Interlude I
It was a quiet day in the quiet little village. The farmers worked in the fields, smiths forged tools and weapons, and women followed after their small children. They were just a small fishing village far enough from the sea to not be a problem with storms and the tides, but close enough to use it's resources. They were peaceful and rarely had problems with bandits or raiders, or anything really. That was, until that day.
That day, the sky split open and the heavens shrieked, sending the people to their knees. They covered their ears until the sound had died, yet remained on their knees as they glanced fearfully aroumd them. The air was still, the world was quiet, and everyone waited with baited breath to see what had caused such a terrible sound.
Suddenly, a man came barreling aroumd the corner frantically pointing towrds the harbor."I-I-I...there...man...p-p-people!" One of the women ran to his side to help him calm himself. Once he regained his composure, the man took a deep breath and faced the frightened gathering of villagers. "There is a strange man at the docks...a-and a ship, bigger than any I've ever seen! He is dressed like a king!" Murmurs spread through the crowd at these words and hesitantly, they took their first steps towards the docks.
And just as the fisherman had said, there stood a man on the wooden pier, flanked by two armoured men with a nine pointed fan symbol emblazoned on their chestplates. The two guards appeared to be twins, with red tinted gold hair braided down their backs and unusual honey colored eyes with slit pupils.
The man between them was vastly different from them. Where the guards had a thicker, muscular build, he was slim and lean. Where the two had height, he was a bit shorter than them. Where their hair was light, his was dark as the depths of the ocean. His eyes shimmered a blueish silver with slit pupils as well, and he had pointed ears and longer than normal nails that almost resembled claws. When he smiled at them, they could see his pointed teeth.
"Hibiki, Kaori, stand down." He commanded in a voice as smooth as the ocean looked on a calm day. The guards did so stepping back to let him speak to the people. "Greetings, I apologize for any problems we may have caused for you all. I was not expecting to find a village so close to us when we arrived. My people and I come from a dieing land and would like to settle here if it is no problem."
The one to speak up in response to the man was an elderly woman from the village. She pushed her way through the crowd until she stood before the man. "My Lord, we would be honored to have you here, but this is so sudden. Please sir, give us a few days to think it over."
The man nodded his head in understanding. "Please, take your time. I think it wise as this is a small place and I wouldn't want to force you to waste resources on us. We have enough left on board to last us a while longer."
"Thank you my Lord. We appreciate it very much." The woman said, before watching the man go. She hastily added, "I am Ayano. Iif you need anything, please let me know."
The man froze and turned smiling softly back at her and the crowded people. "Thank you for your hospitality Ayano-sama. You may call me Ryūjin."
Along the darkened paths of the old palace, one man stomped angrily along. He had lost yet another team of his Hunters to those Yōkai bastards! Though they had come back alive, he was still furious as their injuries put them out of commission for a good long while.
He threw open the door to the master chambers and slammed it shut behind him. That woman was infuriating and he knew not what to do to finally be rid of her. No matter what he tried, she was always able to evade him. Perhaps she was simply familiar with his tactics? Then he would have to try something new.
He had tried using chakra against her, against the Yōkai, but the beasts were adapting. They too were using chakra to enhance their abilities. No, he needed something more, something stronger. He needed to get his hands on a bloodline ability and either breed it or somehow implant it into his men. But which ones?
"Dammit!" He growled out. Why was everything so...so difficult?! He didn't care for shinobi clans or their bloodlines. That was his subordinate's job, not his. Perhaps he should ask. Yes, no use throwing a fit, he knew just who to ask. Besides, the man had to check up on his subordinate's little "pet project" that he had going in the basement.
He opened the door to his room again and slipped out quietly, fixing his blue, dragon mask as he went.
I'll have a few of these every so often. There's a lot more to this story after all.
