Mika's eyes slowly opened beneath the harsh glow of the Fluorescent lighting in the towers medical center. Mika knew this place well for someone who had not been in any skirmishes involving her work for Raizo. However, when she coordinated jobs, she made every ninja perform a physical to make sure they were capable of surviving their next assignment. The grumbles she received from the more old-school ninja often made her inwardly laugh. Their view of retirement involved death and not waking up There were many days and nights where she had been here to get reports from various warriors when the "buyers" had been a little harder to "sell" to than normal. Never in a million years had she thought she would be here for herself; much less stabbed and on the brink of death. Wonders never seemed to cease her at the Black Sand Tower.
The slight rustle of silk caused Mika to turn her head towards the far right corner of the boxy utilitarian room. Asami was quietly working on looked to be needlepoint, her small hands quickly dancing over the fabric in a way that Mika personally would probably not have the patience to complete. The near lotus slowly lifted herself from the table into a sitting position and took a deep breath. Brown arms wrapping around her middle as the activities of the last eight hours caught up with her. She had been poisoned by a ninja from the Stone Fox clan, whose head she had presented to Raizo. She had her Lotus name, but she had not completed the test. There was a seduction that was supposed to take place, but the injuries she had sustained fighting the shades robbed her of being able to enjoy Raizo's touch.
Mika frowned and swung her robed legs over the over the hospital bed. She had a seduction to complete and not a lot of time to complete it. Knowing Raizo, he was probably maiming someone at this very moment. He had done more for far less, and a slight smile at the memory of a failed kidnapping over four years ago tugged at her lips. So in the interest of saving lives and saving time, it made sense for her to take the initiative and locate, Raizo. Well, in her head it made sense. Her feet touched the floor and her body buckled under the pain, causing her to catch the bed just in time to keep from falling into an ungraceful heap upon the floor. She pulled in deep breaths trying to steady her head and nerves to make the trip upstairs. A soft tsk'ing sound was made over her shoulder, and dark brown eyes closed as she knew the irritation that was coming. "Venerable Asami, how are you this late evening?"
"Me? I'm grand thank you. What exactly do you call yourself doing? Because though I would call getting out of bed after fighting and being drugged a mistake. I'm sure Westerners have other names for such impossibly ridiculous notions." Asami's calm voice made Mika grit her teeth with the effort to stay polite. She was still smarting from the last conversation they had, and the pain was making her feel petty.
Mika tried to smile, but she doubted the action showed in her eyes. She was not in the mood to be stopped at finishing her task. "Nothing Blood Lotus, I'm simply going to see Raizo. We have some unfinished business to take care of…"
"Or you could stay in bed like someone with more than five ounces of sense." The tart message was delivered in regularly Asami fashion. Bluntly and with a large dollop of disdain that an empress would have for a dirty commoner that had graced her pristine marble floors. Mika was doing her best to ignore the pain and the chaise lounge that Asami lounged in. Mika was very sure that the piece of furniture had not been there when she had been brought in.
"I have to finish the test." Mika responded flatly. Along with the other events of the evening she hadn't forgotten what had transpired before she had been drugged and stabbed. Not to mention that she was robbed of a whole night of Raizo, not that she was bitter at all.
"My, being stabbed makes you waspish. Why do you feel the need to finish the test right now?" Asami continued to fuss with her needlepoint, not bothering to look up at Mika. The action and the question made Mika suck her teeth. She was in a lot of pain, and the very least Asami could do was look her in the eye when she was being delicately rude. Not continue to work on what appeared to be a funeral shroud.
"If I don't complete the test then I can't be a lotus. And while I'm sure you're fine with that. I'm not." The words were low and grim as they whispered more to herself then Asami. She refused to let the last three years of her life be in vain. She grits her teeth once more and pulled herself up to her feet. With a deep breath, she turned towards the door and mentally calculated the distance between her bed and the door. She didn't want to think about the distance to the door to her suite. Luckily there was a private elevator from the medical center to her office. Courtesy of Raizo being afraid of her getting so much as a paper cut. If Raizo knew what was good for him, he would be waiting for her in her suite with very little if anything on.
"You do understand that the last part is a formality? Raizo would give you the title of lotus just because you asked." Asami rolled her eyes as if asking for strength and continued making small stitches in the deep red of the fabric within her hands.
Mika saw red for one blinding moment and took a determined step towards the door. "I'll see myself out."
Asami who was not at all appreciating not being instantly obeyed rose from her lounging position on her sofa. "Mika don't be ridiculous. You are in no physical condition to make it to the door, much less upstairs to your room back in bed this instant!"
"Would you tell Mai to back into bed if she had not completed the test?" Mika didn't look back at Asami. When there was no response, she knew she had no choice but to go up that elevator. The first step to the door had been excruciating, and she didn't have the time or energy to argue with the lotus matriarch over something so easily remedied. Another step was taken, but she was expecting the pain so it wasn't as bad as the first time.
Asami's head tilted to the side and watched Mika gingerly make her way towards the door. "Honestly Mika, I don't understand what more you want. You have had the privilege of training as a Lotus, killing as a Lotus, and even receiving a Lotus name. What more is sleeping with Raizo going to accomplish?"
"It's not about sleeping with Raizo!" Mika snapped and whirled around to look the elder Lotus in her eyes. She was sure that she had popped some stitches in doing so, but she didn't care. She would get up those stairs or die to try. "This has never been about sleeping with Raizo. I could have done that, and stayed in the safety of Berlin! It's about being able to survive by Raizo's side! It's about being his equal in all things. We cannot coexist without being evenly yoked. It's about proving to him and myself that I not only belong to him but that I belong here with him as well!"
Asami looked as if she was at the end of her own tether. Ruby lips pursed, and her eye lifted to the heavens once more hoping the Kami would release her from this whole moment. "Waiting a few days will not hinder any of that"
Another step was taken and Mika found that determination was starting to make the movements easier. She could feel her side pulling, but it would be okay, she was almost to the door. "That will be a few days of me being the subpar Lotus you think I…"
The end of her statement was cut off with a decisive slap that jerked Mika back the other direction she had turned. She had not been looking for it, so had no time to defend or brace herself against it. Her head swam for a few moments, but when she pulled herself together, she saw a lotus that was as angry as she was. No, not angry seething. Asami's chest heaved with the effort not to continue hitting her. As if Mika was her wayward child that she couldn't get control of.
"How dare you presume to tell me what I think you are? You have the gall to look me in the eye and whine about not being bed as part of a ritual created to allow Ozouno's to take pleasure from as many Kunoichi as the pleased!" Asami spat at Mika's feet, but Mika had been through too much to flinch. Not that it mattered Asami was not done speaking, and Mika was too stubborn to look away. "Robes, rituals, and ceremonies, don't make me laugh! The first Lotus was a farm girl sold into slavery to Ozouno Tachibana. A country bumpkin, who was fair enough to be used as a weapon, she had no ritual, and she had no robes, and sure as hell had no ceremony. She was taken on the ground in the mountains. Was she any less of a Lotus?"
Asami moved forward and grabbed Mika's chin so that she could level her eye with hers. Mika was sure that the Lotus would leave bruises, but she didn't care. She was numbed by anger and the stirrings of shame that Asami's words brought her. "I chose you because I knew you could not only survive the training but thrive through it. But you and Mai are my greatest work as a Lotus. When you write my story, I will live on as the greatest Lotus this world has known. Who but I could train two Lotus in one generation? Who but I could take a no one and make her a queen fit for an Ozouno?"
She threw Mika's chin to the side and imperiously strode toward the door. "Get back in bed! I will bring Raizo down here if I have to carry him on my back to do so!"
Asami left with a cough into her sleeve, and Mika slowly made her way back to bed. Mika was left with her thoughts as she stared at the ceiling. Raizo was not going to come down there, and she knew that without a doubt. He was too busy investigating the breach and maiming people in her honor. Mika's lips tugged at the corner in what little amusement she felt. Raizo was not one to play with when angered, and the last she saw of him he had been very angry.
Mika allowed her eyes to drift shut and let her breathing slow down and deepen. She had to reach Raizo in a way that he could not escape from. She thought about it for a few minutes and remembered the scroll that she had given Raizo earlier that year. It was the scroll that had been put on the banned list that allowed fighters to fight free of their bodies. She needed to do something drastic to get Raizo's attention, and maybe a little help from a forbidden practice might help. She continued to breathe deeply like the scrolls said until she felt herself detach and a door opened in her head.
There were screams. That was one of the things that she hated about the shadows that the ninja fought in. There was a scream for every ninja that had fallen there. The noise that filled the darkness made Mika's skin crawl, and she did her best to get in and out of there as quickly as possible, but not tonight. Tonight she had a job to do and she would finish it, Raizo's over protectiveness be damned.
She found Raizo arguing with Asami, and it looked as if she was going to have a seizure. Two people arguing with her in one night. Mika was sure that she had never seen such a thing. Her amusement waned however as she focused to pay attention the conversation. Raizo was dressed in the black work uniform of his people, and Asami was pacing back and forth in agitation at being stuck between two impossible people.
Raizo's hands lift placatingly to rest on Asami's slight shoulders. She was going into a coughing fit, and Raizo was doing her best to calm her. "My Lotus, you know that I cannot go down there. We are in the middle of trying to investigate…"
"You have no choice! She is determined to get to you to finish this test. Her stitches will not survive the trip! She wants to get her title, and she is being unreasonable!" Mika mentally snorted at the last of Asami's statement, funny how arguing with her made you the unreasonable party.
Raizo laughed and leaned over to place an affectionate kiss at the top of Asami's head. "If she wants the tile of Lotus that badly, I'll give it to her."
Asami was about to retort then stopped short at Raizo's words. Her head canted, and her lips pursed. Her fighting fan snapped out with a dangerous metallic ring, and Raizo stepped back warily "You know, hearing another person say that out loud, makes it sound ridiculous. You will go prepare yourself to visit my daughter, or I will slice you in two! I have had enough of this discussion. Now go!"
Raizo looked as if he was about to argue, but something in her face must have told him that she was in no mood to play with him. He walked away and Asami took a deep breath as if her patience was at its lowest. Mika took a metaphorical step forward and Asami went very still.
"Who wishes for death, this night?" Another fighting fan appeared from beneath her robe. She turned, and Mika rushed forward to wrap her arms around her shoulders comfortingly. She didn't have a lot of energy, so she couldn't project her voice, but she didn't want Asami to be afraid.
"I see, well if nothing else you are resourceful. I will leave you with it then. Bring him to his knees. I will be guarding your body below. I expect to hear all about it when you get back. Mika, I am most proud of you this night. " Asami covered her lips with her fan and made her way back down the elevator that went straight to the med bay from her suite. Mika took a deep breath and made her way into her room. She was not as experienced as Raizo, so there was a lot in the shadows that she could not do. But she knew that she would finish this task.
Raizo counted to ten as he walked away from Asami. He pulled off his clothing with each step towards the tub that had been filled in anticipation of Mika's return. A frustrated hand pulled dark tresses away his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to be in the medical bay with Mika seeing to everyone one of her needs on a very personal level, but he couldn't afford to. The Stone Fox clan was given something that made them bold, and he was going to make sure it was cut away with surgical precision. The seduction wasn't even necessary. He already belonged to her. She was in the palm of her hand and she didn't even realize it. He would have broken any of Asami's rules to get to her if she had only exerted her will in a fashion that demanded it. He had spent the better part of three years hoping that she would beg him to come to her in the middle of the night. But the letter never came. She was determined to succeed. Though he was proud of her, he was low level grumpy at the missed chance of illicit ninja sex.
He moved into the tepid water allowing it to soak into his golden skin before beginning the task of scrubbing away the blood that coated his arms and legs. The Stone Fox had sentries waiting for their comrade, but Mika's sword had made sure that he would never come. They were captured, and to say that they had been tortured for answers was to say that they survived. Raizo had not been gentle, nor had he been kind. Mika proved that she could take care of herself, but he would make sure that every clan knew that she would be watched and avenged by himself personally. As a member of the clan they would all take care of her, but he would take any action upon his love as a direct insult to himself and would return any action in kind.
He stiffly removed as much of the blood as he could. He would not take Mika with any reminders of what happened earlier this night. Though in truth he would not be physically taking her at all. He would hold her as not to disrupt her stitching, and she would need to make peace with that. He was a monster, but he would not be a selfish one. He would take her when she was better, and the threat of the Stone Fox had ended. He would not rest until Rokuro's head was presented on a golden platter at Mika's dainty feet. Then he would take great pleasure in physically receiving her thanks while Rokuro's lifeless eyes watched them.
On the thought of taking Mika in such a fashion, Raizo groans in frustration and dipped beneath the water. He rose and combed the soaked strands of his hair from his eyes. His whole body was tight with the stress caused by the need of Mika. The mental image of him kissing his way up Mika's body starting at the arch of her feet made him turn the cold water on. Mika was hurt, and he doubted she would be able to do more than heavy petting. Another thing that had Raizo swimming in a sea of rage.
It wasn't that the Stone Fox tried to assassinate Mika. Tactically, it was a sound plan. Strike in plain sight while they were all distracted with the festivities. He would have done the same. It was that they had even dared in the first place. Clearly, Raizo's desire to no be like Ozouno made the other clans feel as if they could harm members of his clan. That his humanity would make him weak. In honesty, he had thought he had personally killed enough of their clan to make them wary of coming at him head on this way. This meant that either Soguro did not know what was happening, or that he thought they were still too weak to wage war on them. He thought to weaken Raizo by tearing his heart out, by killing Mika. Unfortunately, the attack on Mika had the exact opposite effect. They thought he would abandon the clan and take Mika to somewhere safe. What they would get would be the hell that Raizo would rain down on them. He would be exacting revenge now if it were not for Asami's insistence that he attend Mika this very moment.
Raizo pulled himself out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. The air pressure had not changed, but he was no longer alone in the room. He moved to the bed where his kurisagana had been left. Calmly lifting and pulling the chain through his fingers. Dark eyes traveled over the room, and suddenly he felt small hands trail down his arms. A shiver slid down his spine soon followed by a moan as the hands that caressed him slid beneath the towel resting on his hips.
"Mika, I was coming for you." The sound of her name caused the feathery touch of her hands stalls momentarily. Raizo's heart topped as her touch was soon replaced by the trail of her lips instead. It began at his shoulder, and then another was laced on his chest. In fact, each kiss followed the line her hands had made moments ago. Her lips found him beneath the towel he jerked back and stumbled onto the bed, where Mika's ministrations did not end. "Mika, Please return to the medical center at once. You are not strong enough to do this. You may get stuck in Shadow, and I'll have no choice but to follow you there.
The words were murmured, and the ignored by the succubus that slid her lips across his skin. Though his words asked her to abstain, his body tightened like a spring coiled just before release. His arms were pulled above his head because he was halfheartedly trying to stop her from taking advantage of him. He felt her crawl on top of him, and his body was eagerly giving her the permission that he was verbally denying her. He was practically purring at the way her hips spread across his. Her name a soft repetitive murmur over his lips. Every sound a confusion of want and admonishment.
"Mika, I understand that you want to finish the test, but you are injured and strong enough…" Mika's touch instantly stopped. He could feel the sudden fill the room, and he knew that he had made a grave mistake. He would need to pick his words very carefully for the next few moments or risk the wrath of another angry Lotus. He wondered if the other clan leaders had this much trouble with the Lotuses in their lives.
"My love, I just want what is best for you, and…" Suddenly he no longer felt her presence. With a deep sigh and a series of courses, he forced himself into a calm state, and painfully dived through the door that opened in his head.
The world of shadow was not another dimension. It was their world but darker. They had the ability to move and touch things a. The laws of physics did not suddenly change just because it was darker. But it did hold a space that was very dangerous if you stayed too long. All of this was to say that he caught up to Mika just as she reached the door. She was injured, and it made her movements sluggish. In the world of the shadow, it could get her killed or worse yet unable to make it back to her body. A few quick strides had him shutting the door with a decisive snap that made Mika turn around and blindly strike out at him. Her reflexes were very good, but with her being tired he easily caught her arm and hauled her against him and into a deep kiss. The moment his lips touched hers it was like he found the answer to every question his heart had. Her arms lifted to curl into his hair, and he molded himself into him not giving her the chance to move away or even breathe. He wanted his actions to say everything his lips could not.
When he did break the kiss it was only because he needed to look at her. To make sure that everything he was feeling and seeing was real. Her eyes lifted to meet him, and he took a few moments just to marvel at the beauty that was his intended. She was everything that his previous life had been not. Happiness, joy, contentment was all in his arms, and he was afraid that if he looked away even once it would be gone. Mika lifted onto her toes and began running light kisses along his jawline. Her fingers cautiously dancing over his skin as if also making sure that he was real as well. It was as if touching him was a relief that she had been denied for too long. He allowed her to touch if not taste him. The world of shadow did not afford you all of your senses; which was a pity. He loved the way Mika tasted, but it mattered not. They would finish what was started. If she wanted to be a Lotus, then he would make her one.
Long fingers slid into the dark strands of her curly hair. She was pulled into a hard kiss that, at least in his opinion, a necessary punishment for the worry that she had put him through. Her body willingly melted into the harshness of the kiss. Apparently, she was willing to subject herself to any punishment he saw fit to give, and something inside of Raizo was deeply satisfied at the small act of submission. Raizo slowly walked her back against the door and pulled her legs up around his waist. His mouth and the palms of his hands set about in earnest exploration of every part of her that he had missed. His hand rested on the small of her back as he pulled her into an arch so that his lips could nibble and lap at her breast. His other hand stroked the sensitive skin along her inner thigh until she was squirming into his touch. She silently begged him to deepen the touch, and he obliged her. There was no part of her that his hands and lips did not become reacquainted with.
"Raizo." His name was a sharp pant against his very occupied lips. Each time she tried to say his name, he would touch her just so, or stroke his tongue against her in a way that made the sound draw out into a moan or a break apart upon her tongue.
With a frustrated growl, his body had determined that she had far too many clothes on. His hands moved to her waist, and he gently set her down back on the ground without breaking the greedy kisses that he was placed on her neck and shoulders. Theoretically, he understood that if she was going to remove her clothing he would have to give her the chance to do so. However, that still left the problem of him having to stop touching her. "Take off your clothes, Mika."
Amused, Mika smiled and this time it was her who pulled back to look into his eyes. Confidence in her newfound abilities had apparently made her brave. "I'm supposed to be seducing you."
"I'm seduced, take off your robes." The demand was made a little more tersely then he had meant it to, but she would have to forgive him. She was driving him made, and she was the only cure that he wanted. Even now his hands continued their journey over her curves; he was forcing himself to be gentle with her. Which, was hard because it was not at all what he wanted to do "Quickly"
The love of his life bowed her head and slowly began to peel away the layers of her robes. Raizo wasn't sure if the gasp came from her or him, but at the first sight of her skin, his hands were ripping away the material. He allowed the robes to pool in a forgotten heap around her feet, and his eyes hungrily swept over her body. He was sure that the robes had been lovely, beautiful even, but he could not find it in himself to care about them.
He couldn't taste her, but he it didn't stop him from dropping to his knees and running his kisses along her inner thigh. Mika took in a sharp intake of breath at the feel of tongue stroking her. She was so close, but he didn't want her to finish yet. Raizo pulled back and pulled her thigh over his shoulder. At the sound of his name spilling past her lips, he gently began to nibble and licked the petal-like folds of her sex. Every stroke of his tongue against her skin was rewarded with a whimper of his name. Her fingers were curled tightly into his hair trying to stave off the quivering of her body. He missed the way she tasted, but for now, he would settle for feeling her shatter against his tongue.
"Raizo!" The sound of his name was a soft unintelligible scream that drowned away the noise of the shadow. Her body writhed and bucked against his lips as he contained to trace his name within her folds, and branded her with his touch. As her body relaxed around his shoulders, he settled her foot back onto the ground. He soon replaced his tongue with his fingers; gently stroking her down from her high as he stood in front of taking in the satisfied sleepy expression on her face. She reached for him to pull him into a kiss, and Raizo realized that she thought they were done. He sneered and shook his head at how she thought she was going to get out of the burning in the fire that she started. It was cute, so much so that he allowed her to take the chance to kiss him before turning her sharply around and bending her forward so that her hands were pressed against the door.
His hands slid over her body until he could pull her hips back against his. One hand sliding between them, so that he could line his body up against hers. Their combined breathing was the only thing that Raizo could hear beyond the rush of blood within his veins. He was almost mindless with the need to be inside of her, to possess her, to remind her of whom she belonged to. As he guided himself through her center, his free hand slid into the beautiful coils of her hair. He gritted his teeth in an effort not to lose control, but his resolve was fast failing against the feel of her skin against his.
Raizo went still momentarily to try to get himself under control. Mika's hips pushed back against his and shook her head, and vehemently shook her head. "Don't …you…dare stop!"
He knew it was over the moment her body clenched around him. He leaned over and placed a line of kisses along her spine in silent apology of whatever was about to happen. His hips pulled back only to replace himself within her, slowly at first to give her the chance to change her mind, but the further he sank into bliss the more vigorously the command was being followed. The sounds of her moans told him she was not only ready for more but was just on this side of demanding it. And in all things concerning her wishes, he thoroughly complied.
Soon Raizo lost all sense of propriety or care. He was throwing himself into her in the effort to take them both past that point of no return her name was barely above a chant. A whisper that was almost pious in its level of reverence. His fingers tighten within her hair and pulled her back until was bowed in front of him, and causing her back to arch in an effort to fully sink inside of her. Her hands were virtual claws against the front of the door that she held onto. The sudden change to the pitch of her voice signaling that she was almost about to fall apart against him.
He pulled her chin up higher and tilted her chin to the side so that his lips could brush across her ear. A soft laugh rumbled beneath her earlobe at the soft needy whimpers that continued to topple over those full beautiful lips. "Mika…Mika…Mika… are you about to come …for me?"
He slowed his hips down despite the desire to finish amidst her screams, and Mika to his satisfaction squirmed and bit her lips trying to catch her breath. "Raizo, don't! Please…don't stop. I can't."
"I think you can." His tongue pulled the lobe of her ear between pearly white teeth and he bit down. The resulting scream made him slow down even further. He wanted to make sure that he had all of her attention after all. "But we have to finish the test. That is what you wanted isn't it?"
By this time his movement had gone torturously slow. Each roll of his hips was stopped just before pulling out before gliding back in just as slowly. His eyes moved to the door frame, where Mika's knuckles were almost white with the effort it was taking her not to come before she was told. Such a girl. She wouldn't be allowed to come until he was ready, and he was just about ready. "Who are you?"
"I'm… the Shadow Lotus and I belong…. to the Black sand…Raizo please!" Her voice was desperate sob for release that he had just about been ready to grant her until she told him who she belonged to.
"Not...the right answer." Raizo frowned, what she had said was true…sort of. She was the Lotus of Shadows and a member of the clan of the Black Sand. However, he wouldn't say that was who she belonged to. He trailed a love of kisses along her neck and placed a kiss on her pulse before biting into her shoulder. "Try again."
Her hips rocked back against his hips as his teeth grazed her shoulder. She had to bite her own lip to keep from screaming out his name once more. "I belong to the order of the Lotus? Raizo… please."
Raizo slid his fingers between hips and had to catch her before her knees buckled. He was almost at the end of his tether as well, but he wouldn't stop until she told him what he wanted to hear. "If you get it wrong this time Mika. I will stop. "He gently pulled her chin up and nuzzled into her neck. He was fully prepared to walk away. The green-eyed monster that coiled beneath his skin only wanted one answer. "Once more try Mika. Who... do… you … belong …to?"
"You Raizo…ah… I belong to you!" Mika was a mass of shivers and writhing in his arms. She was so close, Raizo was almost tempted to walk away, and make her wait until they could finish in person. However, she had been a good girl.
That monster that rested within Raizo's skin almost purred at the answer she had given him. He pulled away, and could only smile at the offended pout gasp that filled Mika's lungs. Although when he turned her around and pulled her legs around him the pout turned to a soft "o" as he slid back into her. "Does my Lotus wish to come?"
Her arms wrapped around him, and it was all she could do to stop finishing them both. Dark eyes met his, and his lip were found in a long kiss, that stole every inch of his breath away. "Ozouno Raizo…please…"
There was no rejoining answer except the short part of her name, as he pooled all of his concentration into bringing them both to completion. His lips dragged from hers, as he pulled her arms above her head. His hand held at her hips, to hold her stead, as he continued to drive into her. They were lost to the sensation of touch, and when she fell apart in his arms, this time he followed her. Raizo's world exploded into a million starts behind his eyes. Distantly he heard Mika call out his name, but there were too many sensations come to him in a place where there should be none.
He honestly didn't know how long they stayed that way. It could have been five minutes he knew or even an hour, but he didn't care. It had been three very long years since he had the chance to cradle his love within his arms, and he knew as he held his queen he would not survive another three years without her. He pulled away from her and pulled her robes back around her shoulders. She was far too weak to make it back to her body by herself. Between being injured, the stress of the ceremony, just traveling in the shadow he doubted her body would be able to take much more.
Raizo turned and took her back down to her body. He laid her down in the infirmary and watched as she disappeared from his view. He was not going to leave until he knew she had made it back safely. Once assured that she was at home, so to speak, he returned to his own body. Slowly waking himself up.
He looked at the clock beside her nightstand and noted that it had been two hours in shadow. He rolled his shoulders and stretched out his limbs. He adjusted his clothes and picked up his kusarigama. He was almost feeling benevolent right now. He might let the old man say goodbye to Rokuro before he beheaded him. His ears pricked and it sounded like swords ringing, which should not be possible. This was a no fighting zone, but none the less he heard the sound of metal clashing against each other. He jerked open Mika's door, and his mouth went dry at the sight before him. Dead and injured ninja lined the corridor, mostly of Stone Fox, but enough of the black sand to fill him with a dark rage that almost scared him.
Mai and Aki were valiantly playing a game of keep away at Mika's door. They must have been dispatched to keep his body safe. Mai was fighting well, but she was also tired of the night's events. Aki was picking up any slack that she had, but he was also becoming worn with the effort. One ninja swept Mai's legs off from under her, and Aki Called out her name. Though he shouldn't have worried, Raizo wrapped his chain around the enemy ninjas neck and jerked backward. There was a loud snap, and the ninja crumpled bonelessly to the floor.
Mai scurried up from the ground and bowed. Raizo returned the bow and waited for the explanation that he knew was about to be riveting. "Ozouno Raizo, I am pleased that you could join us! We are under attack!"
Raizo looked at Aki who could only shrug with a bemused smile before returning to fight off ninja who began to file into the hallway leading up to Mika's room in earnest. Raizo pulled up his mask and began walking down the hall to meet them. He would give them what they came for, and what could they have invaded the tower for if not for death?