(Thanks for coming back to read the next chapter of the series! Kuroda has been assigned a new squad and a new mission. What will happen their first time out? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
In the morning Hitomi wakes up to see Kuroda still staring at her with his creepy smile. "Would you like some breakfast?" he asks, offering her some food.
"Thanks," she cautiously accepts. Murogi wakes up shortly after and Hitomi whispers to him, "I don't think Kuroda slept at all."
"What makes you say that?" asks Murogi.
"He hasn't budged an inch since last night," she says.
"Yeah, but he doesn't look tired at all," responds Murogi.
"Kuroda, how come you didn't wake me to take over the night watch?" she asks.
"There wasn't any need," he explains, "I stood watch all night."
"You mean you didn't sleep at all?" questions Hitomi.
"How are you supposed to be in top form for the mission if you didn't get any rest?" asks Murogi.
"I don't sleep," he replies.
"At all?" she questions.
"Not a wink," he replies.
"Well, you could have told me this sooner," comments Murogi, "It would have been helpful to know."
"See, I told you something was weird about him," whispers Hitomi.
When they are all finished eating they resume their course. Hitomi continues to keep an eye on Kuroda while they make their way to the suspected bandit hideout. They pass through a big open field about halfway to the destination, and when they enter the new forest Hitomi notices that Kuroda is no longer following them. "Hold up," she calls to Murogi.
"What is it?" he asks. "Look around. Kuroda has gone missing," she says.
"He might have seen something we didn't and stopped to take a look. Let's go back and check it out," suggests Murogi.
"Okay," she says. They carefully retrace their movements and see Kuroda standing motionless in the middle of the field.
They split up and circle the perimeter to see if anyone has set up a trap and Kuroda was caught in it. When they find nothing they approach Kuroda warily. Murogi walks toward him and asks, "What is the problem?"
Kuroda replies, "I suspect that you are probably an excellent ninja and a nice person, but I regret that the Hokage chose you for this mission."
Murogi questions, "What? What does that mean?"
Kuroda explains, "I am sorry, but you can no longer participate in this mission." Now Murogi and Hitomi are both very confused.
"What are you talking about, Kuroda?" asks Hitomi.
"What is going on?" asks Murogi as he steps on something.
He looks down a moment to see it is a kunai with some paper wrapped around it. "A bomb!" yells Murogi as he dives to get away. Kuroda instantly performs the hand signs for his Flying Thunder God Technique. He appears behind Murogi and slits his throat with a kunai. Murogi falls to the ground choking on his own blood. Hitomi is stunned, but instinctively runs over to help Murogi. She tries to cover his wound, but he throws her out of the way when he sees Kuroda throw shuriken at her. He is hit in the chest by the weapons and quickly falls over and dies.
Hitomi weeps heavily, and stands up taking out a kunai. "You bastard!" she says stalking towards Kuroda with a look of sheer hatred on her face, but at the same time also mourning over the death of Murogi, "I cannot forgive anyone who would betray their comrades. I will not stand by when a traitor is exposed. I have committed my life to restoring the Uchiha name, and one of my duties is to make sure that all traitors are brought to justice. Before I kill you for actions, just tell me why, why have you betrayed our village?"
Kuroda states, "I am truly sorry that Murogi had to die. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"So you're not going to tell me then? No matter, I can figure it out after I kill you," she threatens.
"If you truly wish to complete your goal then you shouldn't hold back," warns Kuroda.
"Time for you to die, traitor!" she yells as she rushes at him.
"Come and get me," he replies with a sadistic smirk. She is instantly in front of him slashing a kunai across his face. But he reacts in time to drop down below the blade and slam his fist into her gut. As she bends over from the blow he slams into her chin with a right handed uppercut. Then he wraps his right leg around and tucks it into his body and then thrusts his heel into her gut. She slides back a few meters and then falls to one knee grabbing her midsection.
"Calm yourself," he taunts, "Get in control of your emotions. You are not going to beat me flailing your arms around like a wild animal."
"Shut up!" she yells, glaring up at him with hate-filled eyes, "I'm going to bring you to justice no matter what it takes." She dashes forward and flings her kunai right at his face. Kuroda tilts his head to the right and then grabs her left leg as it kicks toward his ear. Seeing that her enemy has her leg trapped in the air Hitomi decides to hop up and aim a kick with her other leg. Kuroda easily catches her right leg with his free hand and now holds her upside down.
Hitomi does a full length sit-up planning to smash her fist into his nose when she reaches the top. Kuroda has other plans however and drops to his knees and bends backwards. Hitomi tries sit down on top of his chest so she can hold him down and slit his throat, but he slips out from under her. Kuroda promptly places his hands on the ground, with a bit of magic flexibility, swings his legs under him and goes for a double horse kick. Out of the extreme corner of her eye she sees the attack coming towards her back so she plants her hands on the ground and lifts up the rest of her body so that Kuroda's kicks go under her back. Then she pushes off the ground, somehow getting enough strength to launch her into the air. After a triple flip and a twist she falls back down to the earth and slams her right fist into the spot where Kuroda was a few moments earlier.
Hitomi starts to look around for her target when his fist crashes into her ribs. She is thrown across the ground and tumbles for a while before she regains her feet and stops sliding back. She puts her arms to her side trying to determine the extent of the damage while she catches her breath. "Looks like nothing is broken," she thinks, "Damn, this kid is fast. No wonder he was able to take out Murogi. I need to be more careful." Hitomi sees a flash of clothing in the corner of her eye and exclaims, "What? To the right?" But as she turns her head, her eyes flick to the left. Kuroda appears there pulling his right arm back very far before launching his fist into her jaw.
She flies across the field, tumbling over for a while until she comes to a stop lying face down. Kuroda makes his way over to her, grabs her hair and pulls her to her feet. Yet she was only playing injured and knocks his arm out of the way with her own. Then she thrusts upward with a dangerously high right knee. Sensing that it won't hit its target she pulls it back down and then uses the force to add momentum as she turns for a jumping back spin kick. As Kuroda ducks under the kick he sees the kunai in her left hand following the kick and slashing down to his left. He swings his right arm around and grabs her wrists and forces her attack to go off course. Then he leaps backwards a few meters and moves into a defensive stance.
"Impressive, but you will have to use more than Taijutsu to defeat me," states Kuroda.
"Damn, he is too good. I can't rely on my Taijutsu, so I will have to use my Ninjutsu," thinks Hitomi. She quickly performs some hand signs and shouts, "Have a taste of this! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." A flaming hot ball of red, yellow, and orange explodes out of her mouth. Kuroda is able to jump away in time for the attack to miss.
"Fireball Jutsu, not surprising. Most Chunin in our village know it, however it is the trademark Jutsu of the Uchiha," thinks Kuroda, "But that Jutsu has a limited range, so if I stay at a distance it won't be any trouble."
He takes out some shuriken and chucks them at her. She dodges and thinks, "So you're keeping your distance. Good plan, but your strategy won't work for long." She performs a different set of hand signs and yells, "Fire Style: Firebullet Jutsu." Small balls of fire shoot out from her mouth in rapid succession and at great velocity.
Kuroda is barely able to get out of the way, because he is taken aback by the attack's range. "I have never heard of that Jutsu before," he thinks as he runs away, "She quadrupled her range and vastly increased the velocity of the attack. Also she can fire so many of them such great speed. She might just be an Uchiha. Time to get a closer look."
He increases his speed and is able to stay ahead of the attacks, and makes his way closer to Hitomi. "I don't know how you are able to dodge my attack, but now you are too close and can't avoid my Jutsu," thinks Hitomi. When he is close enough Hitomi changes her attack and uses the Fireball Jutsu again. The giant ball of flame erupts from her mouth and heads straight for Kuroda. Instead of dodging he decides to try out his new Jutsu. He performs the Earth Release: Earth Shore Return and erects a giant stone wall from the ground. The flames crash into the wall trying to burn it into a crisp, but they eventually die down and reveal no noteworthy damage. Hitomi's attack is completely blocked by Kuroda's new defensive technique.
"I knew that technique was worth learning. Good thing I had some free time to get the hang of it," thinks Kuroda, "It is extremely effective. I should remember to thank Hoshi for getting that scroll for me." He runs up the face of the wall and does a flip and lands neatly on top.
"Did I get him?" wonders Hitomi as she waits to see the result of her attack, but when the smoke clears she is horrified to see Kuroda isn't hurt at all. "Crap, he made a barrier to block my attack!" thinks Hitomi. Kuroda throws two shuriken at her, but she does a back hand spring to avoid them. He uses a burst of speed to run down the wall and over to her, and he lands a knee right in her chin as she was attempting to land. Then he lands a round of punches in her stomach, and then sends her flying with a kick across the face.
She smashes into a tree trunk and crumples to the ground. She struggles to stand, but then Kuroda arrives next to her and uses his Body Freeze Jutsu to paralyze her with fear. Kuroda starts to say, "I must have been mistaken about you. You are not strong enough. Your body is weak, so is your will if that is the best demonstration of your powers. You said you wanted to change the fate of the Uchiha clan, to restore honor to that name. But you are too weak to do it, so I will put an end to the Uchiha clan."
Hitomi defiantly yells, "No! I'm not ready to give up. I won't let you destroy my dreams of restoring honor to my clan."
Hitomi searches deep within herself and is able to activate her Sharingan. Her eyes turn a lighter red and gain two black tomoe around the pupil. She uses her ability to reverse his Genjutsu and put it on him. "Yes, there it is. She does possess the legendary Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. She is a true heir to the Uchiha name," Kuroda thinks. He easily builds up and releases some chakra to cancel out the Genjutsu. "Now, before I obtain her, let's see if she has mastered her ability," he thinks as he jumps away.
Hitomi notes to herself, "He dispersed the Genjutsu like it was nothing. I won't waste anymore of my chakra using that type of attack. At least now my Taijutsu should be more effective though." Kuroda flies at her and attacks with his own Taijutsu. He watches in slow motion as she ducks under his punch and shifts to the side and counters with a roundhouse kick. He attempts to lower his elbow to block the kick from hitting his ribs, but she alters her attack midway. She tucks her knee into her body then explodes outwards and strikes her heel into his abdomen. Kuroda is able to move his arms in front of his body and shield himself from the full force of the attack.
He slides back in the grass but immediately dashes forward to counter attack. About three feet away he jumps up for a flying back spin kick. Hitomi drops into a split and tracks Kuroda as he flies over her. She falls forward and then pushes herself up into a twist flip. While twisting she is able to throw a trio of shuriken at her enemy. Kuroda lands and immediately turns around taking out a kunai that aids him in successfully deflecting the shuriken. But once the third shuriken is out of the way Hitomi is on top of him clutching his wrist. She squeezes hard enough that he is forced to drop the weapon. Then her leg comes up attempting to land some body shots. His left palm comes out to block her kicks while his right hand loops around hers to free him from her grip.
Hitomi anticipates his move and thrusts her right palm into to his chest to push him back a few feet. Then she leaps forward aiming a flying knee aimed at his chest. Kuroda rotates both his arms around and combines them together to block the knee with the palms. She is prepared for this however and launches a powerful punch at his face. He slips his head to the side to avoid it while moving his hands under her knee and the lifting up and launching her into the air. She lands a few yards away and shoots off into a hard sprint, circling around him like a prowling wolf waiting for an opening to strike at its prey.
Kuroda withdraws a kunai and grips it tightly in his right hand. Then he reinforces it with his left hand and moves into a squared stance while holding the kunai just above his right knee. "So her speed has slightly increased but her reactionary capabilities have drastically improved," thinks Kuroda as he analyzes her abilities, "Exactly in line with what my research said. However I'm not even going full out yet. Is that the limit of the sharingan or has she yet to fully master it. Well, I guess, I will find out soon." Hitomi charges in head on, and when he thrusts forward with the knife she ducks low to the ground. Then she somehow gets her hands under his wrists and thrusts them upwards causing him to release the kunai and send it flying off into space.
Hitomi is now able to read Kuroda's attacks and effectively counter his moves. "I can see your moves! I can see all of your moves!" she announces. She kicks him in the abdomen and forces him back several meters. Then, with an insane speed, she performs an intricate series of hand signs. When completed she yells, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Missile."
An intense line of fire shoots out at Kuroda. "Another Fireball Jutsu? No, crap, this attack is more powerful, and has a longer range," thinks Kuroda as he attempts to dodge it. He does several back handsprings and then a back flip with a twist that puts him up in the tree. The fire attack still follows him as he jumps from branch to branch trying to outrun it. In the end the burning hot explosion of fire catches up to him, and he is forced to use a Substitution Jutsu to escape.
"Substitution! Good idea, but I can see. I can see everything. You are over there!" she shouts pointing to his hiding spot, and then follows it with a Firebullet Jutsu to force him out of hiding.
As he abandons his hiding place she shoots out her mini fireballs at him. This time her attacks land in front of him, and he has to increase his speed in order to avoid them. "How? How is he moving so fast? Even with my Sharingan I can barely track him. Where did he suddenly get all of this speed from?" thinks Hitomi. Kuroda makes his way towards her so that he can attack directly. Hitomi anticipates, "He is trying to get close again. But if I try to use my Fireball Jutsu again he will just block it with his earth wall. Fine, then I will just have to use my most powerful Ninjutsu." She performs a long and complicated series of hand signs. Kuroda uses this time to get closer, but before he can attack she unleashes another giant wave of fire from her mouth. Kuroda once again uses the Earth Release: Earth Shore Return to defend himself.
However Hitomi uses her most powerful Ninjutsu, the Fire Dragon Jutsu. The flames bend and twist around the wall and come at Kuroda from above and around the sides. They converge on him and smash together, resulting in a giant explosion that even melts the earth wall. Kuroda uses his Headhunter Jutsu to escape the blast and appear a few yards away on the other side of the wall. Hitomi is now breathing heavily and showing signs of exhaustion. "He dug a tunnel to escape the flames. Damn, he is good. I don't know how much longer I can last, but I must avenge Murogi," thinks Hitomi.
Kuroda uses the opportunity to attack her directly with Taijutsu. Hitomi tries to defend herself with her Sharingan, but Kuroda attacks at a higher speed than previously. Hitomi is unable to track his movements. He runs circles around her and she is barely even able to distinguish his body from the mass of blur. He darts in and shoves his right elbow into her gut, and as she bends over from the blow he smashes his right fist into her face. Then as she recoils backwards he drops to the ground and does a spin trip that hits the back of her legs. As she falls down he stands and goes back down smashing another elbow into her gut. She rolls over on the ground clutching her stomach.
That is when Kuroda grabs her hair and drags her back onto her feet. He lets her go and aims a punch at her face, but she is able to get her left arm up in time to deflect it. "So you still have some fight left in you?" he thinks, "I'll just have to take care of that then." He disappears from sight and she struggles to keep her balance while trying to look around and find where he went. She sees a flicker and raises both of her arms up to block a kick to her chest. She slides back a few feet and then searches around trying to find him again.
Kuroda comes at her from behind and slams his right leg into her side. After getting hit she spins around trying to get a shot in, but he has already moved around behind her to smash his left knee into her spine. He dances around her landing kicks, knees, elbows, and punches all over her body. For the finale he grabs her head with both hands and wrenches it towards the ground as he thrusts his knee upwards. As she recoils backwards hovering between consciousness he takes out a kunai and slashes down the length of her chest. The blade penetrates her flack jacket and blood spurts out everywhere. Due to the pain she is drawn back into the present and is fully aware when he slashes across her stomach and then back upwards from her left hip to the right shoulder.
Hitomi runs out of chakra and can no longer sustain her Sharingan. The tomoe in her eyes disappear and the eyes turn back to their normal darker red color. "It looks like she is done," thinks Kuroda before he kicks her in the chest. She zooms through the air until her back collides with a large tree trunk.
She slides down to the base of the tree and sits there panting from pain and exhaustion. "That's it, I'm done. He was too good for me. I wanted to restore honor to my clan, but I die knowing that I tried my best," She thinks.
However instead of killing her he tosses his kunai to the side and uses the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. Her mind goes blank and then hundreds of leaves start swirling all around her. Then the radius of the swirl expands and Kuroda appears in front of her. She tries to move, but invisible ties seem to be holding her in place.
Kuroda says, "Your dream of restoring honor to your clan will die here. I will report that you were the one who killed Murogi." Next she sees images of people in the village cursing the Uchiha clan and saying that they will always be remembered as traitors.
"No, no, no! Stop, please don't. I beg you, don't sentence my clan to eternal damnation," she pleads. Kuroda now changes his appearance sprouting wings and abruptly a bright white light surrounds him.
The angel Kuroda says, "I can save you. I can help you restore your clan to the glory it once had." He begins to float in the air and slowly move away, but he extends his arm to her.
"Yes. You can save me," she replies, hypnotized as she tries to reach out towards him, "What must I do.?"
Kuroda replies, "I will help you achieve your goal and all I ask in return is that you sign this contract." A scroll appears in his hand and then it unrolls itself towards her.
Hitomi hesitates for a moment, "I… yes, I will accept."
"Very well, then you must take the blood from your chest and use it to sign your name," he says while still floating away slowly, "But hurry, you don't have much time." Still under his power she wipes her hands over her wounds to soak them in blood. Then she reaches out to try and sign. She falls onto her face as she extends herself too far. But she crawls over on her knees until she catches the scroll and signs it.
Kuroda releases his Genjutsu and Hitomi is thrust back to reality. "What… what is going on? Wait, I was fighting with you and then… Genjutsu! It was all an illusion," she realizes.
"Not all of it," replies Kuroda, "Now, remove your clothes."
"What? No, you pervert! Aggh!" screams Hitomi as a surging pain goes through her body and she jerks around as if having a seizure.
Kuroda smiles, slightly amused, "That is the first time anyone has given that response. That pain you're feeling right now is a condition of the contract you signed. It will happen every time you disobey one of my orders. It is not fatal, but it hurts. And I am not a pervert; I simply need your body to be naked for me to complete my part of the contract."
Hitomi resists for a while, writhing in pain on the ground. But eventually the pain becomes too much for her to bear, so she gives in. The pain subsides as she slowly begins to strip her clothes off. The task is difficult due to all the injuries she accumulated during the fight, but Kuroda offers no assistance to her. Once everything is off he has her lie down on her back and he uses his Sacrificial Seal Jutsu and when done carving the symbol on her right thigh he says, "It is finished. You may put your clothes back on if you wish."
Considering her injuries she hurriedly puts on her undergarments and asks, "What did you just do to me?"
He replies, "You will figure it out on your own. Now if you want me to heal your injuries you'll need to leave the rest of your clothes off for a while." Confused by his comments she stops trying to get her feet through her pants.
He quickly performs the necessary hand signs for the Mystical Palm Technique and then kneels down over her. He gently pushes her so that she lies flat on the ground and begins healing her injuries. "You know the healing Jutsu? But how? Only someone from the medical corp would know how or be able to use it."
Kuroda explains, "I have a natural ability to use most types of Jutsu effectively, and I thought it would be useful to be able to heal myself or my companions. So I decided to learn it." From then on they are both silent as he works.
When Kuroda stops after only healing a portion of her wounds Hitomi's questions, "Why are you stopping?"
He explains, "As you said earlier only someone who was trained in the medical corp can effectively use the healing Jutsu. I was able to learn it, but my healing abilities are limited. Yet there is another reason I stopped. It is because no one would believe our story if we didn't both have wounds."
"So you will make me a traitor like you?" she questions.
"I am not a traitor. I have taken no actions to threaten the village," he responds.
"You killed Murogi!" she retorts.
"I told him that he merely ended up on the wrong mission," he responds.
"But if it had been someone else on the mission instead of him, wouldn't you also have killed them?" she asks.
"It would depend on who that person was," he answers.
"You are sick, you're a monster," she says disgusted.
"And now you are mine for the rest of your existence," he responds, "But you can worry about that later. We need to discuss our story for when we return to the village." Kuroda explains his plan to Hitomi and after he is done she is amazed that he would give Murogi such an honorable memory by making him out to be a hero. Kuroda says, "He shouldn't have had to die, so this is the best I can do for him."
Hitomi says, "Your plan is a good one, and it will work in theory, but we still need to retrieve the emerald."
"That has already been taken care of. I sent a clone to get the emerald last night. It should arrive back soon," he says.
"You were maintaining a clone the whole time we were fighting?" she questions.
"Is it really so surprising?" he replies.
She scowls and then asks "What if the emerald wasn't at the hideout we were going to?"
"It won't matter," he responds.
A few minutes later the clone appears with the emerald, gives it to Kuroda and then disappears. "It's time for us to get going so if you wouldn't mind," says Kuroda.
"As you wish," she responds. Hitomi takes out a kunai and attacks Kuroda. He doesn't defend himself. When she is done he has a number of serious wounds. Kuroda then walks over and heaves Murogi's corpse over his shoulder and then they depart.
Three days pass before Hitomi and Kuroda arrive in front of the Eastern Gate and collapse in exhaustion. The guards immediately call for medical aid, and they are taken to the hospital. The Hokage appears in the hospital when she receives word of the situation. When she arrives an attendant tells her, "Lady Hokage, they arrived at the Eastern Gate twenty minutes ago. Kuroda and Hitomi are both badly injured. They have been brought to the emergency room. Murogi Mu is dead."
"Dead? I see. Did either of them say anything?" she asks.
"They both collapsed when they arrived," he responds."
"Thank you, you can return to your duties," she says.
"Yes, Lady Hokage," he bows and then removes himself from her presence.
She makes her way to the emergency section of the hospital thinking to herself, "That was only a C rank mission? One dead and the other two badly injured. Not to mention Murogi was the most experienced. What in the world could have happened?" She asks one of the nurses in charge, "Can I speak to either of them?"
"They are both receiving medical treatment at the moment, but their lives are not in danger, so if it is urgent you may talk to them, Lady Hokage," responds the nurse.
"All this happened on Kuroda's first mission as a Chunin. This cannot be a coincidence," thinks the Hokage, "I think I will speak with Hitomi first." She stops in Hitomi's room to get her report of the mission, and then she visits Kuroda.
When she walks in Kuroda immediately accuses her, "Lady Hokage, what is the meaning of this? Was it some sort of test to see if I was truly ready to be a Chunin?"
"What are you talking about?" she responds.
"You said it was a C rank mission. Meaning we were not supposed to encounter any enemy ninja," says Kuroda.
"Enemy ninja! Hitomi didn't say anything about enemy ninja," exclaims the Hokage.
"I can't claim to know what she saw, and we didn't really have a chance to talk about what happened, but does that mean that it was not a test and it was all real?" says Kuroda.
"I wouldn't sacrifice the life of one ninja to test another," she responds.
"So I guess that means they couldn't do anything to save Murogi," says Kuroda, "He was in very bad shape but I thought there might be a chance for him if we got back fast enough."
"No, he was dead by the time you arrived," she says, "But please explain to me what happened."
"So that was the case? Well, I am disappointed," he replies, "Anyway, Murogi decided to investigate the southernmost possible hideout location first. Everything went well and when we scouted out the area we found that the hideout was indeed there. We were easily able to infiltrate the base and sneak into the chamber where the emerald was stored. That's when everything went wrong. Somebody threw a bunch of kunai at us. We were easily able to dodge, but the kunai had tags on it that released some sort of gas. Murogi tried to use some sort of Jutsu to blow away the gas, but the effects of the gas were instantaneous. My vision becoming blurry, my reflexes slowed, and I had a hard time concentrating or thinking straight. Everything that happened after that is all a blur. Then when the effects of the gas finally wore off I found myself wounded and injured in the forest. Murogi stumbled into view and told me to find Hitomi and return to the village. Then one of the bandits slit Murogi's throat. Hitomi appeared and killed the bandit. While trying to stop the bleeding we found the emerald in Murogi's hand. We decided to return to the village, since Murogi needed immediate medical attention and the mission was complete."
"You and Hitomi needed immediate medical attention as well," states the Hokage, "You should have sent word back so a medical squad could have met you half way."
"I don't have any jutsu capable of that," he replies, "I didn't think to ask Hitomi if she had any."
"So you believe the enemy had ninja with them because of the kunai and the gas tags?" asks the Hokage.
"It seems to be the most logical explanation," answers Kuroda, "I don't understand how we were able to survive, it must have been Murogi who was able to overcome the gas effects and save Hitomi and me."
"Yes, he was a true shinobi who sacrificed his life so he could save his comrades," comments the Hokage, "I'll be leaving then. You need to rest and recover. You will be in here a week or two recovering. We will go over the mission in more detail later."
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? Kuroda has murdered a fellow Leaf Ninja? Is he truly a traitor to his village? 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.)