(Thanks for coming back to read the ninth chapter of the series. Jando Hyuga to graduate the academy on multiple occasions, will hard work and dedication enable him to become stronger? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
A few weeks later Jando is training hard somewhere in the woods. The sun is shining brightly overhead and the weather is the perfect for a day outside. The clearing the Hyuga boy is practicing in is just off the path of one of the lesser used trails around the village. The grass is packed down to the ground as many ninja often come to this area to train. The surrounding trees are numerous but not that close together, giving an occupant a good view of anyone approaching. Jando smoothly flows through the different stances of the Gentle Fist Style, trying to get his body into the perfect position as he squares off against an imaginary opponent.
Kuroda is sitting high up in the branches of a nearby tree watching the training and munching on an apple. "The technique overall is not that complicated," thinks Kuroda as he spies, "However, without the Byakugan I would have no idea at all of what effect I am having on the enemy. I was thinking I might add it to my repertoire, but there is really no point if I can't use it effectively." He lies back and starts to stare up at the clouds when he hears two girls talking very loudly.
The girls seem to be unaware that anyone else is in the area. "These are great flowers," says a young blond girl as she travels along the dirt path.
"Yeah, they are perfect," her red-haired companion agrees.
"Do you think he will like them?" the first girl squeals.
"Oh yeah, totally," assures the second.
Jando tries to ignore their voices and focus on his training. He lashes out viciously at a tree as if the violent action will drown out their voices.
Kuroda is still lying high up on the tree branch, deep in thought. He makes virtually no sounds at all, and his presence in the area continues to go undetected.
The girls keep up their conversation becoming louder and chattier as they get closer.
Jando becomes more and more irritated by their high-pitched voices, but tries to keep his concentration by focusing on his techniques.
The girls are now extremely close by when the blond one comments with stars in her eyes, "I just love Shun so much. He is so talented and so cool."
"I just know he will love your flowers," says the red-head, "He will definitely go out with you."
"I know it is going to be amazing. He is the most talented Genin in the village," gushes the blonde, "No other Genin even comes close!"
"Damn that guy getting all the glory and praise," mutters Jando as he clenches his fists in frustration, "He has it so easy because he is naturally gifted. He doesn't have to work half as hard as I do!" He angrily moves into a complex set of moves: Kicking, punching, sliding, striking, making the sweat drip more profusely from his forehead. He attempts another step, but his feet tangle and he falls flat on his face. He lies there for a second gathering his breath until he gets up to his knees and pounds his fist on the ground in frustration.
The fangirls move away and their voices slowly fade off, but then some more voices start coming through the woods from the opposite direction. As they get closer Jando starts to recognize them and when they step into the open space he sees his suspicions were confirmed and the voices indeed belong to Yui Yamanaka and Shun Kashi. They seem to be having a polite, but private conversation yet Yui is the one who is more enthusiastic about it. Jando is mulling over the words of the girls and the unfairness of it all. The appearance of the boy they were speaking of is just too much and he totally loses it. In his anger Jando stands up and yells, "Hey, Shun, get over here - I challenge you to a match!"
Raising an eyebrow in surprise by the sudden confrontation Shun turns to his challenger responds, "Look, I'm not really in the mood to fight today and besides I am pretty busy at the moment." He turns his back and tries to walk away.
"Get over here, you coward!" yells Jando as he takes a step forward.
The dark-skinned boy with the afro freezes in place. "What did you say?" responds Shun, the dark shadows dancing in his as slowly he turns his head around.
"I called you a coward!" Jando jeers, walking to meet him, "Now fight me!"
Kuroda drops down from the tree and lands in between them. "Stop this Jando, you are not strong enough to take on Shun yet," he warns.
"Kuroda, when did you get here?" questions Yui, jumping a little at his sudden appearance.
"He has been here the whole time," comments Shun dryly.
"Get out of my way, Kuroda," orders Jando, "I am going to take this guy down!"
"I don't have any interest in fighting someone of your level," states Shun resuming his cool and calm attitude, "You should listen to your teammate and challenge me when you get stronger. Come on Yui let's get out of here." He and Yui turn and start to walk away again.
"Don't walk away from me!" yells Jando as he pushes past Kuroda and takes out a kunai and throws it at the back of Shun's head. Shun quickly turns and easily catches the kunai in between his fingers.
He twirls it around and hurls it back at Jando saying, "You should be more careful with that. If you just throw it around you could hit someone like Yui on accident. Now listen to Kuroda's advice and step down."
The tone of Shun's voice pushes Jando to the edge. He activates his Byakugan and charges as Shun disrespectfully turns his back again. He lunges forward with his right hand, Shun senses the attack and tries to turn around but Jando ends up landing a few strikes to his chest. Shun lowers his body level down closer to the ground and lands a lightning-fast shot to the gut. Then immediately follows it up with a heel kick that connects right into Jando's chin and sends him flying. Jando hits the ground and tumbles backwards a bit until he regains his composure and stabilizes himself in a three point-stance.
In the meantime Shun has been making hand signs for a Jutsu. "You wanted a fight with me, then I will show you a real fight," says Shun, his eyes raging with fire, "Leaf Tornado Jutsu!"
Kuroda leaps back up into the trees, sensing the incoming attack. As he lands on a branch he notices some of the leaves beginning to drift away from their branches and float towards Jando.
"What kind of Jutsu is this?" wonders Jando as his Byakugan allows him to see the chakra starting to gather around him. With Jando as the central point the leaves start to swirl around, moving faster and faster while constricting to a smaller area.
Kuroda observes as leaves whirl so fast that there is a tornado of green from the leaves and white from Jando's clothes. Then a deep red color is added to the mix before all of the leaves suddenly drop harmlessly to the ground. Jando is revealed and his clothes are torn to shreds and his body is covered in blood.
He starts to fall to the ground, but Kuroda quickly appears beside him and steps in to catch him before he falls down. Yui shrieks, horrified by the sight of so much blood. She looks at Shun in disgust, and then runs off towards the village to get help.
"You went too far this time Shun," says Kuroda blandly, as he place his fingers on Jando's neck to check for a pulse.
"I was just teaching him a lesson," replies Shun forcefully, "He should not attack a stronger ninja especially if that spares him in the first place."
"Still, you could have just roughed him up a bit, you didn't have to go this far," Kuroda points out.
"This was faster and more effective," states Shun calmly, "Besides I didn't even use the full power of the Jutsu." Shun sticks his hands back in his pockets and walks off without another word.
"Not full power? Very interesting," thinks Kuroda, his eyes shining with new light, as he picks up Jando and starts to carry him to the Konoha hospital.
"Whoa, what happened to him?" exclaims a nurse when Kuroda walks through the hospital entrance with a blood-soaked boy in his arms.
"It was a training accident," explains Kuroda placidly, "Luckily I was close by and found him only a short while after it happened. But he does need immediate care."
"Put him on this stretcher," orders another nurse running up, "We will treat him right away." Two more nurses rush up and after Kuroda lays Jando on the stretcher they start to take him away.
One of the nurses jumps onto the stretcher and kneels on top of Jando saying, "Mystical Palm Technique!" Kuroda observes as a green aura surrounds her hand and then she places it near a cut in his chest and it starts to heal. His eyes light up and he watches intently as the skin stitches itself back together.
Kuroda is leaning against one of the walls on the second level of the Konoha Hospital waiting for a certain woman to pass by. He has already memorized her daily route and knows that she will be passing by in a few moments unless some medical emergency occurs. "Just as expected," he thinks as he sees the woman approaching.
She is a very plain-looking young woman in her early twenties. She has her brown hair tied up in a neat ponytail, and wears a standard formfitting white nurse's uniform. Kuroda pretends to be reading an old romance novel as she approaches. "Excuse me miss, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a moment," says Kuroda politely as she passes by.
"Oh, did you need something?" she inquires as she turns to face him with a smile.
"Well, I've been feeling a little strange lately, and I have developed a strange rash in an umm... private area," he explains pretending to be shy and thankful that he practice hard to perfect blushing on command, "It is kind of embarrassing and I don't want anybody to find out. So I was wondering if you could examine me in a discreet manor."
"Oh, yes, I understand completely," she says becoming a little red in the face.
"So, are you free right now? Is there some place nearby where you could take a look at my rash?" asks Kuroda.
"Oh yes, there is a room right down the hall that we can use. Follow me please," says the nurse as she begins to lead the way.
"Perfect, she is even headed to the room that I predicted," thinks Kuroda as he silently follows. As they walk the hallway seems to be completely empty save for them. The walls are in a soft blue-green color with all the wooden doors and trimmings in a dark brown. Most of the rooms on this level are for patients with serious illnesses or those who don't get a lot of visitors so most of the doors are closed. Kuroda glances out the open windows and sociably comments, "It is a wonderful day outside, isn't it?"
"Yes, I'll be going out for a picnic lunch with some of the other nurses later," she replies cheerfully.
"Well, that sounds pleasant, it is always good to take a break from work and enjoy the nice weather," he responds.
They make it to the end of the hallway and then turn right into a small corridor. They walk a few meters further and then the nurse opens the last door on the left. "In here please," she requests.
Kuroda walks inside and looks at the glass sliding door with a large smirk. The nurse closes and locks the door and then walks over to close the drapes. "A little more privacy is needed I think," she says, "If you will please disrobe so I can take a look at the rash..."
"Uhh, what happened?" says the nurse as she slowly opens her eyes and puts her hand up to her throbbing head. When her vision becomes clear she sees the young man from earlier standing in front of her, but she is confused because they seem to be outside now. Suddenly the ground drops out from under her and then her mind becomes sharp again and she is able to take in her full surroundings. She is hovering over the middle of a large canyon, and can see the sharp jagged rocks down far below. The only thing keeping her up is the boy's grip on the collar of her dress as she dangles over the windy canyon. The person holding her is standing on the long branch of a tree that sticks out to the middle of the canyon. He is dressed in black and seems to be contemplating something.
"Well, that was slightly convenient and informational, but unexpected," thinks Kuroda, "She passed out for a while after I got her here. I guess her body wasn't able to handle that many consecutive transferences with almost no break in between. Either that or...anyways I'll do some testing later with Sakura, but for now I will take care not to do it for safety reasons."
"Do you know who I am?" asks Kuroda, finally seeming to remember that he is holding the nurse in his hand.
"You're...the boy from the hospital," she says in a frightened tone.
"Not the answer I was looking for, but it will do," Kuroda comments, "Now, what is your name?"
The nurse is too scared to give a response. A heavy gust of wind blows and violently ruffles the nurse's dress. Her hat is blown from her head, but Kuroda easily plucks it out of the air with his left hand before it falls out of reach. He tucks it into the back of his pants and says, "I don't know if you have noticed yet, but it is a long way down to the bottom of this canyon and on the bottom sit a thousand jagged rocks. Even if you were a skilled Jonin it would be nearly impossible to survive such a fall. Now I am strong, but even I have my limits. The more time you waste by not answering my questions the more the chances of me accidentally dropping you. So please tell me, what is your name?"
"My name is...Emi," she stutters.
"See, now wasn't that easy?" he replies, "I am Kuroda, it is nice to meet you Emi. How are you feeling?"
"Scared," she stammers.
"The natural reaction. It means you have regained full consciousness and don't seem to be suffering any mental damage," says Kuroda.
"Why are you doing this?" Emi asks, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.
"Ahh, the exact thing I was going to talk about next," he says, "You, Emi, have something I need."
"Something you need?" she questions.
"Do you value your life?" Kuroda inquires.
"I don't want to die," she pleads, "I haven't done anything to you. Please, why are you doing this?"
"You have something that I need. When I determine that I need something I will do nearly anything in order to get it," he says fiercely, his eyes showing the truthfulness of his statement.
"What do you need?" she asks, becoming increasingly hysterical, "I'm not very wealthy and I don't have many possessions, what could I possibly have that you need?"
"You misunderstand. I don't want any object you have, I want your skill. I was the one who brought in the Hyuga boy earlier this week and I watched as the staff healed all of those nasty cuts," explains Kuroda, "I was watching very carefully the entire time and I noticed that while you weren't the head healer or the best healer you were very talented. In order to achieve my goal, I may need medical treatment and thus I determined that I needed your abilities."
"So you have some sort of Jutsu to steal my abilities away from me?" she asks.
"Again, you misunderstand," he says, "I don't want to take your abilities away from you; I want you to use them for me. I will undoubtedly get into situations where I will be injured and need to conceal my injuries from the elders of the village. It would be very bothersome to have them question me every time I appear with an inexplicable injury. Thus I will require someone who can competently and discreetly heal any wounds I sustain. And that person I am hoping will be you."
"I don't understand, why are you doing all of this? You could have just asked me," she says.
"Don't be so simple-minded. I can't simply rely on the ability of even my most trusted friend to not tell the elders what I am up to. Additionally, I can't count on anyone's ability to resist the village interrogation unit. The only way for absolute secrecy is to get my allies to sign over their lives to me," he explains.
"I don't understand," says Emi utterly confused and terrified.
"I will put it in simple terms then," says Kuroda harshly, "There is a contract in my back pocket. Either sign it or I will let go and you will fall to your death."
"Please no," she pleads, "I am just..." Kuroda lets her clothes slip a bit out of his hands, but makes sure not to let go completely.
"Next time I won't hold on," he warns coldly, "Choose now: Live or die!"
"I want to live!" she screams as tears flow from her eyes, "I'll do anything you want."
"Hold out your right palm," he orders. She hesitantly complies, but when she does Kuroda takes out a kunai with his left hand and in a lightning fast motion creates a small cut on her palm that starts to leak blood.
She winces from the pain, but doesn't make a sound. Kuroda stores his kunai away and then reaches into his back pocket to get out the contract scroll. He unrolls it in front of her and orders, "Sign your name at the bottom."
Emi curls her hand into a fist and then reaches out with a bloody finger to sign her name. As soon as she is finished another heavy gust of wind comes along and threatens to tear the contract and her out of Kuroda's hands. He is able to hold on until the wind subsides and quickly rolls up the contract and tucks it back into his back pocket.
"Take my hand," he says reaching out towards her. She hastily grabs hold and he yanks her back on to the tree branch. Then he picks her up by knocking her knees out from under her and runs the length of the tree branch before jumping to the ground and setting her down on her feet.
"So, what happens now?" she asks, relieved to be back on the ground but still wary of the dangerous and dark boy.
"Now you will need to disrobe," he says. Knowing that her life now belongs to him Emi silently reaches down and pulls her dress up over her head. "I appreciate that you are being so cooperative. It really is a smart thing to do as I don't believe you will want to experience what happens if you don't comply," says Kuroda, "Oh and remember to take everything off and when you are done please lie down on your back."
Emi silently follows the instructions, still shaky and reeling from her near-fall, recognizing the boy before her is a very dangerous person and he could choose to kill her at any second. Once she is down on the grass Kuroda kneels next to her. He places his hands a few inches above her body and begins to concentrate. He quickly finds the spot he is looking for right below her belly button and takes out a kunai. "Please lay still, this will only hurt a bit," he orders. He lightly cuts into her skin and carefully carves a special seal into her body.
Once the process is complete he stores his kunai away, makes hand signs, and starts funneling chakra into the seal. The seal glows a deep yellow color and then dims until it becomes invisible and it looks like no cutting ever occurred. Kuroda stands and says, "You may redress now."
Emi runs a hand over her belly, eyes wide in astonishment and comments, "I have never seen that kind of healing Jutsu before."
"It is not a healing Jutsu it is just a convenient side effect of the seal," explains Kuroda, "Please hurry and redress we will need to return to the hospital quickly so as not to arouse suspicion. Oh, and heal the cut on your palm."
Emi turns her back to try and retain any dignity she still has and slips her undergarments back on. Then she slides back into her nurse outfit, her fingers still trembling as she fumbles to hook buttons into the correct holes. Once redressed a green light emanates out of her palm as she heals her cut.
When finished Kuroda has her wipe the blood on her dress before she tidies up her hair. As he hands her back her hat he says, "If anyone asks the blood is from the rash of mine you were looking at."
"Okay, I got it," she replies.
"Now, if you will please do me the honor of giving me a hug," he requests. Remembering his threat of pain if she doesn't comply, but still frightened of him she slowly walks over and embraces him. "Hold on tight and take a deep breath," he says as he grips her securely and looks for the special kunai he left in a tree near the forest line. Their bodies vanish from view, and he uses his secret technique to retrace his leaps from his carefully placed kunai so they arrive back in the small hospital room they came from.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Jando's misfortune has turned into an opportunity for Kuroda. He now has another ninja under his control, but just what are these blood contracts? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)