Note: My first chapter ever written for this site, so please try to review if you have the time, I would greatly appreciate it. As you will notice, this takes place after Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. Those of you who have played Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory might notice the hint I put in. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: Tadao's meeting
It was a dark night above the land of Godha. The moon was completely hidden behind thick clouds, wind was hardly there. It was just another peaceful night, and the civilians of Lord Godha's province enjoyed it for as long as they could. Some of them heard rumors of eery things that happened a couple of months ago. Stories were going around, one more strange than the other. One person who had taken a walk in a nearby bamboo forest proclamed he had heard strange noises from deep within, like a deep floating sound. He also said he found the body of a ninja, which was completely red with horns on his head. No-one knew if these were true, but many people had the feeling that something disastrous had been prevented. By whom, no-one knew aswell. But the fact remained that people were causious, and so they were calm and happy for each moment of rest they were given.
But not the whole of the land was in deep sleep. In a small valley in the east, lay a small village. It was a normal village, just like any other, but tonight there was an unusual chaos in it. Guards were stationed everywhere, villagers had seen a couple of horses with riders on them pass through the village the previous day, completely escorted by at least 10 guards. The simple villagers didn't know what was going on, but they did know that whatever it was, it was something important. But they weren't spoken to, so they didn't ask either. Now, in the middle of the night, everyone in the village was asleep. Everyone except the guards of course. Two of them, who were stationed at the first house of the village, had a conversation.
"How long do you think the boss will stay in this god forsaken place?", said the first one.
"How should I know," said the second. "You know him, he doesn't say more than needed. Never."
"He could've given us some bit of info. I'm not planning on standing here doing nothing each night."
"What do you plan then? Go see him and tell him he can do his patrols himself? Your head will be laying on the floor before you even said it," said the guard.
"No!" said the other guard annoyingly. "Maybe I should be like Oda over there." He pointed at another guard, laying asleep at the main gate.
"I'm sure that's a great idea Hideo. If the boss sees him sleeping like that, he'll be staying here to guard the chickens of these peasants here."
"He could've hired guards who are used to patrolling at night, back where I come from..."
"You always used to work at daytime, I know," said the guard. "You told that 10 times already."
"Well," said Hideo, "I sure hope it won't take long, whatever he's doing, otherwise I'll really fall asleep. Maybe we should wake Oda over there, if the boss finds out..."
"No way, he deserves it. Falling asleep at the main gate, a whole army could stand there without someone seeing it. Just do your job and you'll see that's the best thing to do."
And so the guards continued their routine. They would've probably seen it if they went to Oda. Maybe they'd even saw it if the moon was shining. But they would never see it: a small dart, sticking out of Oda's neck.
"Great going, taking down a guard right in front of the entrance."
"You know, sometimes you're just too professional Rikimaru."
Right next to the entrance gate, there stood a huge tree. And in that tree, Rikimaru and Ayame were observing the village below.
"And besides, I had to," said Ayame. "If he would've come any closer, he would've seen us.
"Only if he looked up, and he wouldn't," replied Rikimaru. "They never do."
"Well, the other guards don't seem to notice. So what will we do now. A bit easy for two, no?" Ayame asked.
"Indeed," said Rikimaru. "I expected to have more opposition. First, we'll need to find out where Tadao is having his rendezvous."
"How?" Ayame asked.
"We ask of course," said Rikimaru. "How about that one over there?" He pointed at a guard who was behind one of the houses, out of sight from the rest.
The two ninja jumped from the tree to the fence and from the fence to a rooftop. It was easier not to get spotted with all the clouds. They landed just behind the guard. With a quick strike, Rikimaru held the guard firmly in his grasp.
"Pick a number between one and ten," Rikimaru said.
"Wh...what?" the guard muttered.
"A number between one and ten," said Rikimaru again while enhancing his grip.
"Aah, eh, three".
"Lucky guess, I would've killed you if you picked the wrong one. Now, do you want to play again or do you want to answer some questions?"
"I... I'll answer," said the guard.
Another guard turned around the corner of the house. Before he could see what was going on, Ayame pounced forward and broke his neck with a quick snap of her legs.
"You see what we can do?" Rikimaru said. "Now then, in which house is your master staying?"
"H...he's staying in the leftmost house of the village, the one that looks like a storage shack."
"And do you know who he's meeting with?"
"No," said the guard, "he told us nothing about his plans. He never does. He doesn't trust us."
"And lucky for him he doesn't," Rikimaru smiled. "Ok, I'll find that out myself, thanks for the help."
Rikimaru then broke the guard's neck too.
"He mustn't tell anyone, so I had too."
"You could've just asked instead of doing that stupid game first," Ayame said.
"I just felt like doing it. Otherwise, the job always seems so dull," Rikimaru replied.
After they hid the bodies, they decided what to do next.
"Who will check out the meeting? It's better that only one of us goes, when something goes wrong, they won't know there's two of us. One of us should wait in the tree."
"Let me do it," Ayame asked. "I could use some more action. You got the bandit mission a few weeks ago for your own."
And so Ayame went for the meeting point. From rooftop to rooftop, she had done this so many times already, all of these missions were beginning to look alike. She half expected to see Echigoya in the room when she peaked through a window in the building, but she instead saw two men sitting in the middle of the room. She could briefly see the figures of some guards in the room next to it. "They obviously don't want to be disturbed," she thought.
"And when are you planning to begin your scheme?" said the larger of the two men.
"Damn, I missed the part where they explain the plan," Ayame said silently.
"Not within the next few weeks, I first need to be sure my other supporters are really on my side. They are no good to me if they can't be trusted," said the smaller man.
"Well, let me know something as soon as possible."
"I will, we will deal with the important stuff later."
"It's been a great pleasure, Tadao," said the large man.
"Don't act like a slime ball," said Tadao. "I know you're doing this for your own favour."
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, but I know just as well as you do that a deal doesn't mean life-long friendship. If it weren't for our hate against Godha, I probably would never wanted to meet someone like you."
The large man smiled, revealing a mouth with a few teeth missing.
"I know, I know," said the man. "Unfortunately, many of my girls think the same. But then again, of what importance is a woman's word eh?"
Tadao grinned.
"Meeting together with the land's biggest pimp. I've sunk to a new low. It's good for you I need the money."
"And as long as I get my reward, you can count on it."
"Then I guess our meeting is over," said Tadao. "I'll let you know something about our next arrangement. Should I send my message to the same place?"
"Yes, my normal address," said the man.
The two men stood up and were about to leave the room.
"Well, I guess that's something," Ayame thought. She headed back to the tree were Rikimaru was waiting. While travelling back to Godha Castle, she told him everything.
"So Tadao needs funds from various persons?" Rikimaru asked. "That'll be interesting to see for what exactly."
"Who is this Tadao anyway?" Ayame asked.
"Long story, I'll tell you when we get back, night is almost over." They travelled for the next few hours before taking a short brake. Then they travelled again for the whole morning until at midday, they stood on top of a hill and saw the Castle of Godha in front of them, rising above the city in the glow of the sun.