Master Raven: Origins

by dunkingman

(Requested story). This tale follows the life and upbringing of Master Raven. She once had a family of her own before civil war destroyed her hometown. Lucky for Master Raven, she was saved by her new guardian and took up his discipline as a ninja spy. Soon Master Raven would take over the leadership position of her clan and role as a spy after her guardian's death.

4. Genin

Genin

Notes: Before we continue, I'm sending a special thanks to JoJoDo and Alwaysdoutbed for the reviews so far. Your thoughtful input on the stories is why I keep going! Let's get into some more attributes about our characters during this time period shall we!

Urenna (Later known as Master Raven)

Age: 7 years old (Until this chapter). 9 (When Crow rescues baby Raven).

Height: 116 centimeters then sprouts up to 132 centimeters.

Weight: 19 kilograms, at 9 she weighs 27 kilograms.

Birthdate: It was December 14th, but she later doesn't care as she ages.

Birthplace: "Calabar, Nigeria (Currently in ruins at this part of the tale.)

Likes: "Drawing, Reading, Eating Omani's cooking, and later paper folding

Dislikes: Getting exhausted after training to the point of passing out, Crow's cooking, spending the night outdoors, the memories of her family's murder, and later hearing the baby cry.

Hide Umezu (Also known as Crow)

Age: 38 (until this chapter). 40 (When he rescue's baby Raven)

Height: 175 centimeters

Weight: 80 kilograms

Birthdate: October 17th

Birthplace: Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Japan

Likes: Being the hero, piloting, skydiving, training, and later warms up to Urenna despite his rough teaching.

Dislike: Memories of the death of his master, Omani's jokes, Omani flirting, loud noises, and people suffering

Occupation: United Nations Special Agent

Omani Tusboi

Age: 36 (Until this chapter). 38 (When Crow rescue's baby Raven)

Height: 167 centimeters

Weight: 62 kilograms

Birthdate: March 31st

Likes: Teaching, Learning languages, Disguises, Crow, Urenna, Nature, Travel, & Cooking

Dislikes: Ninja laws regarding Romance, Abusive people, skydiving, crowded and dirty places

Occupation: Elementary School Teacher & On certain occasions a Spy.

Near Morotsuka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan…

It was time to start Urenna on her new way of life as a Genin ninja here at the Shika-ryu compound. While the little girl slept, Crow and Omani discussed her daily schedule on the tasks and feats Urenna would have to do every day until it was time to evaluate her proficiency in the ninja arts. On the first day, Omani would teach Urenna the history of the clan and start her up on Japanese kanji writing. Omani would have to leave the base by the afternoon so she could get ready for her other job on Monday. For Sunday afternoon, Crow would have Urenna watch him demonstrate how to throw shuriken by using wooden ones first. Then he would have Urenna enter the temple to learn about the basics of punching. Monday thru Friday would be predominately physical training, encompassing all training stages. On Saturdays and Sundays, Urenna will practice writing & speech under Omani.

There will be times when either Crow or Omani will not be present to see Urenna perform her training. Their biggest concern was that Urenna could potentially leave the compound one day instead of training. If she was spotted and someone asked her where she lived, then their base would be officially compromised. Crow decided that he would need to request surveillance cameras so he could eventually work on installing them throughout the base. That way even when he was not around, Crow will know if Urenna is still there.

Soon the morning sun rose over the horizon of Kyushu's vast valleys. Omani woke up first and made breakfast. Crow and Urenna would wake up afterwards as they both ventured into the kitchen/dining part of the cave to eat. Crow opted to go back to the temple and resume repairs on it while Omani teaches Urenna. Next Urenna was told to sit over at the small desk facing the large map of the world. Omani just took a chair from the kitchen and sat in between the girl and the map to begin her lecture.

Omani: "Alright! It's just us again! Aren't you excited?"

Urenna (smiling): "Maybe with you around. I know with Crow as a teacher, things might be hard."

Omani: "Like I said yesterday, everything will be fine. As long as you do not give up, that is all that counts. So first, let me go over your schedule for the coming weeks."

Explains the details…

Omani: "That is what you will do for the time being. Any questions or concerns?"

Urenna: "Do I get graded for these things?"

Omani: "Sort of. Crow and I will gauge your abilities and from there we will decide on how much more training and studying you will need to keep going before your first ninja exam. Anything else?"

Urenna: "Ummm…no." (Shakes her head)

Omani: "Alright. Now allow me tell you what a ninja is and our clan's history. Have you known about ninjas before and what they do?"

Urenna shakes her head not knowing…

Omani: "I see. Well yes it is true that a ninja acts in the shadows. What I mean by that is we watch and listen to people who have no idea who we are. Sometimes we hide, other times we confront our foes in plain sight. Or we wear disguises acting as certain people. Sometimes our disguises resemble someone that a person knows or it could be a complete stranger. It depends on the situation. Now the dirtiest work that ninjas do are assassinations."

Urenna (Interrupts): "What is uh assasser?"

Omani: "Assassination. It means taking a person life. To kill."

Urenna (gasps): "But that's like the bad guys! They do that!"

Omani: "Yes. That is true. It is the dark side about our job as ninja. However, not all ninja are bad. Most ninja who kill do it for profit, not personal gain. Our master did not want us to use our skills to be murderers. A murderer kills for sport, but a ninja only does it when he or she is told to or has no other options."

Urenna: "Have you killed anyone before Omani?"

Omani: "Me? Hai. I…had to take away the lives of a few bad men while helping master. It's not something I'm proud of, but…it was necessary to save lives."

Urenna: "What about Crow?"

Omani: "Yes. Crow has had to take away many lives. Even I witnessed him do it. Our master too."

Urenna: "Will I have to kill?"

Omani: "That choice is yours and yours alone Urenna." (Thinks) "If she works with the UN taking on the same role that Crow is doing now, then there is no question that Urenna will have to kill. That is a fact."

Continues…

Omani: "Anyway let me cover our ninja's clan history, the Shika-ryu. The Shika-ryu clan in particular has lasted for hundreds of years. Many clans have come and gone in these lands, but through diplomacy by our dead masters the Shika-ryu still remains intact. Even after the Warring states, the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Meiji Era, and now the Showa Era, our numbers have been reduced greatly over the years, although it was deliberate because of the times changing and people accepting peace as they should. Instead of our clan following feudal lords, yazuka, and mercenaries for war, we opted to be hired as agents of justice. Justice that is immune to the society's viewpoints of good and evil. The Shika do not adhere to the opinions of the public. We adhere to what will benefit humanity and keeping the world from becoming a chaotic place."

Urenna was somewhat confused over all of these big foreign words, but she listened as best as she could while nodding her head. Omani knew when Urenna was starting to lose focus on her talking points, so she finally decided to show the girl how to write in Japanese characters. Urenna was indeed a natural artist. She copied every character Omani presented her using the ink and paper that was still good inside the cave compound. By the time Crow returned, Omani told him to look at Urenna's work so far.

Omani: "Welcome back Crow. Look what our student did! I'd say it looks almost like the original characters!"

Crow (Examines the paper): "Yes. It's impressive."

Omani: "If she doesn't make it as a ninja, which I know she can do it, Urenna will be a great writer and artist."

Crow: "Did you tell her about our clan and what we do?"

Omani: "Of course I did. Was that more important than showing her how to write characters?"

Crow: "No, but it's still necessary." (Looking around) "Where is the girl?"

Omani: "She needed to use the toilet. We have to do something about that too. I had to use water from the well so Urenna can flush it after she is done."

Crow: "I see. Did she eat lunch?"

Omani: "Not yet."

Crow: "Ok. When she is done eating, I will teach the girl how to use shuriken and how to do balancing & self-defense. Do not worry, I won't kill her on her first day."

Omani: "I'm happy to hear that. Let's prepare the food before I leave."

After eating lunch, Omani bid Urenna farewell and that she will come by every afternoon after her job to check up on her. Crow then ordered Urenna to come follow him over to the throwing range stage outside. He was tired from fixing the temple, but he had to suck it up and show the girl the ways of shuriken tossing. At the range, the targets were already setup, along with the boxes loaded with shuriken. When they arrived, Crow carefully instructed Urenna on how to toss shuriken.

Crow: "Alright. For today I will demonstrate how to execute a basic shuriken toss. Listen closely."

First Crow showed her the different grips to properly hold the shuriken because the edges were obviously very sharp. Then Crow wanted her to throw the tool at a distance of about 5 meters away. Not too far, but not too close. This assures that the weapon does not bounce off the plank far enough by hitting the girl or the teacher. Crow demonstrated the vertical toss first and Urenna followed suit. Crow's toss was strong enough for the shuriken to stick onto the plank board. Urenna's first throw was not strong enough for the tool to stick.

Urenna: "How come mine did not stick?"

Crow: "It comes with practice. Do not worry about the strength of your throw or if the shuriken sticks on the wood. Focus on hitting the target as much as possible. I want you repeat this exercise 50 times on your right hand and 50 on the left hand until I show you the next type of toss.

Urenna: "How many shuriken do ninjas throw?"

Crow: "Enough to stop our target. Now try again."

After throwing the shuriken 50 times with both arms…

Crow: "Good work. Half of your shuriken stuck onto the board. That is sufficient. Now to walk over here and do the next toss. "

Urenna was already breathing heavy due to throwing the shuriken. She kept her composure as she watched and did the next two tosses Crow taught her. The second exercise was the horizontal toss. At least that throw was easier, but the last toss was a diagonial and that exercise really made the girl tired. Some of her tosses didn't even hit the board. Urenna went down on her knees trying to catch her breath. Plus she was annoyed at her lack of accuracy in tossing the diagonal shuriken.

Crow: "Well done Urenna. Now we will take a break and next you must learn about balancing. Come."

Urenna: "Ok."

Crow led the weary Urenna back over to Stage 1 with the tightropes attached on the trees. Crow demonstrated the ways of balancing on a flat plank as well as the tightrope. Then it was Urenna's turn to walk on the wooden plank for a balance walk. The plank exercise was not so bad. She staggered a few times, but Urenna never fell off the plank. Crossing over to the tightrope tied between two cut tree stomps was a different story. Urenna never crossed halfway to the other side of the tree stomp. Looking at Crow, he didn't look upset or happy. He was simply studying the girl's behavior. A small step here, small step here, and then…

Urenna (Lost balance): "Aaaaaahhh!"

Falls on the ground awkwardly…

She was upset that this exercise was exceptionally hard. Going about five more times, Urenna kept right on falling. Crow had seen enough. It was time to show her some self-defense moves inside the temple.

Crow: "That's enough for today Urenna. Come, let us go to the temple for your self-defense lesson."

The walk from Stage 1 to Stage 6, took almost 20 minutes to travel. Urenna's little feet were feeling so sore that her toes could bark out loud in protest like puppies. By the time they made it to temple, Crow turned around to see Urenna dragging well behind him. He didn't smile on the outside, but on inside he could understand her frustration and pain right now. Crow's master was not that easy on him or Omani when they were little kids.

Crow: "Come inside little one. For today we will only use hand techniques."

Not that Crow's intent was reassuring for Urenna, she pressed forward trying her best to endure her soreness by entering the old temple. Crow did an exceptional job sweeping the area up fill of debris and cobwebs. They could not take off their shoes at this time since the hardwood floor was starting to chip away. Crow will need to replace the wood at a later time. For now Crow showed the girl how to get in basic offensive stance.

Crow: "First stand like this and then throw out your fist like this in slow motion. This stance is called Kamae. It will be the basis of your kata form. "

Urenna: "Um…like this?" (Copies Crow's standing.)

Crow: "Hai! Follow my movements slowly first."

They spent two hours working on different stances and basic hand strikes so Urenna could understand the meaning on self-defense. The girl was very weary as the day was getting late, so Crow told her she did a sufficient job, but things will be more demanding in the coming weeks. She needed to get used to it.

Crow: "We need to return for the camp. Are you tired?"

Urenna (Shakes her head): "Very tired and I'm hungry."

Crow: "That is good, you did well today. However, this is just the beginning. Your training will become more demanding in due time. So be prepared little one. Now let's go."

Three weeks later…

Some time passed and for little Urenna, those days were very tough. It was bad enough she was learning to speak and write a new language, but the physical training Crow instructed her to perform did get more demanding. In the 3rd week, Urenna started conditioning by jogging 2 kilometers. Running for so long exhausted the girl to the point she actually passed out in the deep woods. Omani found out from Crow about her passing out and left her job early that day to see how serious Urenna's condition was. Crow was cooking himself some fish to eat for dinner as Omani raced up towards the hilly path for the camp.

Omani: "Hide!"

Crow: "Huh? Omani?"

Omani: "Hide! Where is the girl?"

Crow: "You got my message. She is inside resting. I placed a cold tower over her head so she could cool down and gave her fresh water to consume along with our herbal medicine."

Omani: "You pushed her training too hard didn't you?"

Crow: "I don't call it pushing. The girl is simply not hydrated enough run long distance. I realize that now."

Omani (Sighs): "Hide."

Suddenly Crow's wristcom buzzed…

Crow (Activates it.): "Crow here!"

Kari (CO): "Crow, we got a situation developing in China. We could use your assistance in infiltrating a Triad Hideout. They have kidnapped many women for trafficking purposes. Will you be able to do it?"

Crow: "On my way."

Omani (Shakes her head): "Now you have to leave?"

Crow: "I do, but I'm coming right back here once I take care of this."

Omani: "In that case, Urenna is coming to stay at my home. Give her tomorrow off because I have to teach again."

Crow: "Hai. That would be for the best since the girl is not well at the moment."

Omani: "Alright. Do come back safe Crow."

Crow: "I will Omani. Ha!" (Disappears in smoke.)

Omani: "I hope the girl is okay. I heard she was doing just fine up until today. Oh bother!"

Omani enters the cave and eventually finds Urenna inside her old bedroom when she was young. The girl laid there in a peaceful sleep, obviously drained from all of the training she had to do. Omani decided to bring her over on the Cliffside of the camp and carefully place Urenna at the backseat before the girl wakes up.

Omani's house, Misato, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan…

Urenna eventually opened her eyes, but it was in the evening time. She rises out of the small mattress Omani placed her on and yet the girl's body was sore again from the training. Could she try and walk? Nope. Her feet were hurting too bad. Omani could hear some noise as she prepared the meal Crow started doing back at the hideout. She knew it was Urenna waking up so she goes inside the vacant room to see.

Omani (Enters the room): "Urenna?"

Urenna: "Omani is that you?"

Omani: "Don't try to stand up, keeping lying there ok."

Urenna: "I'm hurting all over Omani!" (Whimpering.)

Omani: "I know I know. Do not cry. You are in my home now. Crow had a mission to do, so you will be with me. I'm making dinner. It's almost ready to eat. We can eat in here. Is that okay?"

Urenna (Nodding): "Yes."

Omani: "Good. I will be right back."

Omani returned in the room with the almost burnt grilled fish, along with some frozen tempura that she thawed out overnight to eat after work, plus green tea. Omani fed Urenna from chopsticks to mouth along with the occasional cup of tea. The woman told the girl that her burning sensations all on her muscles was normal, and in time, the pain will not be as severe as it is now. She even told Urenna that she passed on kilometer runs too at first, until she was about 8 years old. When they were done eating, Omani remade the herbal medicine for relieving pain and gave it to Urenna to consume. Urenna was told that she could stay in the home until her body fully recuperates.