It was an ashen morning on the island of Birk. The willow trees where fighting the onslaught of winter. Here it didn't descended gracefully; it tore into the landscape, and strangled all life away. But this was the home of the Vikings and the Dragons. It was the scene of thousands of wars and battles, and the graveyard for many great warriors.
The entire village was gathered at the small wooden dock, it was time for the merchant to arrive. They peered into the suffocating fog, trying to gleam some indication of a sail or hull. This had become a custom; it was the one time a year that the people of Birk got to interact with someone from outside.
Slowly a sail became visible, and the dark, wooden hull of the long awaited merchant came into view as it prepared to dock.
"Meastrox! How have you been? You brought some good things?" Stoick asked.
"Always. I know better than to show up without some good items..." Meastrox replied.
The conversation dwindled after a short while as things were traded.
Astrid looked at several weapons, mainly interesting axes. Hiccup was enthralled with some interesting trinkets. An hour passed and Meastrox's stock was hitting empty, when he suddenly remembered.
"Oh! I almost forgot to tell him!" Meastrox exclaimed, aiming for the stairs.
"Forgot to tell whom what?" Stoick asked.
"I have a passenger." Meastrox replied.
"I never took you to be one to offer rides, Meastrox." Stoick persisted.
"This one was... very persuasive." Meastrox answered as he vanished down the stairs.
Moments later he emerged with a strange and mysterious character. The fellow was rather long and slender, not exceptionally so, but still. He wore a black one-piece that covered his body. Two long strands of the suit waved in the cold autumn wind. His face was covered by two extensions of the suit, on came up to just over his nose, while the other extended from his back, up his neck and over his head down to his brow. Astrid and Hiccup came closer when they saw the figure emerge from the boat. He walked in a graceful and calculating manner. Astrid got the distinct sense that he was a killer, one who could slice a dozen men in half before the first blinked. It sent a chill down her spine.
"Stoick, this is... What did you say your name was again?" Meastrox said.
"Yamamoto 'Kage' Ishiyama." The figure said matter-of-factly.
"A strange name." Stoick thought out loud.
"I hail from far away, the Eastern banks of Japan." The Kage answered in impeccable Norse.
"I see." Stoick replied. "But what brings you here? Birk is hardly a tourist attraction."
Kage seemed to think his reply over for a second before answering.
"That is why I chose it. I have come to break away from the buzz of life from where I come from."
Stoick nodded.
"Well, you are welcome here." He said, opening his arms wide in an overly friendly and dramatic gesture.
"Thank you." Kage answered.
He turned to the stairs and descended into the hold. A minute later he emerged carrying a small backpack, a sword, a shovel, a massive bow and a quiver with arrows. He looked at their surprised faces.
"You're a warrior?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes. I am a Shinobi, an assassin. But I am looking to settle down for a bit, rest." Kage answered.
Stoick and his father shared a glance.
"I don't want any trouble." Stoick informed him.
"Do not worry, unless one of you starts the trouble, there won't be any." Kage answered unperturbed by Stoick's size.
He walked past them and stepped off the boat. As he passed Astrid, he looked her in her eyes. She saw two dark purple eyes beam at her from under the cap. They looked both tired and worn, and youthful and energetic. They spoke of someone who had seen worse than should ever be seen, had done more than was thought possible, but also of someone who still enjoyed life, still appreciated the small things. Something in those eyes attracted Astrid, something about the foreboding was actually inviting. She broke the glance as he stepped onto the dock platform.
Kage continued to stand there like a statue while they waved off Meastrox for the next year. The fog had cleared and they could see the boat all the way as it left the quay and vanished around the coast.
Only when the last fibre of the sail was gone, only then did Stoic return his attention to Kage.
"We do not have any empty houses, but we can build one, though that will take a while." Stoic offered.
"Thank you, but I prefer to build my own abode. I have exacting standards." Kage replied. "All I will need is a high place, one a bit separated from the main collection of houses." Kage continued.
Stoic nodded and looked at Hiccup.
"Hiccup, will you show him the hill top? It should be good for house building." Stoic asked without really giving Hiccup a choice.
Hiccup nodded and motioned for Kage to follow him. They walked up to Toothless and Hiccup mounted him.
"You coming?" He asked Kage as Astrid climbed aboard her own dragon.
"No, I will keep up on foot." Kage replied.
"I don't think you will be able to keep up with Toothless, he's pretty fast." Hiccup insisted.
"You'd be surprised." Was all Kage said.
He said it in a manner that read.
'You have no idea'
Hiccup wasn't in the mood to argue, and he saw that Toothless wasn't too easy with this guy, so he wasn't bothered too much that Kage didn't want to ride him. He took to the skies, and Kage was closed behind. He jump soundlessly from tree to tree following Hiccup and Astrid. He was a fast as lightning, and a silent as a winter's night. You only saw him in the instances between jumps.
They soon reached the hilltop where Stoic had told Kage he could build his house. It had a view of the town about twenty minutes' walk away, and it was close to the forest.
"Here we are.". Hiccup told Kage.
"Thank you, but I'd better get to work. Kage replied.
He immediately got to work finding wood for the house. It took him the whole morning, but by midday he was ready to begin chopping up the wood. Hiccup came up to check up on him, and found him in the middle of the chopping process. Hiccup hid behind a tree, not certain if Kage had seen or heard him. He poked his head out to see what he was doing.
Kage inserted the blade into the one end of the stump, stared down the length of the stump for a minute, then thrust his sword. The sword slowly came out of the wood as it continued along the arch, but the wood kept splitting far beyond the point where the sword had stopped cutting. The stump split in two. Hiccup was amazed.
'He's freekin' good!' He thought to himself.
"You come out, Hiccup. I know you're hiding behind that bush.". Kage suddenly said without looking around.
Hiccup was frozen for a second, then revealed his position.
"How'd you know?" He asked Kage.
"I have spent the past six years honing my senses, I should think I can hear the flapping of a bird's wings, not to mention a dragon's." Kage stated matter-of-factly. "If you want, you can help." He suggested.
"Alright." Hiccup answered, glad the subject had been changed.
The two worked hard throughout the afternoon, and at sun down they had finished and planted the corner pillars for the house. Kage had also built himself a temporary shelter for the evening.
"At this rate, we can have the roof and floor in by tomorrow. Then on Wednesday, I can put in the walls." Kage answered satisfactorily.
"You work fast." Hiccup complimented.
Kage didn't answer, he merely nodded.
"Astrid is on her way." He mumbled.
Hiccup looked down the slope, and surely there was Astrid, coming up the slope on her Nadderhead.
'Shit' Hiccup thought. 'This guy is REALLY good.'
Astrid was at the fire soon afterwards.
"You guys made good progress." She commented looking at the poles half buried in the ground.
"Yes. He has no breaks." Hiccup answered.
Astrid nodded as she glanced at the figure laying on the ground. He had removed his face guard and his top was at his hips. Astrid could see his dark brown hair, his soft yet definite facial features. They spoke of someone that was capable of great feats of hatred, and great acts of compassion. Her eyes rolled over his torso, he had slender muscles, they were long, not short and stocky like those of a Viking. She thought it must be from fighting long and hard battles, not furious short encounters. She had the distinct impression that he could trail you for a month without sleep or rest, and still have the strength and energy to kill you quickly and easily. It made her shudder, the thought of being close to someone like him. And yet, for some unbenounced reason, she liked it. She found it soothing to know that someone was more powerful than her, like she no longer had to keep up the facade. She felt like she could be herself around him, it felt good.
"You coming?" Hiccup's voice brought her back.
"Yes, I'm coming." She replied.
Kage watched them leave.
"Good kids, let's hope I don' have to harm them when the time comes."
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device