So it's been forever since I've managed to write, let alone get a new story up. I'm terribly sorry. But to those of you who will find this story, after reading another one of my stories. Thanks for staying with me and waiting such a ridiculously long time for something I promised you long ago.
To new arrivals, welcome!
-Lady-of-Laughter
"Can you believe that we got sent on this mission? To get some random scroll that no one will ever be able to read? What's the point? If no one can read it, why does some unknown person want it? Why do we even need to secure an unreadable scroll from an unknown person? It's not like it can help or hurt anyone if no one can read it! And why can't people read it? It's written in some kind of lost language isn't it? If no one can read or translate it, and no one has touched it let alone been able read it for a thousand years, how do we know what's in it? How do we know that what's inside is so very important?" The woman with ice blue eyes ranted as they traveled, obviously upset with their latest mission.
"Nobody knows any of those answers, you know that! All we know is what you know! Someone wants this scroll and we have to make sure the scroll is safe. We don't even know who is after it, but that's not part of our need-to-know information. Let's just get this scroll and head home; we don't like this mission anymore than you do." A woman with green eyes retorted, rolling her eyes at the blue eyed woman; they had all been over this everyday for the last week of travel.
"Yeah, none of us really want to be on this dull mission. I mean come on, retrieve a scroll and keep it from falling into hands that shouldn't have it, ignoring the fact that they can't even read it? I'm tired of these missions; we all know that we're not going to run into anyone out here. This is ridiculous, I need some action—I didn't sharpen my weapons so they could look pretty in their scrolls! My last six missions have been escorts and retrievals, and all of them have been uneventful!" The speaker snorted before going on.
"I mean really, that last Lord expected me to save him from all and everything, which was a chipmunk by the way. I need more, I need a good fight and as much as you girls know I love working with you, I want my partner back. How is it taking so long to escort someone to Wave Country anyway?" The woman with chocolate eyes was agitated, her hands twitching next to the weapon pouch at her hip.
"I prefer the escort and retrieval missions. Blood stains are hard to get out of clothes and if we don't see anyone on this mission, I'm fine with that. Now let's get in and get out, I'm ready to go home." The woman speaking looked up in awe at the cliff side mountain rising before them, registering only the happiness at the lack of insecurity in the back of her mind.
With only a glance at each other the four stopped momentarily to look at their destination with quiet wariness they started forward. A section of the cliff face had fallen away as if time had taken a toll on it, leaving a large gaping slit in the crumbling mountain face just large enough for each girl to squeeze through. As each girl moved through the hole they stood in a line with wide eyes staring at a tunnel that led into a mammoth cavern inside the mountain.
Once at the end of tunnel and looking into the cavern, each girl surveyed the area. What appeared to have once been homes, outdoor tables and cooking areas were now abandoned, crumbling, sagging and falling apart in every imaginable state of disrepair. Very little sunlight seeped into the cavern, a large river flowed over half of the surface and down into the ground.
Clay bowls and shards of pottery sat scattered on a rotting table very near the water's edge, only a few feet from a dilapidated house and the former fire pit two yards in front of the home's door. The remains of decomposed vegetables and herbs were on the table and in the bowls, as if the occupants had either left in a hurry or suddenly died off. None of it made sense; what was this place that people would allow themselves to be shut in without a means of escape?
Sunlight shone in over a small portion of the water, making it shine and sparkle. Growing over more fallen houses and broken tables were vines and plants with a few younger trees growing along the water side. A gentle breeze from the tunnel brought the sound of a bird's call, bringing the girls back from their moment of stunned awe. Their gazes moved to the center of the cavern, the only place that was not decayed, flooded or covered in plants.
A white pedestal of marble stood tall and proud with a scroll about a foot in length rolled up and tied with a purple ribbon. Standing in front of it the four saw white marble stones laid into the ground, like headstones, each a foot from the base of the pedestal. On the smooth stones were names, attesting to the fact that there were four graves circling the solitary column. Each grave was pristine, untouched by decay, water or vines. Each had a variety of animals etched into the perimeter of the stones, with one specific flower at the beginning and end of each name.
"Here, it must be here! There's a hole, bring the rest! We'll go in and see if this is where the scroll is! Head back and tell everyone we are scouting it out, you have one hour! Voices outside the cavern spoke in agreement as the sound of footsteps in the tunnel met the listening ears.
In a tense move the brown eyed woman swiped the scroll from the pedestal and tucked it into her pack. In swift and silent movements the group moved, two on each side of the tunnel entrance and waited as four men entered slowly. Without much preamble the team sprang, quickly capturing the men like sheep in a thicket. Eyes narrowed as scowls raised their lips in recognition; these men were in their bingo books.
Hatred lingered in their eyes the Kunoichi killed the despicable monsters before them. They felt no remorse for the creatures they killed; those four men had done things that made them want to retch, because of the atrocious acts they had committed to innocent villagers.
Running out of the tunnel and into the light of day the four fled, heading home as quickly as they could. It was not long though that they stopped to see a caravan below headed towards the mountain they had come from. Looking at each other in recognition, the women nodded to one another and continued on.
The sound of people following them was soon heard as the women jumped from tree to tree. With their pursuer's shouts approaching the four had nothing to do but fight. Finding a place where they could rest and hide for a short while, the women tried to scout out a familiar place to fight amongst the alien terrain. Carefully the scroll was pulled out, and the four looked at each other in uncertainty.
"If they defeat us, they will have the scroll. They can't get this, we have to burn it! We will all memorize it and burn it!" The one with the eyes of a deer held out the scroll, ready to release the seal.
To the Kunoichi this was nothing new. Each one was trained to memorize things quickly, because it would ensure vital information was not taken by enemies. And even if the four couldn't read whatever was written, they could most certainly memorize the symbols so that they could later write them and have it translated. At the nods of the other three women, a collective breath was taken and let out.
Carefully, knowing that their pursuers would soon be passing their hidden caver, the scroll was opened. A flash of white shone off the page and unusual swirls in silver and gold flowed over the pristine paper. With wide eyes the four touched the paper, each brushing her fingertips over a picture in each corner closest to them.
Eight different shining colors of light sprang up from the page, four into the air and four up the limbs of the girls touching the paper. The blinding glow instantly covered the eyes of the four and invaded their minds, leaving each woman on her back. Collectively each woman saw the past, and in the process gained a small inkling of what they had become. They lay in their spots, bodies limp, breathing shallow, eyes white and their forms shrouded from view by a dark haze in the shadowed cave.
Four women ran full speed through the trees, fleeing those that wanted them dead and determined to protect their power for the survival of the world. The sound of leaves swishing and the rhythmic gasping of air was the only sound surrounding their retreating form. Behind them crashes were heard as testimony of the people after them. Jumping to the ground floor the four women kept up a steady pace as their muscles and lungs screamed their anger at the abuse.
A group of six men landed around them, running steadily next to them. These men had gotten ahead of the larger group which had perhaps sixty people still farther back. Most people had no idea what these women were; whatthey possessed was an utter mystery, but specific descendants would one day understand. Those that knew what they were capable of became one thing, harbingers of death. People who knew what these women were only desired two things: their powers or their corpses.
It would have been understandable that their fear drove them to such actions against the four, but the women knew their true motives. These people had been after them for years, and the women knew very well that their only desire was to kill the four females and control the world. With their demise, the world would be in chaos. It would take someone who knew what would happen to control the populace and make the world flourish and the likelihood of that was very grim.
Weapons flew at them, causing the women to stop their flight and face the six enemies surrounding them. Carefully the women fell into formation, standing in a tight square, shoulder to shoulder with each other, their lungs fighting for air as their exhausted bodies stood in tense waiting. The men around them stood back, ready to act but unwilling to approach the four, formidable forces of nature to be dealt with. To top it off the women should have been dead long ago from their fleeing, fighting and injuries of the last few days—it was unthinkable that they still lived, let alone fought.
"Stay back men, don't let them touch you!" The leader of the small group around them bellowed, indicating to the women that the men were aware of what they could do.
"Girls, if we live through this, we have to make it to the Shunkashuutou Grove. And as much as we don't want to, we have to preserve the balance of the world and relinquish our power to the safekeeping of the scroll until our descendants can take up the power again. They have already taken our Tennō, they shall not have us!" A woman with white hair and brown eyes—clearly the leader and eldest of the four—spoke hastily as she gasped for air.
All four took out their swords, ready to fight, moving as if they were talking to one another and strategizing, but their mouths never moved and words never passed the threshold of their lips. Two men came at them, testing each one. Standing ready, knowing that they had no choice but to allow the power to consume them if they were to live, the four females readied themselves. One of the two ninja met a bitter end after he dared get too close to the woman with soft red hair and bright blue eyes. Another young and overzealous ninja was caught and dispatched by the girl with snow white locks.
The other two women stood equally as intimidating in their posture. One apple green eyes and brown hair, the other with uniquely colored eyes and raven black hair watched the four remaining ninja warily. Allowing the power to come forth, the typical loose ninja garb each woman wore changed. The transformation put the women in regal postures with looks of scorning; they were now Queens and their eyes and faces conveyed that with certainty. Their loose ninja garb transformed to gowns of quality and jewelry of immense value. Their long, loose hair rose to bind into styles of immaculate fashion.
"You dare cross us? You know you cannot defeat us, we are the Kōgō no Shunkashuutou, you hold no sway over us and you pose no threat that we cannot easily defeat. Be gone from our sight!" The woman with the russet hair spoke with a condescending tone, in a voice that sounded oddly as if there were more than one voice. The authority of their voices was clear and intimidating with each syllable.
"We will kill you! And in doing so, free the world of your violence and reign of corrupted influence! And when we do, we will rule the world in peace!" Again the man bellowed at them, yet it had no effect on the women who stood with open scoffing.
"You're the ones who are corrupted, you're the ones who will lead the world into chaos and control it for your own gain. We keep the balance of the world! You're the ones who want to throw that away. You're greed and pettiness is what we protect the world from!" The royalty in their fine garments merely swept their right arms out in front of their bodies with more grace than any dancer could achieve and they were gone in swirls, one of fire, one of snow flakes, one of dust and one of wind.
Ahead of the four remaining men they reappeared, far enough ahead to been seen only as distant figures. Again the men were after them, and slowly they gained on the four who fled but flagged from the exhaustion and wounds already acquired. Again they were surrounded, but again the pursuers were thwarted. With unimpressed smiles or scornful frowns the four used their left hands to sweep across their bodies and again were gone, this time farther. The woman with chestnut hair turned to dust and floated away, the woman with hair of clean cotton faded and became the wind, the one with a blaze of crimson hair was consumed in flames and flew away as and the last with midnight hair changed into flowing water that spun through the air.
Minutes later the women were far enough away to flee the distance they needed to go, and with that relief in their minds they allowed themselves to change back into their normal attire and pulled the power into submission within themselves. As they reached the protective archway leading into the Shunkashuutou Grove, the girls stopped to protect the archway from being found by the remaining men close enough to see the archway. Turning to the four men fast approaching, the larger group very far behind now, the women knew that if they could silence the last men no one would be able to find the Shunkashuutou Grove.
The males came at them, not hesitating in the least even at the thought of being touched, determined to keep the females from entering the Shunkashuutou Grove. If they made it in, no one would be able to hinder the completion of their mission. Once they made it to the Grove, it was all over, and the men knew it. So they fought on, determined to stop the four now nearing death.
The first foolish man was too hasty in his attack, and came too close to the one of hair like a cloud. One of her hands grabbed the man's arm and spun him until his back met a tree while her other hand grabbed the base of his neck, fingers resting on his neck and her palm over his collar bones. With a snarl her eyes glowed silver, and as she gripped the terrified man his eyes stared unseeingly and his body turned to a white stone which then melted into a fine white mist. Each of the women could touch a man in the same way, each touch having a differing effect corresponding with the differing nature of their powers.
The ebony haired woman also portrayed silver glowing eyes, turning the man she touched to a statue of solid ice before he melted into a puddle of water. The other men, upon seeing the demise of their fellow ninja, came at the flagging group more cautiously. But in the end it was for naught, although they came determined to kill they did not live through their mission. The third man, who confronted the mahogany haired beauty met the presented golden eyes, and within seconds was touched and turned into a clay statue before crumbling to dust. The last man confronted the lovely female with vermillion tendrils, also bearing gold glowing eyes, and when touched turned into a statue of cooling lava until a moment later when he was reduced to ash.
As the ladies turned to the archway and fled inside the base of a cliff side mountain, the one with brown hair allowed the power to rise up again and change her to the Queenly stature of before. With a lifting of her hands, growling in outrage, a wall of dirt and rock rose up, encasing the archway and shutting all that was within the Shunkashuutou Grove from the world, thereby protecting all that was precious.
Once inside the four moved slowly, taking time to gather their breaths and to rest. After they had travelled through a good sized tunnel they entered an opening. In the cavern there were people milling about, some keeping oil-filled torches on the wall burning, others harvesting a garden of food below a large pond that received flowing water from the mountain top. A small creek took the water down the middle of the garden, irrigating it, and into the ground to caverns below the surface of the ground floor.
This was a peaceful place, full of people who cared for the Shunkashuutou Grove in exchange for protection and peace. Light filled the huge cavern, from crevice holes in the mountain top while a dome of the ceiling was covered with glass to provide the sun's rays to filter in. The shining glow gave the cavern enough light to shine off the waters, tan the workers and feed the many plants that grew inside the mammoth cavern hidden within the mountain.
As the four moved, the people stepped from their path and bowed, as if royalty walked before them. With resolute steps they walked to the center of the large meadow like enclosure where a pedestal of white marble stood five feet tall. An opened scroll rested on its platform. The woman with winter time hair limped heavily as the sepia haired one held an arm protectively over her left side. The scarlet headed lady clutched at her stomach as the raven haired woman kept her left arm held in her right hand.
Each figure bled profusely as they walked, finally coming to stand before the pedestal and stare. With grieving hearts for their lost Tennō, and the knowledge that soon they would give up their powers to the safekeeping of the scroll until their descendants could come to retake the power that belonged to their families, the four shared a glance. Sorrows and joys were shared in those brief moments; together their memories were gathered and intertwined as they prepared to pour them all out.
"We give our gifts of power, all knowledge of the power and the balance of the power on this planet to the scroll and we command that the scroll allowed none but a first daughter of our own blood to receive the power. All others presuming to steal our gifts, we demand they be punished with death for their intrusion." With these solemn words the each separately placed their right hand on their corner of the scroll.
Turning their heads away and letting the power be taken from their bodies and into the scroll, the girls knew that bright lights flared from their hands. A dim grey light came from the woman with hair of snow, a gold light from the one with a blaze of fire crowning her head, a green light from the lady with hair the color or rich soil and a blue light from the last, with tendrils of night cascading from her head.
Tears fell down their checks as the faces of their dead Tennō and the smiling faces of the children they had been entrusted to relatives flashed before their mind's eye. Allowing the exhaustion and pain to take them slowly to sleep's door they each faded to the ground where they slipped peacefully into death.
Their bodies would be taken care of, the people protected by the power in the Mountain Grove would see that they were buried well, and their spirits were going to be with their lost Tennō. Now everyone only had to wait for the descendants who would someday retake the power of the Shunkashuutou. But that time of waiting was undetermined, and always would be until first daughters of their blood could find their way to the scroll. If there were any living first daughters of the blood, let alone if they found their way to the waiting scroll.
Sitting up and shaking their heads each woman looked to one another and then to the scroll on the ground. Lifting the ancient paper and replacing it in her pack the doe eyed girl stood. As each woman stood they felt power well up within them and took deep breaths to control this strange rising force of power. However, controlling it came easily, and within minutes they were feeling normal, if not a little off balance.
Looking down at herself each lady gasped, they were no longer themselves, but instead stood in gowns that only royalty would wear. With eyes glowing silver or gold, they pulled the power back, pushing it into complete submission so they could change into their normal appearance. It was going to take some getting used to, waking up to see one's self like that.
Knowledge seeped into their awareness, revealing things about themselves and the people in the graves. What power they controlled and how to use it, as well as what they were, slowly and carefully. Although they could not seem to grasp a few fuzzy facts, they felt the slow trickle of information. Very slowly they learned facts of their lives and what was ahead of them as hums of happiness and joy reverberated in thrills exulting in freedom.
Additionally, it became evident that they must search every record for any mentions of the four women. Furthermore, the four women would have to request to search for the information in the ally nations as well, for any mentions of Fuyuko, Atsuko, Kuniko and Fuu. The last of their respective families, the ones who possessed the aforementioned mysterious powers before sealing them into the scroll for safekeeping:the Kōgō no Shunkashuutou ladies.
And they had to find any mention of their husbands, called Tennō. Those four were named Tomoya, Takeo, Yota and Yuya. The knowledge of those four names triggered something in the four women: night, day, spirit and knowledge. Things represented by the Tennō men and the power given to them.
"Day? Like happiness and cheer, a man that portrays those qualities? Sounds like a certain blonde we know. Although I think he may take it a little too far at times." With an uneasy laugh the other three girls agreed with the speaker.
"And spirit? I can only think of one who uses his spirit to get through life without submitting completely to others." Her eyes of liquid chocolate blinked at the others who nodded.
"What about knowledge? I mean come on; pretty obvious." The others murmured their agreement as they pictured the one the sky eyed beauty spoke of.
"Night, well, the dark and creepy solemnity of night is certainly embodied by him." With a bitter scowl the last of the four spoke, as the nameless man's image registered before scowls lifted their lips.
A niggling at the back of their minds caused them uneasiness, but they were unsure of what that nudge meant. Some sort of warning about the Tennō, something was unusual about the thoughts of who they knew to be of those qualities. Abandoning those musings and deciding it would be best to research everything, the women felt the slow trickle of knowledge, but it was taking time, something they were not sure they had.
The four knew that their power had been passed from generation to generation of first daughters, and they knew just how lucky they were that they had not died; in fact, they were incredibly lucky that they had been the four sent and that they were the descendants of those four women. With sighs and nods of agreement, the four ran out of their cave, the men searching for them long forgotten as they swished their right arms across their bodies and disappeared in swirls of fire, snowflakes, dust and a gust of wind.
The people after them stood no chance of finding them anymore, as they had more important things to do, the first being to get home and report. Whether to gain power or some secret the scroll possessed, thirty-seven women and seventy-eight men had died trying to open the scroll. One thing was clear, along with their report; the four beauties had questions to ask.
So, tell me what you think in a review. =)