Ninja Chronicle: Path of the Shinobi

By: gmsephiroth

Not much to say at this point. I hope the first chapter wasn't overly boring. Hopefully this one will be better. Anyway, enjoy…

Chapter 2: Reemergence of the Fiends

The Mugen-Tenjin village, which lay deep in the mountains, was enjoying a peaceful afternoon. Women were cleaning and cooking, the men working on the nearby farms and building small houses that appeared to be large huts. The children were outside playing, and the shinobi were busy training. And higher up in the mountains, the Hajin-Mon branch of the village was veiling itself in secrecy, as was their job to do. Support the main village from the shadows.

Hayate had been peacefully drinking his tea with Ayane, taking in his surroundings appreciatively, when the first signs of an attack had begun. Smoke billowed from the huts and the dying screams of men, women, and children alike could be heard in the distance. Without a moments hesitation, the both of them were up and running, along with other members of the Mugen-Tenjin Clan which were attending to their chores at the time. Hayate made sure to grab his sword on the way out. As they ran, they eventually came upon ash and trickles of blood, but a scene quite devoid of any corpses, with the exception of a few bodies strewn about here and there.

"What happened here?" Hayate asked to himself. Ayane could not bring herself to say anything, an act that was quite contrary to her usual front. All she could do was wonder why anyone would attack the Mugen-Tenjin Clan. There surely had to be some kind of motive. She also wondered where the bodies were. Surely there were more people here than this during the attack.

Hayate rushed over to one of the huts to check for survivors. After checking about three huts, he came up to one where a woman lay on the floor. She had a deep puncture wound penetrating her left lung. She was bleeding profusely, and Hayate believed her to be dead. As he approached her to check and make certain, her eyes sprang open, and then dulled a little. Hayate had immediately recognized her as one of the women that regularly cleaned the counsel chamber found within his own residence. She spoke softly; the very act of whispering alone seemed to severely strain her.

"Hayate-sama…" she said. Hayate could tell her life was rapidly being drained from her. Despite how inappropriate it was, Hayate would have to find out who had done this before she gave out. He would avenge her death, as well as the death of most certainly many others. That was all he could do for her now before she moved on to the next life.

"Please…tell me who did this." He told her compassionately. He did not want to sound harsh and scare her, especially not in the state she was in. She replied almost instantaneously.

"A man…holding a large, black blade. There were markings on it, red marks like the color of blood. He was accompanied by a large group of beasts, one of which gave me this wound before I escaped." She told him. She closed her eyes, and tried to open her mouth. She could not.

Hayate could tell that she was not yet dead. However, she no longer appeared to have the strength to even speak. She would continue to suffer an agonizing death. Hayate could not bear to see her in this state. He unsheathed his sword, and stabbed her. She died instantly. It was the least he could do to relieve her of her pain. Hayate stepped outside.

Ayane approached him and spoke.

"We checked all the quarters in this area. We couldn't gather much information, except that the attackers claimed they were from the Holy Vigoor Empire, and they were searching for 'the one that could tell them where to find the last of the Dragon Lineage'."

Ayane stood there for a moment while Hayate contemplated the information.

"Holy Vigoor Empire? Last of the Dragon Lineage? What does it all mean?" He inquired. Ayane looked at him in disbelief for a second, but quickly regained her composure.

"You mean you don't know? Well, actually, I don't blame you. You weren't the clan leader yet when it happened." She said.

Hayate became suddenly curious as to what exactly Ayane was talking about. He discarded all thought of the woman to whom he had just spoken to. He had to know.

"When what happened?" he asked. Ayane looked at him for a minute. She could tell he was anxious. However, he was taking the disappearance and apparent deaths of the entire clan quite calmly. It reminded her of that man.

"A few years before the first Dead or Alive tournament, when you were still in training to become the clan leader, the Hayabusa ninja clan was attacked and slaughtered by a group of attackers from the Holy Vigoor Empire. They were in search of an evil blade which resided there. It was the Dark Dragon Blade, which the Hayabusa clan protected from generation to generation. The one from the Dragon Lineage, meaning from the Hayabusa ninja clan of course, is none other than your best friend…"

"Ryu…" Hayate whispered, his voice barely audible.

"Correct. After his clan had been obliterated, Ryu was furious. He went to Vigoor to seek revenge. Of course, he succeeded. I'm unfortunately unable to give you the details for reasons beyond our control. You understand." She told him.

Hayate, of course, was not satisfied. However, before he could say another word, explosions could be heard in the distance. The Hajin-Mon branch of the Mugen-Tenjin clan was under attack. Diverting all of their attention in that location, they all sprinted towards the explosion.

After running through the forested areas surrounding the Hajin-Mon branch of the village, Hayate, Ayane, and the Tenjin-Mon ninjas arrived in time to see their comrades fighting strange creatures. The creatures circled the Hajin-Mon ninjas, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Screams could be heard in the distance. Hayate figured it was from the nearby waterfall. However, in that one moment that the screams were heard, the ninjas concentration were broken, only for instant. That instant allowed the creatures to attack, killing off three Hajin-Mon ninjas.

"Those are…Fiends of Vigoor…" Ayane whispered. Hayate heard what she said, however, and quickly sprang to action. The others followed suit. Hayate slashed at the first Claw Fiend, opening a deep wound on its chest. It fell with a sickening thud, and its body evaporated in a quick, blue flame. The battle had begun as the Tenjin-Mon ninjas attacked the Fiends. Their teamwork proved effective, as the vast majority of the Claw Fiends fell to the ground and burst into flames, disappearing.

After defeating the Fiends, the ninjas ran for the waterfall area, where screams could be continuously heard. After running for about a minute or so, they arrived at the scene of a complete slaughter. Two large Ogre Fiends crushed Hajin-Mon ninjas while a short figure in a black hood, carrying a mysterious black blade, sliced another ninja in half. The Tenjin-Mon ninjas were quick to act, as they attacked the Ogre Fiends head on. What happened next, however, shocked Hayate.

As the ninja's body fell to the ground, it slowly disappeared, releasing a mist-like red substance that the mysterious blade quickly absorbed. Hayate was unable to move for a moment. Ayane and the other ninjas were busy engaging the Ogre Fiends, however, and did not take notice. The mysterious robed figure shifted his gaze over to Hayate.

"Who are you?" Hayate asked, a pointless question that he knew would not be answered, but he felt he should ask nonetheless. The robed figure, however, gave him an answer in the form of a question.

"Where is the descendant of the Dragon Lineage?" he asked. Hayate disregarded the question and attacked the man head-on. He slashed once, a horizontal cut, but it was a clean miss. He slashed again, but to no avail. The figure approached him and performed a vertical slash, which Hayate easily avoided. As Hayate prepared to attack once again, he nearly fell back. When he looked over, he saw that he was on the edge of the waterfall drop. As his gaze shifted back to the robed figure, he was taken by surprise as the figure slashed horizontally. Hayate blocked, but was pushed back and off the cliff by the force of the blow, and he let out a scream as he fell backwards into the waters below.

Ayane, who was being pushed back by the Ogre Fiends, who had gone berserk after their masks had been destroyed, took notice when Hayate had been pushed off the cliff.

"Hayate-sama!" she yelled out, diverting her attention from the Ogre Fiends, and without hesitation, she jumped off the waterfall after Hayate.

The Tenjin-Mon ninjas, which were left to fight the Ogre Fiends alone, were quickly slaughtered by the beasts. The figure removed the hood, and the face of a seemingly middle-aged man appeared from under it. He looked over the edge of the waterfall and chuckled. Without a word, he turned around to search for survivors that could give him the information he required…

Later that day…

Ryu Hayabusa had not expected what he saw. The Mugen-Tenshin village was in shambles, a battle apparently having taken place there. A battle, or perhaps a slaughter. Ryu sprinted through the village to see if he found any survivors. He went straight for Hayate's residence in search of his friend. As he walked in, he noticed everything had been strewn on the floor and otherwise destroyed. He searched all the rooms and found nothing. He dashed back outside, and giving the vicinity one final look, he decided to check elsewhere. If memory served him, the Hajin-Mon branch was located nearby. Perhaps there would be survivors there. He ran for the forest behind Hayate's residence.

After a few minutes of dashing through the forest, Ryu came upon the ruins of the Hajin-Mon quarters. Dead bodies were strewn about of both Tenjin-Mon and Hajin-Mon ninjas. Ryu carefully inspected the bodies in an attempt to find out what kind of attack had killed them. All of them had similar wounds, inflicted in a manner he had seen before. 'But where?' he thought to himself. Suddenly, a loud stomp was heard in the distance. Ryu could feel the earth vibrating beneath him. His head sprang up. He rose from his crouched position and looked in the general direction of the noise. He looked up and saw birds flying into the sky. Ryu ran for that location, expecting to find the source of the noise…and indeed he did. An Ogre Fiend stood there, its back facing Ryu.

"A Fiend…" he said to himself as his eyes narrowed and he unsheathed his True Dragon Sword. Ryu tossed a rock as hard as he could at the beast, and got into an attack position. As the rock hit the beast, it turned around quickly, and took notice of Ryu. It let out a harsh battle cry as it dashed for Ryu. Just as the Fiend was about to hit Ryu, he unleashed his True Dragon Gleam attack. The Ogre Fiend let out a painful roar as it stumbled a few steps, stopped next to the nearby waterfall, and let itself drop. Ryu ran over to the waterfall edge to make sure the Fiend was dead. Ryu quickly noticed a fire at the edge of the water at the bottom. He saw a figure stir, though the could not make out its features.

"Who could that be?" he asked himself thoughtfully. Deciding to observe the situation more closely, Ryu begins to climb down the rock face next to the waterfall. It dawned upon him that the sun had already set and it was nighttime. He had not noticed before. He quickly disregarded the thought, however, as he reached the bottom. He sprinted for the location of the fire, which was now apparently gone. More than likely it had been put out by the person who had started it when the Ogre Fiend had crashed into the water. Whatever the reason, Ryu approached cautiously. He saw a figure that lay on the ground. As he neared it, a kunai flew through the air, aimed directly at this face. He caught it just before it hit him, and he tossed it to the ground. Another figure burst out of the trees and attacked him. Thought it was difficult to see because of the darkness, he could tell simply by the fighting style that it was Ayane.

"Ayane, it's me. Ryu." He told her as he blocked a well placed punch. She stopped dead in her tracks with the sudden realization she apologized, feeling rather awkward.

"Gomen-nasai, Ryu-sama." She said respectfully.

"Where is Hayate? I need to speak with him urgently. I need to speak with you as well. It's very important that we do so as soon as possible, Ayane." He told her. Ayane made a hand gesture and pointed behind her, towards the figure he had seen earlier. Ayane walked over to the dying embers of the previous fire she had started and lit a new one. As the fire burned brilliantly, Hayate's figure became clear. He was apparently unconscious.

"He fell over the waterfall edge earlier during the attack. A man wielding the Dark Dragon Blade did it. I recognized the sword from when you fought Murai." She said to Ryu's back. He turned around and observed her for a minute. He then approached the fire and sat across her. He gathered his thoughts and spoke.

"Ayane. I'm going to get right to the point, as there is no time to spare. Yesterday, the Emperor requested that I pay him a visit regarding an urgent matter. I did as requested, and went to see him. He told me that a man wielding the Dark Dragon Blade claimed that Vigoor would soon be restored. He ordered me to make preparations and find three shinobi to accompany to the Holy Vigoor Empire, so that we might take and destroy the Dark Dragon Blade and anything connected to it. I have chosen you two to come along." He explained. Ayane just sat and stared at the fire. After what seemed like an eternity, Ayane met Ryu's gaze and spoke.

"Very well. I'll come along. More than likely Hayate will come along as well. Like you, he will want to seek revenge for what happened to the clan." She told him thoughtfully.

"Don't you want to do the same?" Ryu asked.

"I'm not sure." She answered simply. Ryu continued to stare, but eventually got up. He had a feeling she needed to be alone to gather her thoughts.

"Regardless, if you're coming along, then meet me at Tokyo International Airport the day after tomorrow. I will be there with our final ally for this mission." He said as he turned away from the fire.

"Who is the last one going to be?" Ayane asked curiously.

"If you must know, it's Kasumi." And with that said, Ryu disappeared into a whirlwind of leaves.

'Kasumi…' she thought to herself. The mere sound of the name angered her. She continued to stare into the fire as it burned away into the night…

Well, that's it for chapter two! Anyway, please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome. That's it for now!

-gmsephiroth