The lone shadow that ran through the forest froze when she heard a noise out in the distance. A laughter, piercing her soul, sending all her senses on alert. It was a laughter she knew all to well, for she had heard it once before. A shadow fell from above in front of her. Landing on its feet, it slowly raised its head, revealing a single eye that glowed with a demonic passion. The figure stood up to reveal the outline of a woman's body in the darkness.
The figure spoke, "You have come so far you little runaway. There's nowhere else to go, your fleeing ends here."
Out of breath and panting, she uttered sternly, "I will win this battle. He has not been able to defeat me yet, and you will not either"
The clouds the blanketed the sky began to flicker bright shimmering lights from above. With every flash of lightning, the forest became day then promptly shifted back to the dead of night. The fearful shinobi could now see her assailant, the bandanna she wore around her head, the darkened purple bangs that covered the expression on her face, the blackened outfit she wore and that eye that shone with an unholy red glare. With each blast of light that came, the woman slowly approached and laughed even harder. "You think I'm doing this because I was told to. You are sadly mistaken, I have my own reasons for what will come."
"If not for him, then why must we do this? I just don't understand why."
The dark figure walked even closer, brushed her hair out of the way, revealing her other eye. It burned red and gold with hatred, just like the other that had first made her presence and intentions known to the kunoichi. Another flash from the sky allowed the tired girl see the stern expression on her opponent's face. "Don't play coy with me! I shall make you pay for your past transgressions. You will not be the only one to suffer for my pain, only the first."
A look of terror swept over the young kunoichi's face as she realized the true goal of the woman who stood before her. She took stance and readied her Ninjato. She knew that not only was she fighting for her life, but the lives of the ones she loved, of her family. With a renewed strength of mind and body, she let go of her sword and beckoned her assailant to came forward. "I am sorry for what I will have to do to you."
"Enough of this! You will fight for your life or die without honor!"
With that utterance, the sky flashed bright and a deafening roar ripped through the air. Then, once again, the all consuming darkness surrounded both the warriors in a veil of black. When next the lightning struck only one figure could be seen, the other, vanished into the background of night and the rows of trees. With every blast of light from the sky, the kunoichi's eyes scanned the forest, hoping to gather any hint of her opponent's whereabouts. The next bolt that rained down revealed a female figure hurling herself feet-first at the unsuspecting kunoichi. At the last second, she dodged the oncoming onslaught, jumped onto the nearest tree and launched herself forward with stunning speed.
Darkness again enveloped the woods and when next the sky shone with the resilience of lightning, the two ninjas stood, staring at each other face to face. Each was poised and ready to attack again.
Darkness.
A flash of light and punches were being blocked by the demonic woman in black.
Darkness.
Next light showed the little kunoichi leaping into to air and releasing a forceful kick that sent her opponent's body flailing backward into a tree.
Darkness.
One flash later and the kunoichi stood, breathing heavily from the strain, staring down at her opponent as she stood up from the blow. Raising her head, recovering from the pain, the dark figure looked into her targets eyes.
Darkness. In an instant a loud howl was heard as the shadowy figure rushed towards her victim and grabbed her.
Light. They struggled in a deadlock, fear of knowing this was the end for one of them crept over both of them.
Darkness, but not totally, for the runaway shinobi had stared into her assailant's eyes and saw how they burned. They burnt with the crimson fury of a thousand suns, and in that instant of weakness she lost her nerve. Dressed in black and driven by pure hate, the demon woman was no longer in control of herself as she freed her right arm from the others' grip and pulled the poor girl close with it.
Light.
"You have run for so long, and that has been your downfall. You have never been my sister." With those words, the female Hajin Mon leader grabbed hold of the still sheathed Ninjato and pulled it toward her with such a force that it cut through both casing and flesh. A scream of agony was blocked out by the sounds of another bolt. Rain began to fall on both the victor and the fallen as she lay on the ground, gripping to the last bit of life she had left. "You stopped running a long time ago."
"Please... let him live..... don't kill Ha...." Darkness.
With that, the lone warrior, her eyes still burning with the fires of hatred, removed the blade from the deceased. The downpour washed the blood from the blade as she held it to her face. Covered in the crimson life-force of the defeated, the lone figure stood up once again, looked down at the beaten shinobi and muttered, "Your fight was in vain. You tried to save the one who would have killed you. He wanted you dead too, I just beat him to you. You sacrificed yourself in an attempt to stop me from getting to him. You knew all along though, didn't you? You helped this all come around. Now, I have no choice but to fix your mess. Farewell you runaway shinobi." With that, the rain soaked woman turned her back to the defeated and walked away knowing what she had to do next. Revenge had never felt so sweet, and she wanted more. A lone warrior on a crusade, she walked through the woods, rain pouring down, lightning shimmering through the sky, blood-soaked and weary the female leader of the Hajin Mon set out to avenge the rest of her past.