A/N: Headcanons Galore here, since there's really nothing written on the ancient era of the Hizoku. 25-Past Era, mixed with 28: Unlikely Crossover…though, I mean, is Dynasty Warriors THAT unlikely of a crossover for this? Probably not, but since we don't know anything about the ancient Hizoku and I'm crossing the founding of a clan SNK has never written about the past of with the Dynasty Warriors franchise, maybe it is sort of unlikely. We'll run with that.
I have really never written anything like this before. I almost might have to do something more later on with it, since this is a short and it's probably something that begs for more detail or digging deeper, perhaps...but for now, here we go.
22X CE, Wei Kingdom
The tall young man stood at the door of the barracks, peeking in. The cool wind whipped the black robes about his body, the high neck of the outfit covering some old scars around it. Well, somewhat old-at only twenty-two, he received these at eighteen, when he was nearly garroted-yet he managed to turn the ties and slay his would-be assailant with his own hands.
He was currently waiting to see someone rather important, having been called away from his evening training.
Ji Xiu was a rather handsome fellow-standing just around six feet tall, he was quite over the average soldier, with long, black hair worn to his knees and braided, and besides the scar on his neck and fingers-from where he tore the garrote away-he was fairly unblemished around the face. His eyes were gray and on the lighter side, and coupled with his somewhat pale skin, gave him a bit of an eerie and intimidating appearance.
His occupation these days would be known basically as 'soldier', though he started as a craftsman, creating weapons as his family did. Or at least started his training-being the youngest of his family, he knew his elder brothers would have gone into the trade and his eldest the head, and a life in a workshop started to somewhat chafe the more adventurous, and even somewhat hot-tempered, young man. After some thought, he was drawn to the field of battle at around sixteen, answering a call to join the military and putting said temper and scrappy nature to good use. Oddly enough, being a soldier helped gain him temperance and patience, even more than his craft had.
And he was good. Very good, in fact, to where he started being used by the armies of Wei for more elite missions within the first two or so years of his career. Able to use a variety of weapons-or even only his bare hands which he had started to prefer, growing his nails long in the process-he was moved higher up the ranks quickly. His skill in weaponscraft had him develop a heavy blade to put on the end of his long hair, which he could use almost as a fifth limb in combat, quickly making a name for himself as a sort of wraithlike being who would appear, strike hard, and leave. He kept his unit small and closer-knit, feeling like it made for a better, more cohesive, whole.
Alas, in making said name, he became enough of a nuisance to the enemy that they tried to have him and said unit assassinated; he survived, however, taking out the assassin before he could take out even more than two men. He had managed to force his fingers from under the garrote, tear it away, and send his hand-strengthened by driving it day in and day out in gravel-through the opponent's throat. He took out the rest of the man's partners, with the final tally of him having lost about three men to poison, and the six or so attackers being wiped out.
It was after this that he had decided that not only up-front battles, but also stealth, was useful, as were other slightly darker arts, if one would. Namely the poisons that had taken out his other men. He did not abide by acts of wantonly using them on water supplies or any such things, but he found it useful on specific weapons or for subterfuge. The next four years was spent honing his skills both on the field and in the shadows, and he started to even pass some of his knowledge along to the closest and most trusted members of his unit.
Today was different for Ji Xiu, however. He rarely ended up interrupted from his evening training, but given he was, he figured whatever it was, was important. He recognized the men who had come for him as guards who were often at whatever barracks they were near.
The person who had sent for him was none other than Sima Yi, who he was fighting under. He was very curious about what he had to say or what he wanted from him, even a bit surprised, given he had higher-ranked and more decorated generals that he often relied on. Either way, he was ready enough.
After a few more moments, a man came out, bowing, and waving him in.
"This way," he said.
Stepping in, there weren't too many there-a couple of other soldiers, scribes, and tacticians were about, but they paid him no mind. He was waved to the back of the wooden structure, where he was sent into the back room, with the man nodding to the man standing at the end of the room.
Sima Yi was there with another, familiar looking man with a lean, athletic and muscular build-who stood nearly twenty or so centimeters taller-and he nodded toward the other soldier.
"Thank you," he said, nodding. "You may leave us."
The tactician's familiar robes hung on his body and his usual hat was worn on his head. He looked none worse for the wear, despite there having been a battle earlier in the day.
After the soldier shut the door behind him, the other man turned around to greet him as well. Ji Xiu was a few centimeters taller than Sima Yi himself, and once the taller man-who had hair as long as his own-turned, he recognized him right away as Zhang He, a very trusted general and fierce warrior for Wei. Despite his flamboyant, over the top mannerisms and predisposition to noticing beauty in everything, even turning a bloody battle into a dance, his huge claws were feared on the battlefield, and while he had never met the man, he knew of his impressive string of victories. Both men were older than he; Sima Yi was only two years older-he was rather young to become such a skilled tactician-and Zhang He was seven, nearly thirty. Sima Yi was dressed in his fine, blue, white and purple robes, the fan, wires, and slim sword he would use if he took the battlefield off to the side, clearly non threatening.
However, the fact that Zhang He wore his massive claws was not lost on him; the man did not have them brandished-his hands were folded across his front-but the message was there of why he stood by. Sima Yi was not a slouch in combat if necessary, but prided himself on his intellect, preferring to lead. Zhang He was one of his highly trusted generals, not only versatile and cunning, but would oft be right down on the front lines at the same time. A prudent person would also note Zhang He's usual lack of armor-indeed, today he only wore his rather elaborate looking shoulder piece on his upper body-and the fact he had very few scars and put the two together. One did not reach nearly thirty on the front lines with nary a mark without a frightening level of skill.
Not that Ji Xiu had any plans or even thoughts of striking out against Sima Yi, but he recognized that if he or anyone did, they would be gutted, if not torn in two, before they knew what hit them.
"My lord Sima," he said with a bow. "What do you wish of me?"
"Ji Xiu," he said. "It is said they call you the wraith."
"I do not know what they call me, but I simply fight."
The other man walked forward, checking some scrolls on the desk. "Your victories have been…impressive. And you seem to have brought…other skills to the field, as well."
Zhang He stepped forward, smiling. "You have both strength and grace," he said. "Your units barely take a loss. Striking either from the front, or from the shadows. While the shadows are not where I prefer to dwell, there are benefits."
"Some battles are easier won from them," the soldier replied.
Sima Yi nodded. "Indeed. This is why I have called for you." He sat in the chair, steepling his hands under his chin as Zhang He stood by. "There are certain situations that call for certain tools, and while I have several skilled warriors at my disposal…" he said, eyeing his general next to him, "Not everyone is equally suited toward certain scenarios."
"I make no qualms about the shadows not being for me," Zhang He said. "While there is beauty in it, I am one for the light, in the clash of battle." He flexed one hand, the steel of his claws making a soft scraping sound.
"You, however, have proven yourself suitable both in the front…and in said shadows," Sima Yi said. "I have…need of someone who has proven themselves, if you feel you could hand-pick some of your most ideal to join you. Some of these missions may run on the…clandestine side," he said frankly, though given it was only the three of them in the room, it was fine. Sitting up against and stroking his chin, he looked directly at Ji Xiu. "I will give you some time to consider."
"Is this an offer, or a demand?" the soldier asked.
This caused Sima Yi to chuckle. "I like your tact," he said. "It is an offer. If you do not accept, you can walk out of here and continue being the solider you have been, no questions asked." He paused. "Though I would very much like my offer to stay between us." His eyes glanced over at Zhang He ever so briefly and back toward the soldier.
"Of course," he said, reading his intent. "And I accept." He was a good judge of character and knew Sima Yi was speaking true. He was not forcing him; his decorated general and bodyguard being there was a deterrent more than a straight threat.
The high general nodded, a satisfied smile on his face. "Pick your chosen men, though they may stay at your camp. We can meet again here on the morrow to discuss the manner of things. I shall have tea, as well, this time."
"I told my lord that he should have had some now," Zhang He said, chuckling. "As a sort of offering. He wished for this to be fairly quiet for this time, however."
"Be here early," Sima Yi continued, "Before the sun rises. Unless you need more time."
"I believe I know which of my men I am choosing," Ji Xiu replied. "I do not know which will accept the offer, but I will only say what needs saying."
"I believe you." The tactician stood, bowing, as the soldier returned. Zhang He did, as well, the metal of his claws scraping in the relative silence of the room.
"By your leave, my lord," he said. "I will return to my camp."
"Yes. I will see you soon." He stood, folding his arms behind his back as he stood to glance out the small window in the back, with Zhang He stepping forward to lead Ji Xiu out himself.
The general looked at him before he opened the door, smiling. He lifted a clawed hand, his long, sharp nails also visible. "I look forward to working with you. You and your men will be working alongside my own unit…being the shadow to its light."
Ji Xiu bowed his head, smiling back at the taller man. "I hope to not disappoint."
"If the stories are true about you, you won't." At that, he opened the door, letting him out.
He was silent going back to his camp, sort of surprised that all of this came to be; however, he had work to do tonight, and people to speak to. There were three men in particular that he was considering speaking to at first, all which came from different parts of the Wei kingdom, but all of them with similar loyalties. From there, they would decide together on the others-just a few-to be a part of this shadowy group.
None of them knew that the group would grow, form sects, and continue on for centuries, developing new and even forbidden powers...but no one can really predict the future, after all.
A/N: Lots of stuff in the author's notes at the end here, heh.
Any names involved here that are not a known name are just made up, but the rest are of course the Tecmo-Koei versions of their respective characters, not the Actual Versions.
They call the Hizoku an 'ancient group of assassins from Hebei Province,' so I tried to pinpoint where they were, setting its formation during the Three Kingdoms seemed about right. Ji Xiu is a completely made up character since SNK never gave the origin of the clan, so I had to name the guy. Those close people to him mentioned of course were some of the earlier members of the clan. The Hizoku have four sects(the Xi Du, Nan Di, Bei Gai, and Dong Xie), with Ron and Duo Lon having been a part of Xi Du(Poison of the West). I like to imagine that as the 'Main' sect, and the four people who care about Hizoku lore might have been able to see where I was going with the other three men of his.
Sima Yi was affiliated with DW's Wei kingdom until the 7th game-this I'd say probably takes place around 4-5 or so he'd still be part of Wei. Zhang He was one of Wei's finest generals. I had to, of course, make up a few things in terms of small battles. While we can assume all the Big Battles happen as the games say, but there were probably a bunch of tiny, un-named battles that tend to happen in the middle of all of these, that I was able to sorta asspull for the purposes of this crossover. (Which is technically an AU anyway, so I feel like I can break a couple of rules here.) I'm basing this on Dynasty Warriors history/portrayals, which aren't the most historically accurate either, of course. I think the saying was "30 percent fact, 70 percent fiction."
Sima Yi is a playable character who can fight (I tried to show both the fan he used later and the sword he had as a side weapon and in earlier games while mentioning the wires), but he always prided himself on being more of a brilliant tactician. Zhang He was both known for his versatility, tactics and cunning as well as being very much on the field, and he lived to an old age, which says a lot about his fighting ability. As for their descriptions, Zhang He is something like 195cm tall in the game, so he's damn near a head taller than Sima Yi (and I did use his DW3 outfit look for this.) While Zhang He is very much into beauty and grace, some of his in-game dialogue gets *quite* violent and menacing, so I wanted to sort of show that he was playing Sima Yi's bodyguard here with an air of threat to him. Sima Yi is also by no means a 'good guy' and would certainly not balk at personal assassins.
"Why Wei?" Just location. Looking at the ancient map of the 3 Kingdoms and comparing the two, Wei territory lines up with what is Hebei Province. So I decided to make them associated with them just for that. (Plus it was my favorite kingdom in the games to boot, which was a bonus.)
Anyway, there was, again, a lot of asspulling involved here and I don't think I've written a crossover in ages (if ever) but I hope it was fun anyway?