I don't own Naruto, etc.
I stirred slowly; I was scared of the possibility of a repeat of what had happened when I had been trapped in that barrier. It looked as though we hadn't moved away from the river –the only difference was the fact that this time, food had been laid inside the barrier. And it was night. I sat quietly.
"Looks like you've learnt your lesson," the Jonin commented from the other side. I didn't look up –my head was aching and I didn't think I could take another blast of whatever it was that they had hit me with.
As I ate, there was an explosion from the far side of the barrier. Someone was attacking. Then the barrier crumpled as whoever had been casting it was knocked unconscious. I was suddenly free, and I didn't waste a move as I dodged the whipping of a Water Style whip that the Jonin who had been taunting me had released.
"Hazuki!" I heard Kai's voice, and I was relieved that they were alright. There was a flash of motion and then Hayama-sensei was in front of me, forcing the Jonin to pull back. I was so relieved. I had feared the worst when I had seen that there were two enemy ninja holding me –I was glad that that fear had proven to be wrong.
The Jonin retreated across the river, gritting his teeth at being outnumbered and completely outclassed by the opposing Jonin.
"The Cloud won't forget this," he warned before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"I'm glad you're alright," Hayama-sensei commented, sheathing his blade and placing a hand on my shoulders. He noticed the blood on my knuckles. "Let's have a look at those."
I learnt that he had managed to injure the Jonin who had been holding up the barrier in their first battle, but in the process had lost track of the second one –the one who had struck at us. When the first had retreated, he had headed in our direction and found Kai and Osamu unconscious. From that, he had deduced that I had been taken and when the two had awoken, they had confirmed it. Since then, they had followed the traces of their presence, located us and planned how to set me free.
My burnt hands were treated and then bandaged in clean white cloth. As Hayama-sensei did so, I saw his eyes widen in surprise before it returned to its usual calm when we made eye contact.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
In response, he angled his katana so that it reflected my eyes... especially my left one.
"What the hell?" I commented in shock. I drew my own katana to study it more closely. My right eye was... well, the normal colour and shape. But my left one had changed completely –it was dark as the night, with no pupil. There were blackened veins around the lids as though ink had been put into the blood veins. It looked evil, demonic. That demon...
Then the black seemed to fade and my eye had returned to normal as though nothing had happened.
"It's from the inner demon in you, isn't it?" Hayama-sensei asked as I replaced my katana. I looked at him in surprise –how did he know about that? "Lord Hokage mentioned it to me when he appointed me to be your sensei. We're going to have to work out how that power works now –you have the makings of a splendid ninja in you."
He wasn't looking at me as though I was a monster –it was as though I had simply learnt a new jutsu. It was a relief, to be perfectly honest.
We kept travelling, completing our mission in relative peace as we finished laying the traps and reached the port. Along the way, I experimented with the eye that I had obviously gotten from the demon nestling in my soul. It turned out that it needed chakra in order to open, and when I got it open, it turned out to activate some sort of paralysis jutsu that even Osamu, a trained genjutsu specialist, or Hayama-sensei who was a seasoned veteran soldier of the Leaf wasn't able to break out of.
There was a side effect, though –it used up a heck of a burst of chakra –so much that it left me feeling dizzy. It wasn't a secret that I would want to reveal too many times. It was like having a hungry little monster that adored munching on my chakra stuck to my head.
I discovered that there was a more discreet power that had come from the demon's agreement to stop working against me. It had first happened when we had passing through a ravine –I had sensed that there was trouble up ahead. A wave of emotions had swirled around in my head –dark thoughts and intents. I had smelt something strong and iron-like –blood. When we got to the ravine's exit, we had found the remains of a caravan, bandits and bodies. It was a bizarre sensation –it was as though I had picked up on the intention of the bandits from a mile away, as well as the chaos of the situation and pain of the victims that had perished in the conflict. It wasn't a pleasant feeling –but in terms of allowing us to avoid danger, it might actually prove useful.
Once we had been relieved, we headed back to the village.
And that's the final chapter of this arc done. I hope you enjoyed it!