It seemed like it was only minutes before Ibiki came back for us. We burned the folders before him, were blindfolded and lead out by our escort. When I was allowed to see again, the sight that greeted me was a moonlit forest nearby a river that sounded just around the next tree.
"Don't die. It would be such a shame for someone with your potential to die so young." Those were Bear's parting words before he disappeared before my eyes.
I then climbed up the nearest tree and holding a map in my mind's eye came to realize where I was. Surprisingly I was more than twenty miles from Konoha. I tightened the straps of the bag I was given by Bear, and set off into the night.
The next day I arrived at the town that held my first target. It was a little place that had only recently even appeared on the map as it was so small that it barely received any attention. The only reason it was here was a small family run iron mine that didn't even have that great of iron.
Name; Akane Chosokabee
Age; 32
Description; 5'4, slight in build, black hair, grey eyes, thin eyebrows, likes to wear kimonos of light purples
Family; widowed daughter of the mine owner, will inherit mine as eldest child
'Such an unnoticeable person in an unnoticeable town. This should be fairly easy.'
I had to wander throughout the village twice to find the one inn. With the only business entering or leaving the place was the teamsters that moved the iron down to the nearest river, they didn't need a big place, but I had expected it to be more than an empty house next to the owner's house. I waited until night to slip out a window and travel by roof to the biggest house in town. It, just like the rest of the town, was small and antiquated. It was still the nicest building around though. It was easy to slip in. Trees grew up all around the house giving me access to the second story windows, many of which were open to let in the cool of the night air. I slipped in one and started searching the rooms looking for my target. When I had finally found her, I found her sleeping with a man.
'So much for easy. From what I know of her, she doesn't seem the type to know how to fight and the man looks like he can handle himself in a fist fight at least.'
I crept over to the sleeping couple, watching them for any sign of wakefulness. Having lane awake beside Haku so many times I knew the difference between one who is asleep and one who is faking sleep. I reached the man's side without any mishap, only to reach another complication, he was laying on his side. It's easy to kill someone who is laying on their back or front as all the vital organs are near the middle of the body and it only takes a basic knowledge of human anatomy to create a silent, instant kill. However when they are laying on their side it throws a variable into the equation. Just how far from normal does gravity pull one's organs?
I wasn't very knowledgeable of anatomy anyway so I immediately threw out chest organs.
'That leaves the throat and the eyes.'
Even though there are seven holes in the human skull only two are truly usable as a way to pierce through to the brain. The mouth requires opening and a deep thrust. The nose would send pain waves that would make the victim cry out as the knife cuts through the flesh, same with the ears. The seventh hole was for the throat and spinal cord. One might as well cut the throat rather than aim for the brain. The problem with a throat kill is that it isn't instantaneous, while being unable to cry out they could still thrash about and cause a ruckus.
'Eye it is.'
I slowly placed my kunai just before his eyelid and positioned for a thrust to the brain. When I was satisfied that I could hit the brain quick enough to prevent a noise I thrust, blood erupting from the wound with a spurt that cleared the mattress he was laying on and hit the floor with a splatter.
'Shit!'
"Shika…" Came a sleepy moan form the other form on the mattress.
I looked up hoping for a place to hide and found it much to my relief. The building was old and didn't have a closed ceiling, thus showing the beams that held the roof to the world. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around one, letting go with my arms so I could be free to move them for a kill if the opportunity came up.
"Shika, did you hear something? Shika? Shika, answer me… "
A quiet gasp alerted me to her finding out of the death of her companion.
"I know you're here." She said quietly as she rose to the formal sitting position, facing her now dead lover. As she rose the sheets fell away reveling her nude body to the world. Her pale skin shown earily in the moonlight streaming in the window to my left. Luckily I had thought to jump over her in case she exposed her back in morning of her lover. While no morning happened, she did expose her back. I stayed silent, hanging from the ceiling like a spider waiting to bite my target. After several minutes passed in silence, she bowed her head and whispered,
"Could it be that I am mistaken as to the cause of your death, Shika?"
With her head bowed her hair fell from her shoulders to veil her face, showing the pale skin of her upper neck. Smiling to myself I pulled back my hand to throw the knife. While not the thrower that Tenten was, I rarely missed the point I aimed for at five yards. Something alerted her though when I threw, as she pulled the sheets around to catch the knife before it could hit her. Now standing, with the sheets in her right hand she pulled the knife free with her left, while her eyes scanned the beams among which I hid. Finally her eyes alighted on me as I prepared for her to throw the weapon back.
"Why don't you come down here and great death, assassin?" She hissed anger showing on her face.
I held my position for a minute before letting go of the beam and letting myself fall to the floor, ducking my head I landed on my shoulders and rolled forward towards the woman, pulling out a pair of daggers as I rolled into a kneeling position swinging out with both. Rather than trying to block the woman jumped backwards to avoid the blow.
I stayed crouched for a moment, examining her stance. It was fairly decent but was a very basic stance that didn't allow for extreme movements. It was useful in a fight with someone on your level, but I was nowhere near her level. I rose to my feet, both blades held before me with my left held in a reverse grip.
"You're the first woman to ever fight me nude." I commented, letting my eyes roam her body. Her age was starting to show as her breasts sagged, and crow's feet were starting to show around her eyes. She still looked good though, with her slender legs, nicely curved hips, and a flat stomach. My wondering eyes did what I intended and were making angry.
"You better be enjoying the show, bastard, for it's the last thing you'll see!" She snarled. She braced her legs, tensing for any movement from me, but with my refusal to attack, as I preferred to just stand and look at her, aggravating her to the point that she lunged at me, the knife she had caught in her right hand arching overhead in a downward slash. I raised my left hand and caught the knife on my dagger, while bringing my right hand forward, thrusting it into her stomach. Her eyes widened in pain, and with a quick twist of my wrist I wrenched the knife from her hand, sending it up into the air. Pushing the knife deeper into her stomach, I felt my hand touch her flesh. With a push I threw her to the ground, where she curled up, clutching her bleeding stomach. Looking up, I caught the knife, and after cleaning it, put it back in my sleeve holster.
"You're an idiot." I said as I approached her. "Never believe an assassin will be an easy kill, for if they were, they'll have already died. There is no room for lack of ability in this line of work, and death is the punishment for failure."
She looked at me with wide, fearful, pain-filled eyes.
"Now be a good girl and die quietly."
With that I thrust my dagger into her heart, with only a slight gasp escaping her lips to betray her death. Wiping my blades on the sheets I sheathed them and left through the window.
Clouds had moved in while I was inside and now they scudded across the sky, occasionally covering the moon, preventing its light from reaching the ground. I scurried through these shadows as I left the compound and hurried across town to the place I was staying. After gathering my belongings, I left town, having paid for the night when I entered the inn.
It was a couple of days before I reached the castle in which my other target resided. The day after I had left the last town, I had been running through the rain, much to my annoyance. However I wanted to get this over with so I could get back to Haku, so I ran on. As I reached the town in which I was to kill Ino Date, I realized why this was an A rank mission. This next kill would have to be completely without notice or played in a way to divert attention or I wouldn't make it out of the city alive. More than 10,000 souls resided within the outer wall of the city and at the city heart stood an ancient castle with another three rings of walls. In total, more than 1500 soldiers guarded this place between the city garrison and the castle guards. If I were to slip up, all of them would desire my head.
Around the town most of the forest had been cleared away for the farmers that lived within or nearby the town, however on the east side of the town, the forest reached within 30 yards of the wall. I climbed up one of the trees in this section of forest to look out over the town and plan my assault.
The next day I entered the line of those who wished to enter the city. My pack in a little knothole as I had eaten all the food given in it and the only other thing that I was given was a blanket. The blanket was now being employed as a wrap for three katanas that I was bringing with me as part of my cover story. Under the guise of a sword collector I would head to the town's weapon smith and hopefully get a way into the castle. If not, I had gotten past the wall with the heaviest armed presence and would set up in an inn to make my move that night. My own sword sat at my hip as to be readily available incase something were to go wrong. Slowly the line inched forwards as people worked their way through the checkpoint. It was three hours past dawn when I finally reached the gate.
"Halt. Hand over your papers."
A rather short, squat man, with ill fitting armor stopped me at the gate. Around him about six others dressed in similar, ill fitting armor and spears lazed around the gate. Their poor armor and badge marking them as members of the city garrison showed them to be common foot soldiers, people who knew the sword, but didn't live by it like a samurai does.
I wordlessly handed him the papers that I had been given for this very occasion. I looked around, pretending to be bored with the proceedings, instead of sweating bullets like I actually was.
I turned when I heard the sound of horses behind me. Coming up beside the line were three on horseback. A young girl leading with a pair of samurai guards flanking her. The one on her left held a spear upon which was the family crest.
'That must be Ino Date… she looks to be around fourteen, not nineteen, like the papers said.
Name; Ino Date
Age; 19
Discription; 5'2, appears younger than 19,is often seen in pants as she enjoys being outdoors and in particular, riding horses. Likes to wear muted colors.
I watched them ride up to the gate at a slow trot. The horses were breathing heavily as if they had been on a long run until just recently. Upon a white stallion sat Ino, a light blue shirt and brown trousers pulled tight against her curves, accentuating them in a slightly provocative way.
"What have we here?" She asked as they reined in their horses to a stop at the gate.
"He claims to be a travelling sword collector. Apparently goes by the name of Aio Kenchi. Hey, kid, hand over the bag."
I finally pulled my gaze away from the girl and looked at the guard, his hand out motioning me to give him the sword bag slung across my back. I looked at him for a moment before reaching behind me and unzipping the bag, pulling out the three swords inside, holding them between the fingers of my left hand, before offering the bag to him. An annoyed look came upon his face while a light laughter was heard behind me from Ino.
"What? You requested the bag and I'm letting you see it."
He didn't even bother to answer, just continued to hold out his hand. When I put the bag in his hand he briefly inspected it before throwing it into the dirt.
"Oh, you want to hold my swords. I don't swing that way, man. Only pretty young ladies can hold my sword."
At this more laughter was heard and not just from Ino this time. While the other guards laughed at him the one holding my papers face was turning red, whether from rage or embarrassment I couldn't tell.
"In that case may I see your swords?" Ino asked.
I turned around to face her to find her dismounted with her guards holding the reins of her horse.
"Of course my lady."
With that I held out my left hand, the sheaths tapping each other slightly at the movement. She strode forward and grasped the hilt of the center sword and pulled it from its sheath. The soft blue color of the blade stood out against her platinum blond hair as she held the sword to her face. Suddenly the blade struck out, seemingly of its own accord for the lack of movement on her part. As I watched her slight movement I felt a sense of worry come over me.
'My target is comfortable swinging a sword around and seems quiet competent at protecting herself with one. That's just great.'
"This is a great blade. Are they all of this quality?" She inquired, holding my sword out to me while glancing at the other two in my hand, then the one on my hip, and the one between my legs.
I noticed her wandering eyes and grinned.
"I would like to think so."
She smiled back at me, then turned and mounted her horse.
"Come to the castle with me, I would like to test out your swordsmanship."
I blinked. 'That was a lot easier than expected.' As she passed by on her horse, she held out her hand to me. Grasping her wrist as she grasped mine I pulled myself up onto the horse behind her.
Despite the distance from the outer wall of the city to the castle gate being less than a half mile, it still took us the better part of thirty minutes. As we rode through the city, I couldn't help but think that I could have been at the castle within two minutes of entering the city, and instead I was sitting here being bored out of my wits at the repetitiveness of city life. At first the city looked so different from Konoha, but after a while I started to notice the similarities. Then the whole city started to look all too familiar. The only sight worth looking at was the lithe girl sitting in front of me. I was probably taking advantage of the situation by having my hands wrapped around her waist, but it being my first time on a horse and that being rather obvious to her and her guards she permitted my holding on to her.
After we finally arrived at the castle the guards waved us through with merely a curious glance in my direction. Inside the gates we dismounted and Ino lead her horse to the stables. Having nothing better to do I followed. The stables were much larger than I had expected, being around forty by a hundred yards or so. The inside was set up so that there were pins along the outer two long walls with a five yard walkway separating them from a back to back row of pins that ran down the center of the structure. The center row was bisected multiple times by walkways connecting the two long halls between the outer and inner pins. The hayloft above was set up in and almost negative of the ground floor with open areas above the pins so hay could be pitched right down into the stalls.
"Those swords must have been expensive." She commented off handedly as she brushed down her horse.
"Hm? Oh, I guess so."
"You guess so… did you not buy them?"
"Things are a lot cheaper when you take them from the dead." I flinched right after I said that for I didn't want her to think I was a cold hearted killer. Much to my surprise she burst out laughing, much to the horse's annoyance as Ino stopped the brushing.
"So true, how many of them did you take from cold hands, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Only two, one my dad made for me before he died and I made this one." I said tapping my hip to indicate which one I had made.
"Oh so you're a smith two? A man of many trades you're turning out to be. What else, do you farm?" She laughed finding my claim at smithing incredible.
"Not at all, while I do a little gardening, the plants I want are brown and the weeds are green as I typically am not home for enough to take care of it."
By now we had left the stables and were walking around the south side of the castle. She looked at me out of the side of her eye when I mentioned the garden.
"Do you really?"I nodded, looking around at the castle grounds. Gardens were everywhere, filling the area with a cool, moist feel from the fountains and shade provided by the large trees. "What do you grow?"
"Herbs mostly, a few peppers… stuff."
She stopped as we exited the gardens. Before us lay a dirt yard surrounded by a fence. Off on the north side lay an open sided shed with racks of wooden swords and leather armor. Beside it was another shed with its door open showing racks of plate armor and real, steel swords. In the dirt yard several boys around the age of fifteen were practicing, some with wooden swords, but most held steel in their hands. The ringing of swords ceased as we started towards the yard.
"My Lady, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" asked one. The only thing I could really point out about him was his short stature, being only around 4'8, and a red headband that held his rather long hair back.
"Bring me my gear please."
"Of course, My Lady." He snapped his fingers and one of the boys carrying a wooden sword bolted off to the shed with the door. A minute later he came out carrying a set of armor and a sheath dangling by a green cord.
Together they helped her put on the equipment which surprisingly didn't even take a minute.
"Are you ready, Aio-san?"
"It's Kenchi, and ready for what?"
I really should have seen it coming, after all I had boasted about my swordsmanship, and I had seen her put on armor, but somehow her swinging a sword at me shocked me and what happened next was purely instinctual. As her sword descended on me I brought my left hand around and struck the katana on the side, slapping it off its intended course. As I did so I moved my left foot behind my right, turning my body and moving it out of the way of the blade. While I was doing all that, I also brought my right hand up, the blade that I kept hidden against my underside of my forearm out, stopping the blade right under her left eye, pricking her skin slightly. When her eyes caught up to what I had just done her eyes widened to the point I thought they might fall out of their sockets.
"That was unexpected…" The boy with the headband said. "I've never seen someone beat My Lady in a spar so fast before. Even her sensei can't beat her under a minute anymore."
I lowered my arm, grabbing the blade and resetting it in its sheath.
"That was unexpected." Ino commented. Her eyes shining with fear still.
"That's why it works. No one expects something they can't see. Therefore they die by what they can't foresee."
She contemplated this for a minute before replying. "I guess so, though I wouldn't have said it that way. Are you ready for a real spar now?"
I set down my bag and nodded, pulling out my sword. The white steel shone vibrantly in the sunlight.
"White metal? Where did you get that?"
I looked at her as I assumed my stance.
"If you can beat me, I'll tell you. You, start the match."
The boy jumped, and then nodded, raising his hand.
"Begin."
Ino leapt at me, her eagerness belying her earlier fear, and swung at my neck. I raised my sword as if to block, then pivoted on my right foot, bringing my left around for a roundhouse kick, slamming my heel into her side. Her body was flung like a rag doll off to the side.
"What was that? This is a spar, not a fight!"She shouted at me as she picked herself up out of the dirt.
"If you don't train like how you would fight, then you will be unprepared for a fight when it comes to you, thus rendering all the hours you spent training wasted. Be ready for anything, for anything can happen on the battlefield. Sure samurai might have enough honor not to team up on you, but there hasn't been a large war between samurai clans in decades. The real threat is bandits, who by nature of their profession have no honor and will attack you with anything they can think of. Three on one, more like ten on one, so you must train to fight back against that. Pick four of the best among them." Here I gestured at the boys. "And all five of you come at me at once."
Their eyes widened in surprise when they realized I was serious. Ino then called out to four of them and they surrounded me.
"See, you're already starting to understand. Never let your foe have the upper hand, for they just might use it to kill you."
'Man, why am I lecturing them how to fight? Oh yah, because it's fun to make them look stupid.'
"Begin."
All five rushed me at the same time. I waited until they were close, then ducked and rolled between one's legs. As I got back to my feet I lashed out with my right foot, catching him in the back of his knee, making him fall. Instantly I was beset upon by the other four. Pulling out a knife, I caught one blade with both of the ones I held, using the body positions of the two who's swords connected with my blades to block the other two.
"When you're outnumbered, figure out ways to take out enemies, either by incapitating them, or by using other opponents as body shields."
I exchanged blows with the two while keeping them in between myself and the other three. Suddenly Ino put her hands on the shoulders of one and used him as a spring board to launch herself into the air. He was taken by surprise by the move and looked up to watch her. Having noted her launching power, I knew she had over shot me by a little and didn't worry about it. Instead I rolled forward and put my left fist to the underside of the boy's jaw, giving him flying lessons. I ran forward at the two that stood in shock of the power with which I had just punched their team mate with.
"Always make sure your team mates know what to expect from you. You lose when you are taken by surprise."
I swung my knife in a cross body motion that knocked his blade off to my left. Using the opening I brought my sword around and slammed the hilt into his forehead. He dropped like a stone. I pivoted on my right foot in an attempt to drop the other one. However he put his blade in the way, supporting it at the tip with his off hand, so that my heel struck the flat side of the blade. His sword shattered, shocking us all. We stopped moving and looked at his sword, or what was left of it. I stood loosely, with my sword resting on my shoulder, just outside of my reach from the boy with the broken sword. He looked at me, wonder filling his eyes. I shrugged, not knowing or caring how I had just shattered his katana. I stepped forward with my left foot, slamming it into the ground to put more power into the punch that I landed on his face, sending him flying. I raised my sword to catch Ino's and we stood face to face. She was panting from exertion which surprised me; we hadn't been sparring for long. I could smell her breath as it wisped across my face.
"And now it is back to a one on one. Why does your breath smell like lilacs? Aren't they poisonous?"
"That doesn't matter." She grunted as she attempted to shove me off, however because of my weight far exceeded hers, she stumbled backwards. My next swing knocked her sword out of her grasp.
"How the hell did you get so good?" She asked as she stood there, panting.
I turned slightly so I was at a ninety degree angle to her as I slid my sword home in its sheath.
"You have to be good if you wish to survive the streets without parents."
She frowned when I said this.
"But you said your dad made you a sword. How can you be an orphan?"
"He died with my mother when I was five. He made the sword at my birth, I don't know why. I can't even remember their faces anymore." I looked down and pretended to be sad. Not too hard, all I had to do was to remember the injustices that have been heaped upon me by the ignorant villagers.
My show worked. Shortly I felt her arms wrap around me, as she tried to comfort me.
"I'm sorry for your loss. I too know how it feels to lose a parent."
"You probably know better, it's been so long ago for me. Most of my sorrow stems not from their death, but from the fact that they weren't there to teach me. After all it's hard for a five year old to understand death."
She nodded at this, while she rested her chin on my shoulder. We stood like that for several minutes before a voice interrupted our thoughts.
"Is this the boy I heard rumors about? The one who is on my level? He doesn't look like much… hmm."
I looked over my non occupied shoulder and saw a late middle aged man dressed in grey, green robes and carrying a katana in his left hand. The weight on my right shoulder disappeared.
"Master Kuzo, I didn't expect to see you come to see him yourself. This is Aio Kenchi. Kenchi, this is my sensei and master Kuzo Shi."
I turned in time to see Ino bow to Kuzo and studied him throughout the introductions.
"You seem too old to be a master of the blade anymore." I commented
Ino shot me a look that told me to watch my tongue; meanwhile Shi merely threw back his head and laughed, much to the shock of Ino.
"Maybe I am, but I believe I can still beat you."
With that he blurred in my vision, streaking off to the side.
"Where did sensei go?" Ino asked, her eyes blinking in confusion.
I didn't have time to answer as he decided to attack me right after her inquiry. Our swords clashed in a bell like ringing. I heard Ino gasp when she looked at us.
'When the hell did he pull a wardrobe change?'
Standing on my left with his sword against my own sword, which was pressed up against the back of my bicep to stop his swing, Shi was now wearing loose fitting Kung Fu pants with a simple, sleeveless cotton shirt.
"Hm, your faster than I thought…"
He disappeared again and I took the time to settle into a more comfortable poise. For the next two hours he kept attacking and disappearing after one blow, never allowing me to reciprocate the attack. Ino stood in shock the whole time that, one Kuzo was capable of such speed, two that I was able to defend against his speed, and three we had been at it for two hours. Meanwhile I was getting pissed off that I wasn't allowed to attack. I felt another attack coming and pulled out a gladius that had been modified to allow for a more comfortable reverse grip, and brought it up to intercept his cross-body slash aiming at the left side of my head. After his sword hit my gladius, I swung my sword up and smashed the blade into his just above the cross guard. Had he had a stronger grip, the sword might have shattered, but as it was the hilt left his grasp, and spun through the air. As the hilt neared me I lunged my head forward and caught it between my teeth, while twisting the blade in my right hand to place the tip at his throat.
"So you think your hot stuff because you beaten me once." His voice was cold and distant sounding, as if he wasn't truly paying attention. I sheathed my sword and grasped the one between my teeth and examined it, finding that it was well made blade, I slid it through the belt that held my sheath down on my left hip.
"Had this not been a spar you would have been dead. As it is I'm keeping your sword for attacking me without warning." I turned from him and started walking towards Ino.
"Close your mouth my lady, it's unbecoming of a lady of your statis to look like she's taken by surprise by something. Now will I be staying the night here, or will I have to find accomidations in the city?" I had walked abreast of her and turned my head to look at her when I addressed her. Slowly her mind rebooted after watching the match. She then turned her head to me and said,
"You just might get to sleep with me with that kind of swordsmanship if you think you can match that with your other sword." She glanced down at my crotch as she said this before looking me in the eye.
I turned my head to look at the now setting sun.
'Where did the time go? Whatever.'
"You wouldn't be the first I've had screaming my name at odd hours of the night."
She threw her head back and laughed at my statement, a clear uplifting sound that rang in the yard. As she quieted she put her finger to her lips and looked at me with half shut eyes, her head tilted as if wondering if I was embellishing my claim.
"Then let's go wash, shall we?" She took my hand and guided me deeper into the castle grounds.
I finished gathering all my belongings, that task having taken longer than expected as Ino had thrown my things everywhere as she undressed me. Taking one last look over my shoulder at the now dead body of Ino, I turned and left the ethereal looking creature in an undisturbed state, her nude body laying out in a relaxed posture, a small smile gracing her lips, looking to all the world as if she were merely asleep.
'Well with the sleeping tab I gave her, she fell into sleep so hard she fell through into death. Time to head home.'
I closed the door behind me and started walking through the deserted corridors. After a minute of walking I reached the formal dining room where, to my surprise, I found not only Kuzo Shi, but also Lord Date, Ino's father, sitting at the table, as if waiting for me, calmly sipping tea.
"You killed her didn't you?" Kuzo stated more than asked, ignoring the wording that he had just given.
"Another job completed." I shrugged as if it didn't matter. "The only question is how many others will be shoved off this mortal coil tonight. Methinks you two will shortly join her in eternal slumber."
Lord Date sighed and spoke up at last.
"I think your blood will be spilled in vengeance tonight. Shi-san, you may use my blade."
"Yes, My Lord." He bowed and got up from the table. Heading over to the north wall he reached up and grabbed the katana that had been hung there who knows how long ago.
"What? Are you such a coward that you can't avenge your own daughter?" I taunted, actually genuinely curious as to why he wasn't fighting me himself.
Again he sighed and sipped from his cup, before speaking, "As a young man I joined my Daiyamo (AN; SP?) in war and one day received a wound that crippled me. He later gave me this castle and land as a 'sorry for your fall from honor' sort of gift. That angered me more than you can know boy for it is a slight at my honor that he can never begin to lessen. Ever sense I have been looking for a way to avenge my slighting. When I found out about the plot to overthrow him I encouraged my daughter to join the cause, subtly of course so she would think that it was her idea. Sense then whenever she would come to me for money or men to perform a certain task to further the cause of rebellion I would give it to her. Even if you didn't come here to kill her for that cause you will never leave here alive. Shi kill the fool."
The whispering of a blade being taken from its sheath filled the room and I turned my attention back to Shi. In his hands was a black katana that had red runes running along its blade.
"Pretty sword, but will it hold up in battle?" I asked unloading my things and setting them against the wall.
"The sword is older than this castle boy. It will be the death of you just as it has been the death of so many others."
I looked once again at the blade, the runes seemed to swirl in my vision and I heard a humming of sorts, seemingly with the sword as its origin.
"Do you two hear anything?" I asked, cocking my head to in an attempt to locate the humming better.
"Death's song." Was the only response I got as Shi attacked. I brought the sword I had taken from him earlier into a cross body guard that took the blow, only for me to watch in shock as the blade broke under the black katana.
"You really carried around a sword that can break so easily for how long?" My confusion evident in my voice.
"This sword is stronger than you could ever know boy. You have other swords with you. Draw one and face your death." Shi spoke, his voice eerily hollow.
I looked at the sword in his hands, its song now clear in my ears if extreamly faint. Nodding I drew my white bastard sword before crossing swords with Shi for the second time that day, this time to the death. Across the whole of the room we danced, as the minutes dragged on our audience grew as castle guards heard the sounds of fighting and rushed to the scene. Eventually Shi broke off, his body sweating profusely and his breath ragged.
"You won't beat him as you are Shi-san, activate the blade's power." The old man said before taking another sip of his tea, his calm unbreakable, despite the fact that I was barely panting, while my opponent was sucking air like a forge's bellows.
"Yes, My Lord." Shi closed his eyes and held the katana up to his face before quieting his breathing. "Sing Amaterasu (1)." He whispered to the blade. It lit up in black flames as I heard its song change to one that felt heavy with sorrow. I didn't even attempt to block this time as he swung. He missed on purpose seeing that I wasn't moving.
"What? Have you given up on life assassin? Or are you trying to slight me by not deeming me worth your attention?" Not getting a response from me, he continued. "Stare death in the eye then and don't flinch from your fate."
He swung again, this time with victory shining in his eyes. For some reason mid swing, the stroke changed direction, aiming for my left shoulder. Victory changed to fear as the blade struck my shoulder and stopped, refusing to cut my skin.
"What was made by a Scydling will never hurt one of the clan. Amaterasu, sing for me! Kill the man that dares defile you by wielding you!"
The black flames burst with new life and swept down the blade and up Shi's arm. I caressed the blade as the screams of the burning man peaked and slowly began to die.
"Amaterasu, I ask if I may wield you or if you wish to be put away." I asked the blade I now held, ignoring the stares of the people surrounding me. My eyes widened as a soft, feminen voice sounded within my mind.
"Of course you may wield me master; I serve your every command My Liege. May my service please you My Lord."
I smiled.
"My name is Eric, Amaterasu. I thank you for your service."
With that I turned to the guards. Their weapons drawn, but fear shone in their eyes now.
"What? Never stared at death before?"
It wasn't twenty minutes before I was walking down the streets of the city, the aura of death heavy on my person. My clothes were covered in blood splatters and bits of gore. I ignored it in favor of wiping the shining black blade before me, its sheath on my left hip, with my newly named Tsukoyomi (2), on my right. Soon I was out in the forest, running as only ninja can, hurrying to be home.
(1) Amaterasu, Sun Goddess
(2)Tsukuyomi, Moon Goddess
Thank you Ultima Pheonix for your help with the spellings.
Review please.
