Chapter 3: Unfounded Suspicion?
After a swift descent, the entirety of the Shinra army was located in the southern end of the valley, the one furthest from the exit. Various soldiers muttered their discomfort at the situation- they weren't stupid, and they realised the serious disadvantage they would be at lest the enemy decided to attack. Nonetheless, when Sephiroth gave an order they did not hesitate to obey, largely due to the equal amounts of fear and respect they held for the man, and they continued to march forward. Scouts were commissioned to keep an eye on the walls of the valley, searching for signs of any possible threat. The army moved as quickly as humanly possible- no one wanted to be in the valley any longer then was absolutely necessary. Within two hours, the grainy twilight was fast disappearing as darkness began to set it. They had reached the point of no return.
It happened gradually. Soldiers near the back began to notice that they were a lot closer to the end of the group than when they had entered the valley. After a few quizzical glances, someone eventually realised that there were less of them than there was 15 minutes ago. One soldier distinctly recalled that he had been in the fourth-last line from the back, and now he was in the second-last. What had happened to the other two lines? For the next 5 minutes he continued to glance back regularly, attempting to make some sense of what was happening, much to the irritation of the soldiers who were in what had become the rear of the pack. From the looks on their faces, they weren't even aware that something was amiss, and they angrily ordered the soldier to quit bothering them, eventually jabbing him with the butt of their rifles as a deterrent. He could hear them poking fun at him with derogatory comments for several seconds afterwards, followed by bouts of laughter.
Then, suddenly and without warning, the laughter stopped. He started to turn around and see exactly what was happening, but the thought of another jab with a rifle butt caused him to stop and face forward. Before he could even focus his attention on the soldier marching in front of him, someone wrapped a gloved hand around his mouth, stifling any possible sounds he might have made. He began to protest loudly, but all that came out was a low muffled mumble. The soldier in front of him gave no indication that he heard. He continued to cry for help for what seemed like hours, only the barest fraction of a second in reality. His calls for assistance soon stopped when he felt a sudden stabbing pain in his abdomen, which almost immediately escalated to excruciating agony. Looking downwards as best as he could, he saw a long blood-covered blade protruding from his midsection. Even as he began to lose consciousness, he desperately tried to turn his head to see just who had done this to him, but his strength was fading fast, and his assailant's grip was extremely strong, so he could only manage to get a glimpse of black material. He could also see that what happened to him was also happening to everyone else in his marching line, as they were silently subdued in the same manner by several black-clad individuals. His last thoughts were of warning his fellow soldiers, but his wound was too severe, his blood loss too great, and he soon succumbed to the yawning darkness that awaited him.
At the head of the army, Sephiroth stopped. His peripheral senses were significantly better than those of normal humans, and mere moments ago he had heard something which sounded suspiciously like a footfall. The footfall of someone who is trying to get somewhere silently is notably different from that of someone walking normally, certainly different from that of an army on the march. Because of this, he was sure it did not belong to any of his men. He was actually surprised at himself for being able to hear such a slight noise over the sound of the soldiers' ungainly stomping, but then, this was why Hojo had wanted him to enter combat situations in the first place- to see just what he was capable of. He turned and stared back over the heads of the Shinra army, which had halted it's march the moment their leader stopped. He quickly counted- there were 12 marching lines, each with at least 20 men in them but, wasn't there supposed to be more than that? He tried to remember how many lines there had been when they had entered the valley, but his calculations were interrupted when he picked up the sound of the silent footfalls again.
Now that the army had stopped he could hear them clearer than ever- they were all around him, and the Shinra army for that matter. Silently he cursed under his breath. How could he have been so careless? Now they were surrounded by someone or something unknown, which clearly did not want to be discovered. They didn't sound human- they were so quiet, as quiet as gently falling rain, or a pleasant summer breeze. Sephiroth honestly didn't think that humans could be so stealthy. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of movement, and one of the Shinra soldiers fell lifelessly to the ground. It happened again, this time on the other side of the group. Quickly, Sephiroth noted the position of the two dead soldiers. "Whatever they are, there must be more than one of them. No one could move between those two men in such a short period of time". A third man dropped to the ground, dead, but this time Sephiroth saw something else, something which had briefly caught the light of the full moon. He saw the unmistakeable flash of a blade.
He unsheathed the Masamune in one deft, fluid motion. In that instant, he knew what they were dealing with, and a look of murderous fury crossed his face.
"Ninjas", he hissed.
After a swift descent, the entirety of the Shinra army was located in the southern end of the valley, the one furthest from the exit. Various soldiers muttered their discomfort at the situation- they weren't stupid, and they realised the serious disadvantage they would be at lest the enemy decided to attack. Nonetheless, when Sephiroth gave an order they did not hesitate to obey, largely due to the equal amounts of fear and respect they held for the man, and they continued to march forward. Scouts were commissioned to keep an eye on the walls of the valley, searching for signs of any possible threat. The army moved as quickly as humanly possible- no one wanted to be in the valley any longer then was absolutely necessary. Within two hours, the grainy twilight was fast disappearing as darkness began to set it. They had reached the point of no return.
It happened gradually. Soldiers near the back began to notice that they were a lot closer to the end of the group than when they had entered the valley. After a few quizzical glances, someone eventually realised that there were less of them than there was 15 minutes ago. One soldier distinctly recalled that he had been in the fourth-last line from the back, and now he was in the second-last. What had happened to the other two lines? For the next 5 minutes he continued to glance back regularly, attempting to make some sense of what was happening, much to the irritation of the soldiers who were in what had become the rear of the pack. From the looks on their faces, they weren't even aware that something was amiss, and they angrily ordered the soldier to quit bothering them, eventually jabbing him with the butt of their rifles as a deterrent. He could hear them poking fun at him with derogatory comments for several seconds afterwards, followed by bouts of laughter.
Then, suddenly and without warning, the laughter stopped. He started to turn around and see exactly what was happening, but the thought of another jab with a rifle butt caused him to stop and face forward. Before he could even focus his attention on the soldier marching in front of him, someone wrapped a gloved hand around his mouth, stifling any possible sounds he might have made. He began to protest loudly, but all that came out was a low muffled mumble. The soldier in front of him gave no indication that he heard. He continued to cry for help for what seemed like hours, only the barest fraction of a second in reality. His calls for assistance soon stopped when he felt a sudden stabbing pain in his abdomen, which almost immediately escalated to excruciating agony. Looking downwards as best as he could, he saw a long blood-covered blade protruding from his midsection. Even as he began to lose consciousness, he desperately tried to turn his head to see just who had done this to him, but his strength was fading fast, and his assailant's grip was extremely strong, so he could only manage to get a glimpse of black material. He could also see that what happened to him was also happening to everyone else in his marching line, as they were silently subdued in the same manner by several black-clad individuals. His last thoughts were of warning his fellow soldiers, but his wound was too severe, his blood loss too great, and he soon succumbed to the yawning darkness that awaited him.
At the head of the army, Sephiroth stopped. His peripheral senses were significantly better than those of normal humans, and mere moments ago he had heard something which sounded suspiciously like a footfall. The footfall of someone who is trying to get somewhere silently is notably different from that of someone walking normally, certainly different from that of an army on the march. Because of this, he was sure it did not belong to any of his men. He was actually surprised at himself for being able to hear such a slight noise over the sound of the soldiers' ungainly stomping, but then, this was why Hojo had wanted him to enter combat situations in the first place- to see just what he was capable of. He turned and stared back over the heads of the Shinra army, which had halted it's march the moment their leader stopped. He quickly counted- there were 12 marching lines, each with at least 20 men in them but, wasn't there supposed to be more than that? He tried to remember how many lines there had been when they had entered the valley, but his calculations were interrupted when he picked up the sound of the silent footfalls again.
Now that the army had stopped he could hear them clearer than ever- they were all around him, and the Shinra army for that matter. Silently he cursed under his breath. How could he have been so careless? Now they were surrounded by someone or something unknown, which clearly did not want to be discovered. They didn't sound human- they were so quiet, as quiet as gently falling rain, or a pleasant summer breeze. Sephiroth honestly didn't think that humans could be so stealthy. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of movement, and one of the Shinra soldiers fell lifelessly to the ground. It happened again, this time on the other side of the group. Quickly, Sephiroth noted the position of the two dead soldiers. "Whatever they are, there must be more than one of them. No one could move between those two men in such a short period of time". A third man dropped to the ground, dead, but this time Sephiroth saw something else, something which had briefly caught the light of the full moon. He saw the unmistakeable flash of a blade.
He unsheathed the Masamune in one deft, fluid motion. In that instant, he knew what they were dealing with, and a look of murderous fury crossed his face.
"Ninjas", he hissed.
