:RoNinja:

Warning:

I do not own or claim ownership to any characters that appear on any anime, manga, or otherwise published media. I am using any said characters in a fictional, non-profit work. (donations GLADLY accepted...I'm joking) That being said, I am also a terrible writer, and apologize in advance for any inconsistencies in Point Of View or...uh...just sucking. This fic may also contain sexual content, most likely will contain graphic portrayals of violence, and innuendo...plus there may be some potty mouth...STFU already! Comments are welcome! Flames are less welcome, and flamers will be pwnd.

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Chapter One: Birth and Death of a Warrior

"RUN FASTER! I think I still hear it!" Two figures dart through an otherwise calm forest. They cross large clearings in moments and clear ancient fallen pines in easy leaps. Moving almost too fast to be real, they would seem like wraiths...excepting the heavy breathing and cursing. One of the figures comes to rest. His tall frame is covered in sweat from running. "ZOURI! Zouri, I think we lost itTUHHpphh!" His sentence is cut short by the sheath of a sword hitting his mouth. "Waraji, silence! Do you want it to eat us! Stop shouting, and stop breathing so damned hard." Spitting out a tooth, Waraji stands. "I...I can't stop breathing hard...I need air..." "Well we wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't decided to go hunting!" "How was...how was I supposed to know it was a baby bear! I was HUNGRY! Neither of us has eaten for a weEAAAUUGGGHHHH" Again Waraji is cut short...this time by the paw of a vary large, very upset mother bear throwing him through the trunk of the nearest tree. Reacting almost instantly, Zouri jumps away and draws his sword, just missing being bitten in half by her frothing jaws. Without any time to react, Zouri's sword is knocked from his grasp and he launched, tumbling thirty feet to the trunk of an ancient evergreen. The bear is upon him instantly...but instead of tearing him to bloody ribbons, she sniffs him. She seems confused, then her ears perk up and she trots off out of sight. Losing blood and swimming in pain, the last things Zouri hears are the anguished screams of his companion... :No...no I can't pass out...I have to save Waraji...I can't move...can't see! Where am I? I'm warm, am I inside? I need to save Waraji...WARAJI: "WARAJI!AAAHHHH!" He awakes with a start, screaming and promptly becomes sick with pain from the sudden movement, retches, and passes out. The man who rescued him pours another cup of tea, and continues his interrupted meditation

Zouri awakens more slowly next time. He feels as if his entire body is weighted down and his thoughts come slowly. He hears the muted chanting of meditation; the smell of incense confirms it. His eyes slowly open to reveal a thatched celing..."Wha...what...what happ...happened?" He barely manages to get the words out. The chanting abruptly stops. "Ahh, so I see you're awake now. Careful not to move too much yet; You were quite badly injured and I had to set a few bones and sew shut some wounds...it'll really hurt if you try to get up." he then continues his chanting. Zouri is too drowsy to be very mad, but he is frustrated. "Where...what...what happened...you never answered my...question." Again the chanting stops. The man gets up and stands over Zouri. He is wearing the unkempt linen robe of a traveling priest. "All will be revealed in time my good ronin, now sleep." At this, the scar across the man's face seemes to glow, illuminating his eyes...almost catlike...then sleep immediately overtakes him.

The next time he comes out of his dreamless slumber is by the hand of the priest-man. "Wake up! I'm tired of feeding you, your quite healthy enough to eat on your own!" He is shook roughly awake, and the smell of miso ramen immediately clears all drowsiness. "FOOD!" He grabs the food violently, and proceeds to eat enthusiastically. "So much for the manners of my houseguest." Through a full mouth, Zouri begins a barrage of questions. "So who are you?" Dodging the flying noodles, the man replies. "I am but a humble traveler." "Where are we right now?" A groan from the man as he tries to remove the noodles on him before more join them. "We are a few miles off of a sideroad, leading to the mainroad to the secret ninja village of Konohagakure." At this Zouri freezes. "We're by that hellho...er...village...?" "Yes but not to worry, we are not a threat to them, and they scarcely even know of our presence." This puts the ronin at ease for a moment...then his face darkens. "How long have I been asleep?" The man looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well, about 2 weeks"

Zouri sputters and blows a mouthful of noodles on the man. "TWO WEEKS? I was that badly injured?" Glowering at the ronin, the man replies. "I found you bleeding and broken by a tree near the road. I heard some screams and came across you while looking for the source. I took you to this shack of mine, and doctored you the best I could. The thing you needed most was time to re-couperate. So I drugged you and fed you." Zouri's face slowly becomes pale. "What of my companion...There was another swordsman I was traveling with...his name was Waraji." The man does not answer. After a moment he rises, walks to a simple wooden box by his fouton, and produces two bloody, torn sandals, and pieces of a broken sword. "This is all that I could find...I'm sorry." Zouri stares at them like he has become a mannican. After a few minutes the man says quietly. "I know how it feels, to lose a comrade. Do not blame yourself, blame the one responsible. I know of this killer, do you wish to exact vengence?" Zouri brings his eyes to the priest-man's, they show flames from within. "Yes...I live for nothing else. Tell me of this creature and I shall take it's life slowly and painfully." The man returns the gaze, unwaveringly. "I know this killer, and I know you are not strong enough to destroy it. I can teach you, but you must swear to learn all of my teachings, and to follow me unwaveringly." "I swear it by my ancestor's graves" the man glares at Zouri...then shouts happily. "Great! Nifty! Well your work won't be all that hard, I killed that bear that night, piece of cake. But an oath is an oath! I might as well tell you now, I am not a priest. I am a rouge ninja. You sir, are going to learn ninjutsu! Fancy that, a ninja ronin...ronin ninja? RoNinja! Haha...I crack myself up."

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-Well, what do you guys think for a one-nighter? I could feed the storyline a bit here, but I am mucho-tired, and I promised Vixon that I would post this by today, so TADA! WTF? comment, please! Chapter two is coming as soon as I get off my lazy ass and get to it. It will reveal a bit of our strange ninja man, like...his name...(for a hint, look on "vixon"s deviantart page and look through her archive...your bound to find something!) I hope I didn't clutter up the server with my trash!

2-13-08

I am currently in the process of re-thinking the story and slowly editing and updating. I am working on Chapter 2 and hope to be done with it as soon as 2-27-08 (don't count on it though)

Shaggy