This is a Kingdom Hearts 2/Ninja Gaiden Black x-over. As Ryu trains in his home village, his home is attacked by an unknown and rather bizzare enemy...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Plain and simple.
Act 1
The Ninja
In the midst of a deep forest, a man walks the path of the ninja. That man is none other than Ryu Hayabusa, the inheritor of the legendary Dragon Sword which was forged from a Dragon's fang. Deep in the forests of his home, he surveys his surroundings and happens to find a ninja just below him. He jumps down from his hiding place and quickly cuts the ninja down in one swift motion.
'That man was definitely not cut out to be a ninja. He was always known for letting his guard down' Ryu mused to himself after picking up a small bottle of elixir the dead ninja had in his pocket. He continued onward.
As he started to climb the mountain, a kunai scroll flew out of nowhere and got stuck on the stone wall to the left of himself in front of him. It read, "A ninja must always be aware of his surroundings. Stop, and look around. You should find an easy way up this protion of the mountain." Ryu knew exactly where that scroll came from; It was from Ayane, a ninja of the Hajinmon Clan. Only Ayane would style her kunai with a pink mini-fan. He continued up the mountain.
As he went, two ninjas dropped from above in front and behind Ryu, swords drawn. Ryu drew his sword again and went down to business. He quickly parried the front ninja's downward cut and dispatched him with two slashes, and he blocked another downward stroke from behind and impaled the rear ninja, killing him. after it was over, another kunai scroll appeared. It read "When you find gaps that are impossible to jump, use the walls to reach your destination. I'm sure your ninja training covered this." Ryu ran across the wall and jumped to the platform in front of him, when he use a sturdy-looking branch to jump to another platform. He continued going upwards until he reached the second part of the trail, the Ninja Fortress. Room after room, floor after floor, Ryu fought through many enemies until he finally reached the final room where his last opponent, Murai, waited.
"You have finally arrived, Ryu" said Murai as he rose from his kneeling position, nunchucks in hand. After Murai briefly demonstrated his skill with the chucks, him and Ryu began their duel.
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Somewhere outside the fortress, Ayane heard screams coming from the nearby village. And those were not joyful screams. Ayane ran to investigate, and when she reached the village, she was shocked to the core at what she saw. She witnessed several villagers, even the women and children, being slaughtered by the most bizzare, inhuman enemies she has ever seen. She quickly ran back towards the fortress to report to Murai.
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After a long spar, the two warriors finally called it a draw, bowed to each other and sat down for a chat.
"So, Ryu, I hear your father, Ken, is still in the sacred forests training himself" said Murai.
"Yes. Father never seems to be satisfied with the power he already has" said Ryu.
"And what of the sister sword of your Dragon Sword, the Dark Dragon Blade, that is in your clan's protection?"
"It is still sealed away in our village. We are making sure it will never be weilded again."
"Ah, such a shame that a power that great will never be used. But I am not a part of your Dragon lineage, so the fate of that blade really should not concern me."
At this moment, Ayane burst into the room. "The Hayabusa Village! The village is under attack...!" Then she saw Ryu, who quickly stood up. "Ryu-sama."
"Who is attacking my village?" Ryu asked.
"...You may not believe this. Even I can barely believe it. But the raiders, they...they're not human!"
"Not human?"
"Yes. They are these strange looking creatures that appear out of nowhere in an instant, they are all dark-colored, as if they were born from darkness itself, and they have these yellow glowing eyes."
Of course, Ryu does not believe everything he hears, so he decides to see for himself and defend his village.
"Ayane."
"Yes, Master Murai?"
"Follow him. Guide him from the shadows wherever he goes."
"I will, Master Murai."
Murai watched Ayane leave the room, following Ryu as ordered. Then, after five whole minutes...
"You can come out of hiding now...Maleficent."
Maleficent, an evil powerful sorceress, magically appeared behind Murai.
"Everything is going exactly as planned, Murai. Or, should I call you, Dark Disciple?"
Murai smirked at that comment. "You just make sure there are no fuck-ups. I want that Dark Dragon Blade fully powered."
"You watch your tongue, peon! Be warned I can easily burn you to a fiery ash in an instant!" Maleficent yelled. "I know you won't tolerate failure, but neither will I. You make sure you do your part equally well." Then Maleficant disappeared.
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Ryu ran as fast as he could to his village, and as he made it halfway to the village, a man appeared before him, all dressed in black and wearing a black hood, his face could not be seen.
"I've been waiting for you" the mystery man said.
"Who are you? Get out of my way!" shouted Ryu as he drew his sword, preparing for a fight. The stranger held up one hand as if gesturing that he has come in peace.
"I am not your enemy. I am here to show you your enemy. Come."
Reluctantly, Ryu follows him to where he intended to go, the village. Then Ryu saw the horrible sight of his people dead on the ground and their homes destroyed, then he saw samurai charge at him with their weapons drawn...and the creatures Ayane described.
"They are called Heartless" the stranger mentioned.
"Heartless?"
"I trust you will not stand idly by."
"Of course not!"
Ryu charged toward the Heartless and the samurai and began dispatching them one after the other, and as he did he saw the Heartless' bodies disappear and glowing hearts flying out of their bodies. "Hearts flying out of their bodies? What is this?"
"The heart is the basis of their existence" the stranger said.
"What are you talking about?"
The stranger did not answer. He ran forward, leaving Ryu no choice but to follow him.
As they went along, they were ambushed by samurai on horseback. This time, the stranger lent assistance. Out of nowhere, a dark purple demon wing shaped blade appeared out of his hand and he went right into action. Ryu used the bow and arrows he had gotten from the armory to shoot the archers that appeared and the stranger used his blade to hack away at the samurai that were not archers. After a seemingly tough battle, the duo proceeded forward. Ryu noticed the corpse of another fellow ninja, right by the entrance to the heart of the village. "If the enemy managed to get this far...I must hurry!"
Of course Ryu was not going alone, as the stranger followed suit.
"You really don't have to follow me. I can take care of this myself" Ryu said to the stranger.
"I am neccesary for now" the stranger replied.
Ryu gave him a quizzical look but decided not to ask any questions and went forward. as the two warriors started to cross the bridge, the entrance behind them collapsed. Afterwards, two samurai mages appeared alongside another samurai wearing stylish armor and carrying a three-pronged yari with him.
The stranger had an idea. "I will take care of these imbeciles. You just hurry to the other side."
Ryu acknowledged the stranger's generosity and went ahead. As he did, he saw the entire area set ablaze...and a dying Kureha inside.
As Ryu rushed to her aid, he noticed a huge samurai wearing armor as black as sin emerge from the flames and decapitate a Hayabusa Ninja. And he was carrying the Dark Dragon Blade!
"Who--or what--the hell are you? And what do you think your doing with that sword?" Ryu asked the samurai. The samurai cackled.
"Why should I tell a man who is about to die?" the samurai sneered sadistically.
Enraged, Ryu charged towards the Darth Vader wannabe with his Dragon Sword. The samurai, however, proved to be too much for Ryu as he parried each and every cut Ryu attempted. Ryu aimed for the samurai's head with a jumping spinnning sideswipe, but the samurai easily blocked the cut and punched Ryu in the face with a mean left hook.
Ryu steadily rose to his feet with his sword at the ready. He was still wincing from that last blow.
"Hehehe. Your life is mine" the samurai said. The two enemies prepared for a final clashed. And then...
"DOKU!"
They both stopped as the two heard a woman's voice behind a dark portal.
'So this monster is named Doku.' Ryu thought as he made a mental note. 'But who is that woman?'
Only Doku recognized the vioce. "Grrr. What is it this time?"
"Do not waste your time with that peasant. You have more pressing matters" the unseen woman said evily.
"I want to kill him!" Doku yelled back.
"He is of no consequence. Don't forget your mission. Consider my word as your Emporer's order. Understood?"
"Must you interrupt my fun, witch?"
"Stop your complaining and enter! I am loosing my patience!"
Reluctantly, Doku did as he was told. Something told Ryu that this 'witch' is apparently more of a threat than this Doku.
"Hey!" Ryu attempted to run after Doku, but the portal closed at the last second. Then the black-clad stranger appeared out of nowhere in front of Ryu.
"You are not ready for them. Not as you are now" he said.
"Who are you?" Ryu finally asked him.
"My name is not relevant. But this is" the stranger waved his hand above his head and a portal similar to the one Doku walked through appeared above their heads, accept this one was larger and it was slowly pulling both of them inside.
"What the--what are you doing!" Ryu barked.
"This is it. This is your journey. It all begins here" the stranger said cryptically. "Find Sora, the keybearer, and help him save the worlds from darkness again."
Before Ryu could utter another word, he disappeared into the portal. Unbenownst to him, Ayane followed just before the portal closed. Ryu's journey of world-saving, and veangance, has begun.
Stay tuned for the next chapter, The Keybearer(s). Don't worry about the rest of the story. I will try to keep the "childish" stuff out as much as possible. This is a KH/NGB crossover after all. And as far as Ryu's father is concerned, I named him Ken to pay homage to the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy. Chances are he might make an appearance here. Along with certain others...