Well....this was it.

He had beseeched all kinds of things of Suna Hospital. Treatment, blood analysis and tests, everything. Not even the leaders in herbal medicine had a cure for him. It was over. But he already knew that.....

Zenchi had come to terms with his own fate long ago. Well..... for him, it was quite awhile ago. In reality, it was only a few months short of a year...in that time, Zen had lost quite a lot.... most of all, his life. No, this disease was not the one that claimed him....it was the ninja world. This horrible world of ruinous conflict. In some odd way, he was glad to leave it. Another facet of him, though, feared the worst for it.

Standing atop the roof of the Sunagakure no Sato hospital, he waited out what he knew were his final moments.

Hodaka was not one to lay around and do nothing.....even when there was nothing to do. After a hard day's work? Suuuuuuure. Take a rest. But he couldn't sit back and let things happen when he could be part of them.

Though....as of right now he had nothing to do.....so he was just walking around the Hidden Sand Village. If someone needed help, he'd see it, or they'd tell him....after all, he was the Kazekage's secretary and general messenger. Even if people called him her 'bitch', he still loved his job. Helping people however possible.

The medical staff looked like they had things under control, so Hodaka headed to the roof to peruse the village. That's when...he saw.... well, he saw someone, to be sure. A man in a black coat (the body figure instantly revealed his gender)....strange to see all the way up here, and for the record, out here in the desert. Black is not exactly the color in the Kaze no Kuni parts. "Uh....hello? Who are you?"

"Uh....hello? Who are you?"

Zen turned around at these words....he didn't think that he would be receiving visitors at a time like this.....certainly not at a place as deserted and lonely as the only uninhabited floor of the hospital.

"I....am a servant of the world. The people inhabiting it might know me as Kyouga Zenchi. In my life, I've risen to a coveted position in my village, the Stone. But...none of that matters now, I suppose. My last deed in this world....I don't think it will be fulfilled."

Looking the boy up and down, he saw an inquisitiveness that only one person he knew had. He supposed that the boy was around his age....well, what would have been his age. Perhaps even older....Zen was one of the unlucky ones of his clan. He was born to die young. Perhaps that was the life of a ninja.....

Looking again at the young man, he lowered his head a bit, and smiled to himself in defiance. Yes....this might just be it.

"I....am a servant of the world. The people inhabiting it might know me as Kyouga Zenchi. In my life, I've risen to a coveted position in my village, the Stone. But...none of that matters now, I suppose. My last deed in this world....I don't think it will be fulfilled."

Hodaka could do nothing but stand there....not only was he in the presence of a foreign ninja, he was a Sannin, no less. It was just one of those moments.

Documented ~ Wayward Bestiary: Kyouga Clan's Zenchi.

"B-but why won't you get to do it? What are you trying to do, anyway!?" Hodaka was panicking at this point....strange man, strange village, something to do? That was never a good sign. But...he didn't attack. One, he knew that he wasn't strong enough to take a Sannin....two, there was just something about him, an ethereal calm. Awaiting his answer, the Gowa-Ken fidgeted a little.

"B-but why won't you get to do it? What are you trying to do, anyway!?"

Zen could only sigh at this query. "I suppose....I wanted to set things right. I never did anything remarkable in my life...I had hoped that by the time I died I could have corrected the blunders made by the generation before, to bridge Sand and Stone.....but I suppose that time is nigh. It's too late for me to undo my mistakes."

Calmly yet hesitantly, Zenchi walked toward the young man. He tugged at his right glove with his teeth, and he removed a ring he was wearing once it was off. Taking this boy's hand, he closed it around the ring. "You seem to be searching for knowledge. One thing I bequeath to you....please do wonderful things with what you learn. Farewell." He walked over to the edge of the roof, bordered by a waist-high wall, and closed his eyes as he raised his head to the sky.

Once more, Hodaka was left speechless. He couldn't comprehend what was going on....a parting gift was given to him....but why?

After that....Zenchi approached the edge....Is he going to jump?

He got his answer. Zen raised his arms slowly so that he was making a grand gesture; his arms were outstretched to each side, then raised, as if he was beholding the world. Yes, the world....the world he so seemed to love.

Sparkles began to emanate from Zenchi, a massive display of spiritual energy; the man seemed to be turning his body to light so he could ascend. The boy couldn't even believe his eyes....such an event was unprecedented, out of all the books he'd read (and he'd read quite a few).

Documented ~ Eldritch Esoterica - Reflect Arts: Soul Release.

Soon, the Sannin was overcome by the silver sparks of energy, which rapidly ascended after they detached from him.

And then there was one.



-------
Hodaka sulked home, having taken the Black Coat of Zenchi's, which he also seemed to have left as a parting gift. That was....actually sad. He didn't know the man, but it was sad. Perhaps that was just the type of person Zen was.


I wonder if I could be that way, someday....

Touching hearts like that.