Akazo

A Blood Entailed Promise

Everything happened so suddenly and so very frantically that it was nearly impossible to believe so much was completed in just less than thirty seconds. The large computerised warning that a nuclear weapon was on its way somehow didn't even manage to take the Council by surprise. A few members like Ukyo, Jukuchi, and Gyatsō immediately rose out of their seats and made their way to an area in a corner of the room, swiftly tapping away at several white keyboards attached to the walls. The rest of the Council members followed behind them.

"Lord Yamikage, I'm preparing to launch Evacuation Protocol F," said Ukyo. Several large rusted pods covered with various letters then slid through a new opening in the wall. The masked shinobi from earlier ran over to Hikari and Suzuka and carefully picked them up again. Gyatsō turned his head to look at the two injured children as he continued to quickly press the designated keys and symbols.

"Kokyu, place those two in Pod XY. That one will take them to a safer bunker outside of the village," Gyatsō told him. Kokyu nodded at the white-haired man and dashed towards the smaller pod at the end of the metallic encasements, simply marked "XY" in white letters. As soon as the masked ninja stepped into the pod, Hikari abruptly slapped his palm over his nose. Granted, the movement forced a sharp grunt through his teeth, but the pain was worth it. The inside of the pod had an overwhelmingly acrid odour to it, making the boy question how often these things were supposed to be cleaned. On the outside, each pod looked awful - corroded, and shabby. But the inside turned out to be even worse. That dastardly smell alone was more than enough to send Hikari packing, and the forests of reeking cobwebs littering the floor and seats almost made him throw up his scanty stomach contents.

"Aren't there any better than this one?" Hikari whined. He looked over to his inert friend. Oh, how lucky he'd be to get suddenly knocked out by a piece of the falling cement or wood right now. At least Suzuka didn't have to be subjected to this wretched smell or those unappealing seats, all but mummified by the old cobwebs.

"Sorry little guy, but you'll just have to bear with it," Kokyu replied. He stuffed the two of them in the cramped chairs provided. Pulling what appeared to be a seatbelt of some sort over their bodies. Double-checking that they were properly secured because only God knew what would happen to him if Gyatsō's prized possessions were injured due to his carelessness.

"Can't go against Lord Yamikage's orders. Also, we can't waste any time right now." With that, the ninja closed a door Hikari didn't notice before and took a few steps back. The once dead lights spreading along XY in varying directions then lit up, providing an ample light source in the otherwise shadowy area. Dark smoke also began to gradually emit from the several chrome bars that were underneath the pod.

This is crazy, Hikari thought as he lifted his head to peer through the squared glass. Absolutely crazy. Mostly all he could see was only heavy amounts of dust. That is, until a pale hand suddenly pressed against it, causing the boy to immediately jerk backwards. A split second later, he was looking into one of Gyatsō's intense eyes.

"You and the girl will be safe," Hikari heard Gyatsō's muffled voice say through the glass. The words were meant to reassure and calm the boy, but they somehow achieved the opposite effect. Before he could give the man a hesitant reply, the pod was suddenly launched forward with great velocity, shooting its two passengers through a variety of hollow tubes stretching for miles long. To Hikari, the fast-paced experience was comparable to an exhilarating roller coaster. Only their vessel was now heading further underground, where its pitch black darkness only unnerved him even more. He reached his arms over and held onto Suzuka tightly, shutting his eyes tight as they journeyed through the pitch-black environment. They really had no other choice.

Gyatsō watched their pod grow smaller and smaller for a couple of moments before turning around to eye his composed underlings. In the larger pods marked as "KT," "OA," and "ES" respectively, up to four Council members were strapping themselves in each case. The Yamikage's red eyes then locked onto Kokyu, who was now standing in the middle of the room, motionless. It appeared that he had no intention of fleeing to any of the crowded pods.