The sun's bright rays set on Kasumi. Surviving this far in her life has made her become more aware of her surroundings every day. She is being hunted by her own clan because she left the village and was deemed for the title 'traitor'. Wanting to let go of the past and return peacefully to her village, her heart had become broken. A bird gracefully flew by and landed on Kasumi's held out finger. Several of these birds stopped by the dense oak tree branch as well. "It's so peaceful," Kasumi said to herself. "Why can't it always be like this?"
The birds zoomed out of sight. Sensing danger approaching her way, she jumped off the branch and began to run west. A barrage of shurikens charged fiercely toward her. Kasumi flipped off a tree to avoid getting hit. A kunai surprised her from the back, resulting in a small cut on her shoulder. Kasumi stood still, trying to catch her breath. "I know you are here, Ayane."
Surely enough, a young teenage girl with lavender dyed hair jumped in front of Kasumi. "It is time for me to end you, said Ayane. You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this." Kasumi straightened up. She made eye contact with her half-sister passively. "Why do you want to do this? Please, I do not wish to fight you."
Ayane readied her combat stance. "You're right. I don't want to fight you either. Perhaps killing you would be more appropriate." Before Kasumi could react, her purple haired half-sibling sweep kicked her, knocking her on the ground. Kunai in hand, Ayane attempted to pounce on Kasumi before she discovered that she had recovered from her fall swiftly. Kasumi counter attacked with a barrage of punches and kicks, knocking her kunai away from her. Wrestling for control, both females leapt behind each other for a back attack.
Ayane saw her chance to strike and kicked Kasumi onto the ground. She was ready to deliver a final blow before three shurikens homed in on her. Ayane leapt back and advanced toward the attacker. However, the person seemed to have escape. She turned around and found Kasumi nowhere to be found. "Darn it! How could I have been so careless?"
Kasumi was still running away from her pursuer. Tired out from her encounter, she stopped and rested behind some bushes near a sparkling river. Just when she was wondering about her rescuer, she heard some nearby bushes rustling. Preparing to defend herself again, she found out it was only a rabbit. She let out a sigh of relief. A distant spear was thrown near her and hit an old willow tree beside her right arm.
There was a note attached to it. Along with it was a map which showed mostly this area of the forest. Kasumi pulled out the spear and began to read the note.
"Kasumi, if you are reading this, please understand what I am saying and follow my instructions. You have no idea what danger you are in. There have been many more active Mugen-Tenshin ninjas searching for you. They are no doubt trying to put an end to the dangerous chase. I know you can take care of yourself right now, but pretty soon you will need my help. I have attached a map of your area to this note. It should be highly accurate considering I have done the scouting myself. Anyway, you should reach a small village when you go directly west. Just meet me at the temple of the village. I will be waiting. It is a lot safer than where you are now, so I suggest you start immediately. I will be waiting for you until midnight. If you do not arrive, I will be forced to abandon our meeting and attend to other matters. So, please hurry and come right now. Keep your guard up as well."
Kasumi examined the letter closely. There was no sign of the sender of this message, but she knew who it was. Or it could have been a trap. Either way, she would have to go there anyway. "It is almost night time. I must hurry," Kasumi said to herself. However, too distracted by the letter's fragile contents, she didn't sense the group of ninjas that were behind her, tracking her every movement.
It was nearly a complete sunset when Kasumi arrived outside the village border. It was a place with nightly festivals and celebrations. "The sender was right, Kasumi thought. This is a good place to blend in." She continued her way toward the temple. Before asking any locals where it was, she decided to stay in the shadows and find it for herself instead.
The ninja squad that followed Kasumi were standing before the village border as well. "We have found her," said one ninja. The leader, clearly dressed in black instead of purple, ordered everyone to split up and track Kasumi's movements. "Find her, and make sure that she is dead without alerting anyone."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well that's it for Chapter 1. Please give me reviews and feedback on my first chapter. I plan to update it as soon as I have free time or if people want to read on. Thanks everyone!
