face.
The eastern woman was taken aback by his calmness about such an event. "But… what does that have anything to do with you being a red-eyes?"
"Everything," he continued. "When that cult of thousands was killed, everyone knew about their little experiment. I received treatment similar to Naruto during his childhood. In a desperate attempt to make friends, I used my power to create an infection: the crimson eyes."
"What? How would that have…"
"Our red eyes allow us to communicate on a basic level," Naruto clarified the explanation. "Our minds are somewhat connected, so everyone understands how the others feel. Does that make any sense?"
"Sort of."
"I apologize for the lack of clarity about our abilities," Sünden interrupted, "But there's really no way to describe it if you're not one of us."
"That's okay," Hinata wondered why the leader of the red-eyes was apologizing for not being able to deliver a clear and concise explanation, but she accepted it anyway. "Naruto mentioned there were other leaders. What happened to them?"
"Ah, Lisa and Juku… my oldest friends…" Sünden's face adopted a distant stare. "Lisa finally shouldered too many responsibilities and was killed in the line of duty, and Juku perished from this world while he sealed the gates of hell."
"What?" She didn't quite comprehend that last part.
He met her question with a sad smile. "He was a demon slayer. A group of powerful demons attempted to force open a gate between our world and theirs. He entered their realm to close it off. None of us actually saw him die, but we can't feel his presence anymore."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Miss Hinata. Anyway, the seal that holds in my power is beginning to… Gah!!" His sentence was cut short as he shot out of his chair and doubled over in pain.
"Master Sünden!!" Naruto cried as several attendants burst into the room. All the red-eyes present crowded around their leader as he gasped in pain. For a few on and off moments, his normally warm demeanor was traded off with indescribable feelings of every extreme human emotion ranging from hatred to lust. After a minute or so, Sünden's breathing slowed and he sat back in his chair, winded at his ordeal.
"As you just witnessed," he spoke in between deep breaths, "The seal holding in all that power is weakening. Soon enough, it won't be able to hold anything back and I'll be destroyed as the power releases itself. Naruto," he addressed the still-worried blond red-eye, "I don't think this power should only be divided between the three apprentices."
"What do you mean?" Uzi asked. "They're the strongest of us aside from you."
"You forgot about yourself," he pointed out with a smile. "But I appreciate your humility. I think the power is simply too strong to be held by just those three without having their lives shortened like mine."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that when my time finally comes, I want you to be a fourth recipient of this power."
"What?!" Both Naruto and Hinata yelped in surprise.
"With its strength split four ways, it will be significantly weaker. You may have no personal training from the original masters, but your housed entity would be more than enough to keep this power in check, and vice versa."
The Hyuuga looked at Naruto to see his reaction. After an eternity of ten seconds, he finally reached a conclusion.
"Thank you for the honor, Master Sünden."
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"Naruto," Hinata looked upon her old crush, "Why did you accept? I don't mean to sound rude, but this is a big deal isn't it?"
"It is," he replied with a smile. "Master Sünden is the one who helped me keep the damn fox from taking over. That's why I can use so much of its energy without losing my mind."
The Hyuuga recalled the frightening incident back in the red-eye city. "But didn't you 'lose your mind' back in Hive City?"
"I lost my cool, and that lead to me losing more control. Trust me; it used to be much worse."
She nodded even though she still worried about him. "He talks about it as if it's nothing, but it's so much to deal with at once…"
"Hey, you want to get something to eat before the contest starts?"
"You bet. Wait, what contest?"
"Rock contest," he launched into a brief breakdown. "It's where a bunch of bands face off one after another and a winner is picked by the audience. It's really a lot of fun!"
"Gotchya." She smiled; his enthusiasm was still contagious after all these years. She was about to strike up another conversation when she noticed a group of four people clad in black approach them.
"Naruto Uzumaki?" Asked the lead man.
Uzi snapped into alertness. "Yeah… who are you?"
"Sasuke Uchiha."
Good times. Still likin' the story? There's plenty more in store! (I mean, c'mon, they've yet to meet Itachi and the fish man)
