It had been a long, tiring journey for the Blood Moon assassins; they had traveled hundreds of li over a week by stormy boat from the Hirana Monastary, located on the Eastern coast of the mainland of Ionia, to the other side of the island chain, to the North-Western Island of Ling'yun Kwan, where the Kinkou Order was located. Once there, Shueto and Shuezi had to take a bumpy, rickety carriage to the foot of Mount Kinxui, where the Kinxui Hidden Fortress was rumored to be located. It was a half-day hike from the foot of the mountain up rocky, treacherous slopes that were not made easier by the large, clunky coffins that were chained to the sibling assassin's hips. By the time they had arrived at the Kinxui Hidden Fortress, the two were drenched, boiling in their own personal pools of sweat. Blood might shine upon their scarlet robes, but sweat stained the folds of cloth just like any other liquid.
Shueto and Shuezi stood, standing outside of the Kinxui Hidden Fortress, shivering. The sun had gone down, rapidly changing the temperatures from boiling hot to freezing cold. The stiff, cold wind caught in their scarlet robes, cutting through the folds of cloth to take nips at their flesh, turning the wet, sweat-drenched cloths from suffocating to freezing. And the two of them stood similarly frozen, stunned in disbelief.
In front of them, a low-ranking Kinkou disciple bowed deeply to the two assassins in apology.
"Please excuse the inconvenience, honored guests. But the majority of our Monastery has departed upon an annual pilgrimage to Ing'Xao village for the Lunar Revel, at the Warrior Saint's Shrine." The Kinkou guard glanced curiously at the red information pamphlet that the Blood Moon assassins had given him. "You say you are representatives of a religious sect? Interesting. I'm sure our Headmaster Khen will be intrigued in what your sect's tenets have to say when he returns from his pilgrimage."
The Kinkou guard bowed again.
"Once again, deepest apologies, but we simply cannot receive visitors into our monastery properly with so many of our Order out on journey." The Kinkou guard pressed a small bag of coins into Shueto's stunned hands. "Here are traveling expenses for your trouble, honored sir. It should be more than enough for a few nights of room and board for you and your wife in the village below. Have a safe travel back home, and have a joyous Lunar Revel."
And then, in slight embarrassment, the Kinkou guard slunk back into the Kinxui Hidden Fortress, bowing all the way and closed the gates shut.
And the two Blood Moon assassins were left to stand alone, outside in the biting cold.
Shuezi's mouth twitched, her head cocked to the side in disbelief. Shueto, at a loss, kicked the ground, and put his hands on his hips.
"Shuezi... do you know where Ing'Xao village is...?"
Shueto's heart sank when he saw his sister's slow, reluctant hand signs. His sister, finished, slumped forwards and sighed in defeat.
"So..." Shueto slowly shuffled to a nearby rock, and lifted his coffin out from behind the stone. At this moment, it felt unusually heavy, in light of the months-long journey that they faced ahead of them. He put his coffin back squarely on his hips.
"To... to the South then."
And then the two slouched off, dejected, the wind clawing at their feet.
Snowfall
下雪
Two mountain monks play chess.
山僧对棋坐
The board is dark, the board is quiet.
局上竹阴清
Only Heaven knows how game goes.
局上天下无人见
Only sometimes is there the sound of moving pieces.
时闻下子声
Despite the light snowfall, there was a small lakeside tea-house that was still open for business. In fact, it was rather fitting, given the cold. A steady stream of pilgrims, wind-worn and cold-weary, shuffled into the tea-house to enjoy a hot drink and a warm snack. Akali was sitting with Kona, looking out at the new icing that was starting to coat the edges of the lake coast. She raised her cup of tea to her lips. The black tea steamed heavily in the biting cold. The hot drink was neither subtle nor sophisticated, but it was warm, and she was freezing her ass off, so Akali drank.
A sigh of frosted wind carried the smells of roasting tea leaves from the tea-house behind them, singing soft notes of warmth, home, and family to Akali's red-rimmed nose.
"Hamph." Akali blew out a cloud of hot breath into the air and watched the mist float, spread, and then finally fade away into the sky. If only she could do the same with her worries.
"That's gross, Akali." Kona raised her own cup to her lips and drank.
"Nyah." Akali reached down for more tea snacks.
Once the Kinkou pilgrimage had made landfall, the entire group had dispersed into multiple stealth groups on the mainland. And yet, they were still to all take the same path to Ing'Xao village. The Kinkou caravan had been deployed in their signature "Spider's Web Array" formation that had been developed several centuries ago by a famous Kinkou-turned War General; an entire army was to take up disguises and split up into many different teams, each far enough away that they as the entire "Spider's Web Array" could slip through the countryside unnoticed, but close enough that any one of them could reinforce each other in case of attack, like the many threads of a spider web. The other martial sects had dubbed it "The Invisible Army" and its closely-guarded secrets were deep-seated source of pride for the Kinkou.
Akali and Kona, being junior ninjas, had been sent to a group at the very center of the formation, where it was deemed the safest and least likely to come under attack. It also meant that they were the group with the slowest pace and the most free time, hence the leisurely stop at the snow-shrouded tea house.
Akali glanced over her shoulder, at their fellow members. Dressed as no more than humble merchants, their handlers were acting as their "parents" on a trip to Ing'Xao village for the lunar festivities. Three men, two women; all trained Kinkou ninja. They were Chu'nin, intermediate-level ninja, and no doubt miffed at being dispatched more as babysitters for Kona and her than anything else. Shen wasn't among them, nor to any of other teams that most of the Xiao'nin were dispatched, to no surprise. He was most likely shadowing the one of the front-scouting parties with the elite of their ninjas, preparing to shoulder even more of their Order's burden. He was out there, risking life and limb for them all... while she sat, and sipped tea.
Akali tried to take something like a defiant gulp, but she regretted it as soon as the boiling liquid reached her mouth. She lurched forwards in pain, clutching her mouth; the scalding hot tea roasting her tongue.
"aaggg..."
"Jeez, Akali." Kona shook her head; her expression tinged with pity. "Let me go get you some fresh snow." Kona got up, and stretched, before shuffling off towards the lakeside. "Ey, remember, don't bite at your shoulder while I'm gone and try not to attract attention. It's against the law to leave 'special' people unattended."
Akali did her best to flip Kona the bird while pawing at her charred tongue, even though she knew that her friend wouldn't see it. Still, it was the thought that counted. A light tap on her shoulder cut through her groans of pain.
Akali looked up, and saw a large, rough hand with a small black pill on it.
"Here. Take it. It'll help your burn."
Akali looked further. The hand was attached to an aged man, who looked to be in his early fifties or so. He had a wide-brimmed hat on, and dark, ragged clothes. His hair was unkempt; strings of black hair threaded down from under his hat, tangling with a scratchy beard that grew out tangled out of the man's lower face. Under his hat, the man's sharp, clear eyes cut through his bedraggled appearance. Watching. Judging.
Akali took on the cutest, most innocent voice she could make up with her burned tongue:
"I'm sowry mister. Ma'ma shaid not to take candy from swtrangers"
The man chuckled.
"It's alright, Young Sister. You can trust me."
Akali gave the man the best 'bullshit' look that she could muster up. It wasn't lost on the man. Laughing a little more, the man reached into his robes, and pulled out a necklace. It was a heavy rosary, made of extremely thick wooden beads, with religious sutras painted over each bead. "Do you know what these are, young one?"
"Oh... you're a monk." Now that Akali could see it, what she took for dark rags on the man was actually a worn and ragged kasaya, a Buddhist monk's uniform. He must be one of those wandering religious ascetics.
"Amitabha." The monk said, praising Buddha, the same man that the Taoist Kinkou called the Warrior-Saint. "My holy name is Tripitaka, of the Shojin Temple. A pleasure." The monk held his hand out a little further, the little pill beckoning. "Now... do you want the medicine or not-"
Akali lunged out and grabbed it. Once she had the drug in her grasp, she tossed the pill onto her tongue as quickly as she could. The tiny capsule melted on her tongue like it was made of snow. She closed her eyes in relief. Ohhhhh. Sweet, blessed coolness.
And then, she remembered her manners.
"Sorry!" Akali leaped to her feet, and turned. "Thank you for the medicine!" And she bowed as deeply as she could.
Tripitaka smiled.
"You're too kind. It was just a capsule of a dried orange peel, little ninja. No need to trouble yourself so." The monk leaned forwards, his eyes gleaming.
"Still, thank you." Akali rose, her bow finished. "Brother Shojin."
The monk smiled at the honorific, like it was some kind of inside joke.
"I haven't been called a 'Brother' in a long, long time. It's a misnomer, in all honesty. I'm not a very good monk these days. I eat meat like a lion and I drink wine like water, ha!" The monk reached down, and swept out a spot on the snow-covered bench next to Akali. He then plopped himself right next to the young ninja with casual ease. "And you, Xiao'mei? Does the young lady have a name?"
"...Um." Akali frowned at this. Mother always did say the Kinkou must be secretive, mysterious like the dark of midnight. But what could be the harm in chatting with a ragged monk? "It's Akali."
"Well, Akali. It's nice to meet you. In exchange..."
Tripitaka's eyes shone, and his smile grew. "...You want to tell me what the entire Kinkou Order is doing, moving through this countryside in formation?"
It took Akali a second to realize that her, and perhaps her entire Order's cover was blown.
She jumped away from the man, her hands racing up to assume a combat position. One hand up to guard, the other racing down to grasp at a dagger hidden in her robes.
"How... how did you know that!?"
"Haha. I might be past my prime, little ninja. But I can still spot soldiers in formation when I see one. Is that the world famous 'Spider's Web Array'? Very impressive. I nearly missed it."
Who was this man? Akali bit her lip in confusion. How did he know so much?
The monk started to get up from the bench, but Akali shouted:
"STOP!" She reached into her uniform, and pulled out a small whistle strung around her neck. "One more step, and I call for back-up. My immediate comrades will be here in less than one second. In less than a minute, half an army."
Despite everything, Tripitaka smiled at the threat.
"I'm afraid you're wrong on the first count, little ninja." Tripitaka held his hand out, beckoning Akali to look. To see. "Your friend is rather late, isn't she?"
Akali turned, and to her horror-
Oh no.
Kona.
A dozen yards away, she was lying face up in the snow, her eyes closed, not moving. Already, the snow cover was starting bury her best friend. Further down, Akali could see the bodies of her Chu'nin handlers, all lying still in the snow.
"Kona-!" Akali grunted, and sprinted to her friend. She pulled Kona up from underneath the partial cover of the snow. Flakes of ice fell off of Kona's face, but despite the girl's stillness, Akali could see the faintest trace of the clouds of breath coming from her friend's mouth. The unconcious girl's chest moved up and down, as if she had simply drifted off into sleep.
Oh thank Heaven.
She was alive. Akali cradled her friend's head in her lap, keeping it away from the cold of the snow.
"Dim Mak- 'The Touch of Death'. It's a secret technique of the Shojin. One clean strike to the Ren'gong meridian can incapacitate any foe."
Akali's head snapped upwards, with murder in her eyes. Her breath came out in an angry snarl, her white fangs of teeth were bared, clouds steaming out of her mouth in a white plume. The wind started to pick up, stirring up the snow about her feet.
"You. Son of a bitch. How dare you attack the Kinkou Order. How dare you attack my friend!" Akali rose, her hands floating to her sides, her fingers curling into claws. Her left hand pulled her robe dagger free. "I don't care if you're a holy man, I'll kill you! Rah!"
A roar, a lunge, a strike, and the razor-sharp tip of her dagger was nearly at the monk's eyes. Only Tripitaka's iron grip on the young girl's forearm kept her from plunging her fingers in and tearing his eyes out with her hidden knife.
"Amitabha, young one. I am not your enemy."
"Bastard," Akali snarled, and she flexed her fingers over the hilt of her knife, as if willing her fingers to fly off her hand and lodge themselves in the treacherous monk's face. "Let me go so I can claw your face off!"
"Three strikes to the Lesser Yang, Sanjiao Meridian means paralyzation for a week. Four after that to the Greater Heart, Qigong Meridian means death. If I wanted to kill your allies, I would have done so." Tripitaka's sharp, piercing gaze bored into Akali's eyes, which stared fiercely right back at him. "Peace, young one. Lower your hand."
The monk's grip was like a vice. It was like trying to push against a statue. Akali struggled for a little longer, before giving up. Slowly, carefully, Akali acquiesced, and relaxed her arm. Still, she didn't take her eyes off of the deceitful monk. Tripitaka released the Xiao'nin's arm in turn.
"I put your friends out because I wanted the truth. There are little answers one can get from a mob of guards. Just answer my questions, and I will leave you in peace."
"And what truth is that?" The distrust was clear in Akali's eyes. "Hurry up, old man!"
Tripitaka looked Akali carefully, searching for any trace of deception within her eyes.
What did he see, pondered Akali. Did he see fury or confusion, maybe? The monk was probing her mentally, but Akali felt determined to give the bastard nothing else. The young ninja emptied her mind and kept it full of rage as best she could.
Finally, he spoke.
"...Have you seen a man clothed in red. Wielding a black blade?"
"What? No!"
"Have you heard of a religious martial-art cult known as the Blood Moon Sect?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"...Hm." Tripitaka scratched his beard thoughtfully. "So you don't know? So do the Kinkou not know about the Blood Moon Sect? Or is Master Khen keeping secrets from you?"
"Know what?! How do you know our headmaster?!"
"...Never mind, young one. Your confusion is answer enough." Tripitaka bowed respectfully. "I apologize for the circumstances. Good day, little ninja."
The monk turned, and started walking away, but he stopped. Tripitaka leaned back, just in time for a flying shuriken to flicker past his face. The projectile soared past its target, eventually landed skidding upon the frozen ice of the lake. The monk turned to Akali in response, his eyebrows raised.
"Wait." Akali had stepped forwards, her hand outstretched and her chest heaving with barely contained fury.
"You don't forgive easily, do you?" A smile started to creep onto the monk's ragged face. "You have excellent spirit."
"Don't mock me! I answered a question for you." Akali grit her teeth. "Now you answer a question for me!"
Tripitaka raised his eyebrows in even further surprise, and his smile started to grow. He seemed to find the whole situation quite funny, Akali noted bitterly. She wondered how well the damn monk would smile with a broken jaw. Yet despite Akali's blood-lust, Tripitaka to face Akali properly.
"Fair enough." The monk folded his hands behind his back. "What do you want to know?"
"Tell me," Akali demanded. "Who are you really?"
"I did not lie." Tripitaka pulled his kasaya to the side, revealing the Curling Dragon etched under his left collarbone, a sect tattoo of the Shojin. The marked tattoo had been nearly scraped off by a single cut, a shiny pink scar shone from underneath the black ink. "I claim myself a man of the Shojin Monastery. Even if the Shojin Monastery does not claim me."
"So." Akali stated flatly. "You're an outcast."
"That's right. I once was a holy man. Now, I'm just a sinner, wandering the Wulin of Ionia, searching for penance."
"Penance?! What kind of penance involves stalking an army of ninjas? Or knocking out my friend?"
At this, a bark of cold laughter escaped the exile monk. His humor took the form of a billowing cloud of breath erupting from Tripitaka's mouth. The wisps of laughter rose and dissipated, fading away into the gray cloud cover of the sky.
A few strands of dirty hair fell over the exile monk's face as he lowered his head.
"... the most terrible kind, little ninja." Tripitaka lifted his wide hat, his sharp eyes gleaming from underneath the shade of his brim. "Penance by delivering divine retribution."
And then, in a burst of snow, the wandering monk disappeared, leaving Akali alone, standing in the swirling frosty wind.
"Asshole." She muttered.
Impossible, Master Khen thought. He could scarcely believe his eyes. This was hell on earth.
The Eye of Twilight stood with his elite guard, surrounded by blood and gore. The entire swath of meadow was stained red with blood, body parts lay scattered about, and the inn-house that the Kinkou forward scouting party had been staying at had burned to the ground. Those bastards must have set fire to the inn to drive their Kinkou party out, and then slaughtered everyone and anything that tried to escape.
Khen bent down to look at a pale, bloodied arm lying in the ground. It hadn't been cut off; the ragged edges told Master Khen that it had been sheared or torn off. He didn't recognize the cloth around the arm, either, which meant that the arm came from a civilian. So whoever did this didn't care about killing bystanders or innocents. That made these unknown foes ever more dangerous.
He sighed.
Forgive us, nameless victim, he pleaded in his mind. Poor, damned souls.
"Khen." A woman's voice called out. Khen knew who it was immediately.
There was only one person in all of Ionia wouldn't bother with honorifics when addressing him. His longtime comrade Akasou. "We found them. They dragged our men out to the treeline."
Weary, Khen looked up, to see Akasou waiting for him at the edge of his group, surrounded by her own soldiers. He stood and bowed to the carnage before turning to follow his comrade. Master Khen walked along the blood-stained snow, noting that the even, pink spread was coalescing into thick, defined trails. So the bastards did drag his Dai'nin out. One by one, it looked like.
"My God," Khen started, stepping forwards. His Dai'nin had been taken to the trees and lashed to each other, while still alive, it looked like. But they were all dead now. Old blood mixed with new blood in outspread rings around each man. "They've been tortured."
"They were our finest warriors," Akasou ventured confidently. Despite the gore around her, the Fist of Shadow's face remained impassive. Khen always admired that strength in her, but right now, it only came across as cold, even offensive. "They would never have talked."
"I don't think matters, Akasou." Master Khen shook his head, sighing. "Not with these people." Khen waved his men forwards, and they dutifully jogged forwards at his behest. "Bury them," the Kinkou headmaster ordered, "Bury whomever you can find." Khen frowned as he counted the number of Dai'nin that had been tied to the treeline. The grand master ninja's sharp eyes missed nothing. Even taking into account the mess of body parts by the meadow outside, he could tell that a couple of his Dai'nin were not accounted for. "Two have been taken."
"Should we arrange search and rescue, Master?" The leader of the Shadow Guard, Lieutenant Sao, cut in, his voice emanating out from behind the man's black mask.
"No. They're dead."
"But-"
"Do you think that the people who did this would take prisoners, Lieutenant?"
"Master- Apologies." Lieutenant Sao turned to look at the carnage, and as he did, Master Khen could see something in the young man's eyes. "Do you know who did this?" The elite Kinkou did his best to remain impassive, but Khen could sense the edge of fear in the man's tones. It wasn't like a Kinkou to spook, especially a high-ranking one like Sao. This was definitely bad.
"No." Master Khen closed his eyes. "But we know why they did this, soldier."
Akasou tilted her head up at this.
"The Warrior Saint Codex. So these killers after it."
"Aye." Master Khen fixed Akasou with his most serious stare. "And we absolutely cannot let them intercept it before the Binding Ceremony."
Master Khen turned to the lieutenant.
"I want messengers to all 'Strands of the Web' out at once with this message: 'Close ranks by half, alert level 'Black'. I want Dai'nin squads deployed to our flanks and rear as well. And not a word about this to any Kinkou at Chu'nin rank or below. Panic is the last thing our Order needs." Lieutenant Sao muttered an affirmation, then turned and left, barking orders at the ninja under his command to carry out their headmaster's orders.
Lastly, Master Khen turned to Akasou.
"Akase," Khen asked, using his familiar name for her. "Can I trust you to do something for me?"
"Mm?" In response, Akasou coolly tilted her head to the side.
"Go get Shen. Get him out of the forward parties and put him with the rest of the Xiao'nin. Keep him safe."
"Hmmm." A cold smile spread over Akasou's red lips. "An order to rescue the progeny of my greatest rival? How cruel of you, Khen."
"This is no time for jokes, Akase. I need to leave this to someone I can trust. Please."
Akasou turned without looking at the Kinkou headmaster.
"As you wish, Khen."
Akasou leaped, leaving behind a small explosion of snow, jumping all the way to the snowy treetops in a single bound. Down far below, Master Khen quietly gave his thanks.
And then, he turned back to the black-shrouded box where the Warrior-Saint Codex was housed. Four of his best Shadow Guard were still kneeling by it, ready once more to carry the burden of the Ark that housed the Codex on their backs. Quiet. Vigilant. Khen solemnly swore to himself by the lives of those who had been lost- he would not let the Codex leave his sight until they could take it to Ing'Xao Village and finish their sacred duty to uphold harmony and balance within Ionia. To save the world's imbalanced men from destroying themselves out of lust of power, wealth, or pleasure. And their newest duty, since the Warrior-Saint Codex fell under the protection of the Kinkou twenty years ago- to keep the evils locked within the Codex sealed away forevermore.
She was watching over her slowly waking allies, laying warmed towels over their heads on some straw mats that she laid out. Kona had already woken, and despite everything, claimed much-cleared sinuses and a titanic desire to sleep before laying back down for another nap. It seemed as if the bastard monk had been telling the truth. The entirety of her team had just been knocked out, each with a incredibly precise blow to the back of the neck.
Akali was busy cursing the old monk with every expletive she knew and more- since she was inventing a few on the spot- when a flying snowball caught Akali over the shoulder. A familiar, feared voice floated over her head.
"Yo, my beloved daughter."
Uh oh. Was that Mother talking casually? Akali looked upwards, and to her horror saw the Pruner of the Sacred Tree, crouched over a snowy tree branch, with something that looked like a large clothed lump under her arms.
"Mom!" Akali rose, frantic. "We were attacked! There was this crazy Shojin monk who knocked everyone out and-"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll hear all about it later. S'your birthday, right?"
'S'your' wasn't a word, which mean that this was bad. This was really really bad. Mother never talked like a country hick unless she was angry. And judging by Mother's bluntness, she was currently extraordinarily pissed.
"It... " Akali carefully leaned forwards to get a closer look at that lump. "It was two moons ago... Mother, what is that-"
"Eh, close enough." Akasou hefted the clothed lump onto a single arm. Wait, Akali realized... was that a-
"Mom-?"
"Happy birthday. Catch!" Akasou grunted and then threw the thing- which Akali now realized was a PERSON. Akali had just enough time to stand, before the flying boy that Akasou tossed like a shot put slammed into her chest, knocking the two of them backwards into the fresh snow.
"Oof!"
"Great." Akasou stood, and roughly pat her hands. "M'work here is done. Now hurry up and make grandchildren with Khen's spawn for me. I want to live vicariously through your crotch." And with that crude statement, Akasou sprang upwards in a burst of snow and disappeared.
Akali looked down to see who it was that was sprawled all over her. A stoic, handsome young boy about her age stared right back.
"Hi Shen."
"Akali." Shen replied cooly. Within the sounds of his voice were the tones of the slightest traces of annoyance. "I don't like your mom."
Akali sighed and started to pull herself up.
"Yeah," She replied. Shen, who had gotten up first, held out his hand to help her up. "Tell me about it."
After their Chu'nin handlers had recovered from what they all embarrassingly agreed between themselves to be a simultaneous strike of anemia, they set off to keep pace with their assigned position in the 'Spider's Web Array'. But now, with a newcomer.
Akali trotted sullenly behind Shen, who was silently leading the way. And behind them all...
Kona. Akali felt another jab at her back, and her mouth twitched in annoyance. Her dear friend wouldn't stop looking at her with that smirk. Or stop giving her that... smile. Akali knew that smile, and she didn't like it, or how Kona kept on trying to push her into Shen. She certainly was TRYING to get closer to him, but of course, every time Akali tried making small talk with the boy, nothing but white noise and at best, a little diseased squawk would escape her throat. If Shen noticed Akali's irresistible charm, he didn't show it.
Besides, it was clear that Shen was angry. He was as emotionless as ever, but Akali could guess by his very special stare at the ground just how he was treated by her mother on her "retrieval mission". She couldn't imagine Shen liking any part of going from leading the charge at the front of the formation to being knocked out and carried like a sack of rice to the kiddie's section of the 'Spider's Web Array'. If he was especially lucky, Mother would have given Shen a warning before jumping him.
She heard a groan float up from Kona in the back. Kona marched forwards, giving Akali a rough bump of the shoulders along the way.
Watch and learn, Akali heard her whisper. Kona turned back for an instant to peel down her eyelid and stick out her tongue at Akali. Then she hustled forwards.
"What's up, Shenny?" Kona said, jogging a bit to match pace with Shen, drawing a slight twitch of the head from the bot. "What'd you do to get stuck with us geniuses in the 'special' rickshaw, huh?"
Kona, despite everything, still managed to talk normally with the boy Akali had been working up weeks to ask one question to. The poor teenage ninja was equal parts jealous and amazed.
Shen regarded Kona for only a second, before shrugging.
"I'm not sure."
"C'mon... you're out there, everyday with all those rockstar Dai'nin. You gotta know something."
"...I really can't say." Shen frowned a bit. His dark eyes seemed to be staring out miles into the snowy ground. "But just before I was taken by Akali's mother, it felt like everyone else was on edge."
"On edge?"
"Like they were... afraid of something." Shen sighed, and put his hand over his neck, rubbing.
Kona turned back to look at Akali.
"Hey Akali, you think this has anything to do with that crazy monk you said flew in and knocked everyone out?" Kona smiled. "You know. The one with the 'touch of death'?"
"I-it was a hit to the back of the head. The monk called it, um... 'Dim Mak'."
At this, Shen looked at Akali as well.
"Is this true, Akali? Your team was attacked?"
"Y-yeah." Akali managed to fumble out.
"Yeeeaah." Kona said, her stupid grin spreading. " And our babysitter Chu'nin are too embarrassed to admit that one old dude got the drop on them. In fact, Akali was the only one who managed to see him. It was all very impressive, I'm sure. And lil' Kali can tell you all about it!" Kona then gave Akali a hearty slap forwards, while slipping back. Akali was literally sent stumbling into Shen's attention.
Kona, Akali said to her friend in her mind, I hate you.
"A monk? From where?" Despite the boy's top grades in scouting and observation, Shen didn't seem to pick up on Kona's blatant match-making. That dense, pretty idiot. He instead interrogated Akali, his attention fully on her.
"H-he was an outcast from the Shojin."
"The Shojin-!" Shen pursed his lips. "They're one of the Five Great Sects. What is a Shojin doing here?"
"Five Great Sects?"
"Yeah. Father told me about them." Shen started to count off of his hands. "There are five martial arts schools in Ionia that everyone in the Ionian Wulin generally recognize as the most powerful and influential: The Beggar's Sect, the Shojin Temple, the Peach Blossom Island, the Five Poisons Cult and finally, the Wudang Sect."
Shen closed his fist in contemplation. "Three righteous, two evil. Each one of these sects are stronger than ours by an order of magnitude. We would be small fry to them. So why is a Shojin doing here?"
"And what are we doing going on a pilgrimage in formation for?" Akali turned forwards, frowning.
"And what's in that box that Father and Mistress Akasou are guarding...?"
The two of them sighed in unison. Shen turned to Akali then to bounce off another one of his exploratory theories, while she did her best to keep up with the prodigy's sharp, analytic mind. But despite a few hiccups in the flow of her speech and a silent patch here or there as the teenage ninja tried to follow up, the young girl seemed to be doing alright with her little crush. It was really sweet.
At least, that was how Kona saw it.
And at the sight, she laughed.
Shueto smiled.
It looked like the Dai'nin that Shueto had interrogated made good on his promise of the location of the Warrior Saint Codex.
The Blood Moon assassin crouched and scanned the faraway clearing. Despite the color of their scarlet robes clashing horribly with the white of the snow, Shueto wasn't particularly afraid of being discovered. In fact, he savored battle and would like nothing more than to have the feeling of Kinkou flesh between his fingers once more. Perhaps the famous Kinkou Triumvirate might even give him a challenge.
However, he still had his orders from the Elder of the Blood Moon Sect. Track down the Warrior Saint Codex, he was told and retrieve it for the Elder. Simply walking in and killing everyone would be somewhat contrary to that goal. What if the cowardly Kinkou hid the Codex from them? Shueto and Shuezi couldn't kill a hiding spot. And so, the two deigned to control their killing. A little bit, piece by piece. A little massacre here or there was alright, as long as they never drove their prey into suicide. It was most unlike them, to be sure, and frustrating to some extent. But they feared the Blood Moon Elder more than they feared their desires.
Brother and sister stood at the edge of the treeline, watching the Kinkou titter about at the scene of their carnage. In the midst of the cloud of Kinkou, a black-shrouded box solemnly stood, guarded by four of who Shueto assumed were the Kinkou's best. Yet even warriors as seasoned as these could not cover the scent of fear emanating from them. It was delicious. Like appetizers before a five-course meal.
Then he saw, or rather felt, an incredible force of chi blossom from two faraway figures. One, a woman, clad in green with razor-sharp chakram mounted on her hips, and the other, a solemn man, in dark blue wearing a mask with a face as cold as the snow that fell at his feet. The woman seemed to argue with the man for a bit, before turning to leap away.
Magnificent, Shueto thought, as he watched the female ninja fly away. She was moving so quickly through the treetops that he could barely follow her with his eyes. He turned to his sister, who looked down and smiled. Shuezi stroked her coffin appreciatively, her pale white hands running up and down the length of the blackened mahogany. She made a one-off hand sign to Shueto.
Yulgang likes his meal, her hands spoke, more quickly than any lips could, he says that the blood of the Kinkou are delicious.
"Yeah," Shueto said, nodding. "Black Dragon likes her meal as well, " The two of them were grateful for the chance to feed the 'hungry dragons' within their coffins once again. It had been so long since their last meal- as long ago as Hirana Monastery.
Shuezi spoke through her hands again, though she seemed a bit embarrassed to ask. A slight blush rose to her cheeks. Yulgang wants to know when we'll be able to feed with his own teeth. He is tired of leftovers and scraps.
Shueto smiled.
He reached over, and patted Shuezi comfortingly on the head.
"Soon, dear sister." Shueto looked up to the blank gray sky. The Blood Moon, he knew, was rising. Silently waking from behind that cloak of suffocating clouds. And when it did, their dragons could feast all they wanted.
He reached down, to place his hand along the warm wood of his own coffin.
Soon, He promised his 'hungry dragon'. Soon we will truly feast.
Wulin - means "warrior's forest", and is the term for the martial artist community, the roughest English translation is "Martial Arts Underworld".
Amitabha - Pronounced 'Ah-Mi-Tuo-Fo' means praise to Buddha. It is the Buddhist equivalent of "Praise God", or "Hallelujah!", though used in a more frequent sense then Hallelujah is.
Xiao'nin - 'Little Ninja', a word of my own invention, combing "小" little, with "忍", ninja. You might of heard of Genin, which in Kanji translate to "Lower Ninja"
Chu'nin - "Center Ninja", or intermediate ninja
Dai'nin - "Great Ninja", also combining "大" - "large" or "great" with "忍", ninja. Jo'nin is the Japanese equivalent which translates to "Upper Ninja".