Japan: 1586

From the shadows a dark figure appears, as if he were one with the shadow. He silently walked across the unlit area and into a small tent. Inside a hooded figure, in a dark blue cloak, with the bottom of his face shrouded, by a purple shroud sat on a small pillow, awaiting him. The tent was dimly lit by candle light, the light hit the figure but didn't reveal much except that it was a man, he was dressed completely in black, with most of his face covered. The man was 5'8" and fairly muscular but the only thing that really could be seen was his short brown hair and dark brown eyes. On his forearms the man wore dark grey gauntlets, at his side was a dark brown satchel, and on the small of his back was a sheathed Ninjato.

The hooded man examined him for a moment and gave him a short nod before pulling out a file. The standing man reached out and grabbed the file, he opened it and began to look through the contents. There was a picture of an elderly Japanese man, his hair grey and his eyes squinted to the point that they were almost closed. The man turned his attention away from the picture and began reading the large paragraph of information beside it. He finished quickly, closed the file and put it away in his satchel. The man nodded and seemingly glided back into the shadows where he disappeared.

The dark figure appeared again, moving quickly and quietly, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He came to a stop on top of a tall tower of a large house. The pale full moonlight hit him, giving him an almost supernatural glow. He looked down at the buildings below him, his eyes examining every building. Suddenly the man disappeared in a black blur, he reappeared minutes later on a rooftop across from a large and beautiful mansion. The man examined the building and its surroundings, looking through every detail.

The mansion was large and resembled many old Japanese buildings, and around the property was a ten foot wall. Leading from the gate of the wall to the front door of the mansion was a concrete walkway. The man took note of the two guards at the gate, each carrying a spear and wearing armor, there were two more guards by the main door, if they had weapons they were concealed in their robes. The man also took note of the several bushes and small trees around the property, they could be valuable cover. He also noticed two more guards in robes with katanas patrolling around the building.

He analyzed their pattern, it was quite simple they start at the front, turn around and walk to the back, where they pass each other then the other walks to the front then turns around and continues the same rounds. He began to time them, four separate times, first it took fifty seconds, the second it was fifty three, the third it was fifty, and the fourth it was fifty one again. So he would have fifty seconds at the least, fifty three at the most. He was thinking of the best way to pass the guards, he was going to try not to come into contact with any of them.

He would jump down from the left side of this building, quickly move over to the left side of the wall, scale it while the ninjas on patrol are out back, then get into the building through a window. He had no idea what awaited him in the building, from the file he could see that the man was very paranoid and most likely the bulk of his security would be in there. The man was going to have to risk it, he was prepared to jump down when he heard the sound of horses. He stopped himself and walked into the shadows, pressing himself against the wall.

The carriage stopped for a moment at the gate and the two guards with spears pulled open the gates so the carriage could pass. It came to a stop on the concrete pathway and two men stepped out. One was fairly short, wearing the same robes as the other guards and holding a wakizashi. The other was much taller, wearing red O-yoroi without a helmet and had a naginata strapped to his back. The two men looked around for a minute then motioned for someone inside the carriage and out walked the young man's target. The elderly Japanese man according to his file his name was Osamu Nonomaru.

The grey haired man walked up to one of the doormen and began speaking with him, the man couldn't hear clearly until he almost yelled out the word, "Shinobi!". The doorman quickly nodded and ran in, he soon came back with three more men. "Dammit..." The young ninja said, they were aware that he was coming tonight. Osamu began ordering the bodyguards around until the pattern was greatly altered before walking in with his two main bodyguards, the man in O-yoroi and the short man.

The ninja began examining the new rotation. Osamu was smart, he knew no self respecting ninja would use the main gate so he moved the two men with spears to guard the front of the mansion. The two men that had been patrolling the whole building were now patrolling out back, with two new guards patrolling the sides. The two men that were guarding the door were now with a third guard patrolling around the walls in tight intervals, being prepared if someone were to try and scale the wall.

The shinobi had to stop himself from cursing, the plan had just gotten much more difficult. The two men with spears wouldn't be too much of a problem, they didn't seem to be moving anytime soon. The two men in the back weren't much of a concern as his original plan was a side window anyway. But the two men at the side were moving much faster as they didn't have far to go, he timed them twice, took about twenty seconds each time. But his main concern were the guards observing the walls, they were a bit of a wild card. They weren't moving in any visible pattern just walking randomly around, looking for anything suspicious.

He saw something that caught his interest, one of the three guards patrolling the walls was standing in the corner of the left side, relieving himself. The other two guards were off on the right while the guard patrolling that side had his back turned. This was his chance, the man quickly jumped off the building and dashed across the street. He pulled out a grappling hook like mechanism, he pushed a button unleashing a strong rope with a sharp point on the end that stabbed into the wall. He pushed the button again and the rope pulled him up.

He put the tool back in his satchel and flipped onto the wall, the ninja looked down at the body guard. The fool had no idea what was coming but the ninja did, he unsheathed his Ninjato and jumped down at the guard, holding his sword , prepared to stab. The ninja landed on the man's shoulders, the weight of ninja brought the bodyguard to his knees. Before the bodyguard could yelp or scream the ninja stabbed him through the chest, penetrating his heart. His blade went clean through and came out just under the guard's shoulder blade. The ninja jerked his sword to the side slightly before pulling out the blade, just to be sure of the kill.

He looked up and saw the other guard turning around, he quickly jumped back, disappearing into the shadows. The unexpected guard turned around and continued his patrol, when he saw his comrade on the ground. "Dammit all! Get your lazy ass up Hideki!" The guard yelled, under the impression that he was asleep. The guard mumbled something then walked over to his comrade, then he noticed it..the blood. He was about to yell out when suddenly the ninja bursted out from the shadows. He stabbed the man up the jaw and through his head, killing him instantly.

The ninja cleaned his sword on the back of the guard's clothes as he fell forward and onto his comrade's body. The man pushed the bodies behind a large bush, it probably wouldn't be long until someone noticed them but if he did his job well, he would already be gone by then. The man quickly ran over to a window and slid it open. He jumped in and closed the window behind him. He glanced around the room he had arrived in, it was a dining room. He walked around the table and moved to the door.

He was reaching out to slide the door open when he noticed a shadow walking towards it, he moved to the side of the door and unsheathed his Ninjato. The guard slid the door and was about to walk in when he felt something was wrong and stopped. But it was too late, the ninja grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows, being sure to put his hand over the man's mouth to silence him. He then stabbed the blade deep into the man's gut then twisted it repeatedly, the man was coughing blood all over the ninja's hand but he didn't dare move his hand.

The man stopped breathing and died in his arms, the ninja pulled out his blade and cleaned both the blade and his hand on the man's robes. He moved the body away from the doorway, concealing it if someone were just passing by but if they were to step in and looked they would probably find it. The ninja then put his back against the wall then reached into his satchel and pulled out a mirror. He held it out of the doorway so that the contents of the next room were reflected.

The room was nothing more than a simple sitting room but there was a staircase leading up. He doubted someone like Osamu would have his quarters down here on the bottom floor. He seemed like someone that would want a good view of his property and its surroundings, so he could spot oncoming attackers. There also was a single guard but he was asleep in a chair, there would be no reason for him to die so the ninja just passed him by as he made his way to the staircase.

He silently moved up the steps and into a hallway, there were several rooms on each side and a single guard was walking up and down the halls. His back was turned for the time being but The ninja had to move and quick. He quickly and silently walked into the room closest to him, the room was a bedroom and a beautiful woman was there sleeping on the bed. The ninja ignored her presence and walked across the room to the window. He slid it open and the woman stirred slightly but he jumped out and closed the window behind him before she could wake up.

The man ran on the roof and flipped up to a higher part of the roof, making his way up to the top. He was about to continue upward when he looked and saw a guard looking out the window at him. The bodyguard was about to yell out but the ninja was to quick, he jumped through the open window and kicked the man in the throat. The guard stumbled back, holding his throat and gasping, the ninja pulled out his Ninjato and slashed the guard across the chest, killing him. The ninja sheathed his sword but instead of walking back on to the roof he stepped out of the room.

He was in another hallway he was right next to a stairway leading upwards, there was an armored guard with a spear with his back turned, walking down the hallway but the man ignored him for now and ran upstairs. As soon as he reached the top of the stairs a foot was planted in his face, the strength of the kick sent him falling back down the stairs. The ninja recovered, landing on his hands and flipping back to his feet when he reached the last step. He looked up to see who attacked him and saw it was the man with the Wakizashi from before.

The man quickly ran down the steps to face the ninja, he had a smug smirk on his face for finding the ninja. The man began looking from his attacked to the guard with the spear behind him, he was now aware of his presence and pointing the spear at his back but was at least a foot away. The ninja looked at the man in front of him, he now could get a good look at him, he was 5'6", had black spiky hair and matching black eyes with a scar running down the right side of his face. He was wearing the same blue robes and black pants as other guards but opened at the chest.

The guard behind the ninja thought he was distracted and he attacked, lunging forward with his spear. The ninja easily avoided the attack, the failed attack had left the guard wide open with no way to defend himself. The ninja quickly spun around and slashed the man across the throat with his Ninjato, easily killing him, he was nothing but a fool without any skill. The other man behind him was in no hurry to share his fate, he unsheathed his sword and attacked the ninja from behind.

The ninja spun around and the blocked the man's shorter sword with his own. The man was shorter than him but the shinobi knew not to underestimate him. From that kick he felt earlier his sandals must have some kind of steel plating on the bottom of them so he would have to be sure to avoid his feet. The shorter man broke the hold and slashed up for the ninja's head, the ninja blocked the attack and slashed down at the shorter man's shoulder. The shorter man sidestepped the attack and slashed for the shinobi's side.

The ninja blocked the attack but the guard didn't let up, he quickly followed up with a stab directed at the ninja's abdomen. The taller man blocked the blade with his gauntlets and came down with a slash on the small man. The man flipped back onto his hands and blocked the blade with the steel plating on his sandals. He then flipped back onto his feet and in a crouching position then slashed for the ninja's legs. The ninja jumped but as soon as he landed the shorter man attacked again.

The ninja deflected a slash directed for his head, then one aimed for his side. The man was tenacious, fast, agile, and didn't show any signs of tiring. Then the man made a crucial mistake, he jumped up and slashed downward at the ninja, who sidestepped the attack. The ninja then kicked the man in the head, sending him stumbling back. The man began slashing wildly in front of himself, trying to keep the ninja back while he regained his composure. The ninja had no time he had to complete his mission.

With a quick motion of his hands the ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared an instant later behind his enemy. He slashed his sword across the man's back, the man yelped and fell forward. Whether he was dead or not the ninja had no time to be sure he had to finish this assassination before even more knew of his presence, which he assumed wouldn't be long. This time when he moved up the stairs he was a bit more cautious, as to be sure not to get surprised again. He still couldn't believe he was caught completely off guard like that, he was over confident and careless for that instant but for now he couldn't let his mind wander he had to stay focused on his mission.

He made it to the top of the steps and looked around, he was in an empty room. Well empty of people but there were several fancy chairs, tables, golden vases, and other valuables. Most likely obtained through unlawful means. He heard some people running through the hallway downstairs so he quickly ran across the room and out of a window. Once again he was on the roof, making his way to the top. He opened a window and jumped in. This was the top of the mansion, there were stairs beside the window leading to the rest of the structure but now he was in a large square room with three doors.

The ninja began making his way to the middle door, when he looked from the outside he saw a large window on the back of the top most structure which was most likely in this area. And it seemed only natural that someone as paranoid as Osamu would want a view like that, to see all of his enemies coming. All except for this one. He reached for the door but before he could get his hand on it the tall man with the naginata in red o-yoroi burst through the door on the right.

The bodyguard slashed the blade for the back of the shinobi's head, the ninja quickly ducked under the slice and came up with a slash of his own but the man blocked it with the long spear like hilt of the blade. The man slashed down with naginata but the shinobi easily side stepped the strike and went to stab the man in the chest. The man quickly spun the naginata around and deflected the attack, and also knocked the ninja off balance for a minute. The O-yoroi clad bodyguard was quick to capitalize, slashing for the ninja's head.

The shinobi bent back till his hands touched the ground to avoid the attack then quickly sprang up and slashed for the man's chest. The man blocked the attack with his blade then moved his weapon upward, trying to hit the shinobi in the chin with the hilt of his naginata. The ninja moved to the side and crouched to avoid the attack and then slashed for the bodyguards's abdomen. The guard barely managed to spin his blade around in time to block but his balance was disrupted by the sudden movement and strength of The ninja's attack.

The ninja capitalized by going for a stab to the man's side but the man blocked the attack with the gauntlets of his armor. The bodyguard followed up by swinging the long hilt of his blade for the ninja's head. The ninja ducked under the attack and came up with a vertical slash. The bodyguard jumped back but the blade still barely grazed him, cutting slightly into his o-yoroi. The bodyguard roared slightly and attacked, slamming the blade of his naginata down on the shinobi.

The ninja held his blade up to block, which was a mistake, the bodyguard had much more physical strength than him. The bodyguard gritted his teeth and put more and more pressure down on the ninja, who was struggling to push the blade back. The shinobi was actually being brought down to his knees. The bodyguard began laughing as he saw the great warrior down on his knee, the ninja could feel the pressure lifting slightly, according to plan. Suddenly, and without warning the ninja slid forward between the legs of his attacker and jumped back to his feet behind him.

The ninja slashed for the bodyguard's back but, with a sudden burst of speed, the guard spun around and managed to block the attack. The guard followed up by slashing for the shinobi's head, the ninja ducked under the attack and came with a slash of his own. The guard moved the hilt of his sword to block the attack. The young shinobi was focused on his foe when he heard it, footsteps on the stairs. It sounded like a fairly large group, most likely over five, he had to end this quickly.

He would get his chance, as suddenly the man lunged forward with his naginata. The man jumped over the attack and the blade stabbed into the wall. The ninja landed effortlessly and weightlessly on the hilt. The group of bodyguards were making their way up the stairs when the ninja jumped and kick the large bodyguard in o-yoroi in the chest, sending him stumbling down the stairs and taking the other guards with him. The ninja wasted no more time, he threw open the door and ran into the room.

As he thought, it appeared to be sleeping quarters but Osamu didn't seem to be sleeping, he was sitting up on a cushion with his back turned, looking out a large window. The ninja was amazed the he hadn't heard all of the commotion, in fact he didn't believe it. This had to be a decoy or something like that, he wouldn't forgive himself if he let his target get away. The ninja made his way to the sitting figure anyway. He put his hand on the figure's shoulder while he moved his sword to attack when suddenly...

The body fell over, lifeless, "What?" The shinobi asked himself as he crouched down to get a better look. Osamu's throat was cut and deep, there was blood running all down his shirt. The ninja was amazed that he couldn't smell the massive amount of blood. What happened here? Had he committed suicide? Was the thought of a ninja hunting him too much? Did one of the guards turn on him? Then he noticed something, a ninja knife stabbed into the ground. The ninja walked over and picked it up, when he saw the crest on the hilt he balled his fist in anger.

"We were given no warning..." He said to himself. Suddenly the bodyguards, led by the man in o-yoroi, bursted in but when they arrived the ninja was already gone without a trace...