Hikari no Miko
Chapter 2: Mirei
Ayame rushed to Kiku-hime's room with Rikimaru, Tesshu, Gohda, and Sekiya close behind. Ayame ripped open the screen door and stopped. Kiku was lying on a tatami sleeping mat. Her face was as lurid as a ghost and her eyes were red with fever. The rapid developement of the symptoms belonging to the illness were astonishing. When Kiku saw Ayame, she smiled. Ayame slowly sauntered towards the girl and knelt down. She reached for the hime's frail hand. Suddenly, she felt a muscular arm grip her bare stomach and pull her away from Kiku. Ayame turned and noticed that it was Tesshu who had pulled her back.
"No, do not touch her," said the isha,"You might catch the blight."
She ignored Tesshu's warning and crawled close to Kiku again. This time, she did not reach for the girl's hand.
"Ayame? Am I going to get better?" asked Kiku.
Ayame smiled. "Of course you will."
Kiku grinned at her and suddenly began to cough violently. Her coughing fit frightened everyone in the room but Tesshu. Ayame frowned at the sight of the girl coughing. Then she averted her attention to Tesshu. "How can I help Kiku?"
"Well, there is a very skilled miko who could be able to help Kiku-hime," replied the grim-faced Tesshu.
"Where can we find this miko?" questioned the weary sama who was Kiku's father.
"She lives in Ronin Village. Her home is near the red house of the late sage Zennosuke. But if you wish to find her, it would be best to find her before the Midori Clan Ninjas do," explained Tesshu.
"Why is that?" asked Ayame. Her brows were knitted with confusion.
Tesshu crossed his arms and continued. "They've been asking for the miko for several days now. They would not tell anyone why they were looking for her."
Ayame brooded as silence suffused the room. No one spoke for a bit; it seemed everyone else was deep in thought too. Ayame shattered the silence with her valorous voice. "I am going to Ronin Village to look for this skilled miko."
"You should wait for tonight, it is dawn now," interjected Rikimaru.
Ayame rose off of the clean wood floor and met Rikimaru's cold gaze with a glare. She didn't want to wait for tonight, she wanted to find the miko now. She couldn't endure seeing Kiku's pain, it pierced her heart like a poisoned blade. But Ayame could already feel the weariness of being out on a mission all night creeping up on her like a stealthy ninja.
When the day had left and the night had arrived, Ayame stepped out of Gohda Castle and onto the dusty street. The weather was fair and pleasant, just what she had wanted for her rendezvous. A cool zephyr brushed her face and left as soon as it had come.
She slid her two blades out of their scabbards and gripped them loosely in her gloved palms. She checked her ninja inventory over again, making sure she had what she needed. Grappling hook, three blow gun shots, five shurikens, one super shuriken, two caltrops, and one health potion.
Ayame turned her head swiftly when she felt someone lurk behind her. It was her fellow Azuma ninja, Rikimaru. She gave him a baffled look. "What do you want?"
"Gohda-sama wanted me to go with you," he lied abruptly.
She sighed. "Fine, just don't slow me down."
The cryptic ninjas entered Ronin Village quietly and quickly ran behind a house. They saw that a young woman was standing near the entrance. She was unarmed but the ninjas didn't want to be noticed by her. And they didn't want to kill an innocent young woman.
Ayame and Rikimaru observed that tonight was a different night. The rain had stopped and the weather was as fine as it was near Gohda-sama's castle. They also perceived that Ronin Village was even more heavily guarded than usual. Not guarded by its residents but by the Midori Clan Ninjas. One was standing right above them on the rugged roof.
Ayame was the first to act. She grasped onto the edge of the roof and watched the male ninja. He was peering over the edge of the roof on the other side. His back was turned to her and he seemed to not have a clue she was hanging on the roof. She pulled herself up on the roof and approached him silently. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried to get free but it was too late. She took her arms off his neck and in a flash, slashed his throat with her two blades. The Midori ninja's body sank down on the bumpy roof, his neck was crimson with blood. Ayame turned her body in a rain dance motion and twirled her blades in a skilled fashion. Rikimaru was on the roof too, watching her with his monotonous stare.
"What is it?" she snarled when she saw that he was staring at her.
"Nothing. Let's go," he said. Rikimaru turned and ran to the Western edge of the roof. He leaped onto another roof and exterminated the ninja on it. Blood dripped down the roof like oil.
With all the enemy ninjas in the vicinity dead, Ayame and Rikimaru started towards the house the miko would be in. Their ki sensed that someone or some people were inside. Before Rikimaru could even put his hands on the screen door, Ayame slid it open.
A blur of white and red robes greeted them. The miko seemed to have been sitting down with her back to the door but stood when she heard it slide open. The miko stood with a paper seal or scripture ready between her right index finger and middle finger. Around the miko were three frozen Midori ninjas; they sported scriptures on their foreheads.
The miko was as lovely as the beautifully written calligraphy on her scripture. She looked to be as old as Ayame. Her dark hair was as black as a raven's feathers and her eyes were almost as dark. Her eyes were accented with a reddish-pink eye shadow on her eye lids. Her nose was perfectly pointed and looked appropriate on her attractively pale face. The miko's lips were not full or thin, but medium sized.
She seemed a bit baffled when she looked at the two Azuma ninjas. She lowered her scripture and knitted her brows. "You don't look like the other ninjas...who are you two?"
"There's really no time to explain. We need your help," Ayame said grimly.
"My help?" the miko said sounding confused,"But first tell me who you are."
"We are the Azuma ninjas. I am Rikimaru," replied Rikimaru.
"And I am Ayame," said Ayame. Her voice was full of irritation.
The miko smiled. "Ah, you must be Gohda-sama's ninjas. My name is Morimoto Mirei. Why do you need my help?"
"Gohda-sama's daughter, Kiku-hime, is very ill. An isha called Fujioka Tesshu recommended you to us," replied Ayame.
Mirei gasped. "She's very ill? Then she might have..the black blight..."
The ninjas looked at Mirei, puzzled.
"It's an illness that is spreading across Gohda Realm. Almost everyone who caught it died, or so they say," Mirei explained.
Ayame stared at the clean wooden floor. It took her a while to fathom Mirei's last sentence. She would not let Kiku die like this.
"Strangely, no one here in Ronin Village has caught it. It probably didn't get here yet," said Mirei.
"We should go now. The binding spell on these Midori ninjas will wear off in a little while," continued Mirei. Ayame and Rikimaru wasted no time in leaving. Ayame slid open the door and stepped outside into the shadowy night. Rikimaru silently followed. Mirei sighed and looked around her home. She picked up the scriptures she had finished and neatly stuffed them inside her white and red miko robes. She checked her medicine inventory and found the right herbs she needed. She placed them in her robes too. Then she accompanied the ninjas outside.
(Author's Note: I was just wondering... do any of the Japanese words annoy ya'll? Should I change them to English? Oh, and thanks for the reviews ya'll, I really appreciate them.)
Chapter 2: Mirei
Ayame rushed to Kiku-hime's room with Rikimaru, Tesshu, Gohda, and Sekiya close behind. Ayame ripped open the screen door and stopped. Kiku was lying on a tatami sleeping mat. Her face was as lurid as a ghost and her eyes were red with fever. The rapid developement of the symptoms belonging to the illness were astonishing. When Kiku saw Ayame, she smiled. Ayame slowly sauntered towards the girl and knelt down. She reached for the hime's frail hand. Suddenly, she felt a muscular arm grip her bare stomach and pull her away from Kiku. Ayame turned and noticed that it was Tesshu who had pulled her back.
"No, do not touch her," said the isha,"You might catch the blight."
She ignored Tesshu's warning and crawled close to Kiku again. This time, she did not reach for the girl's hand.
"Ayame? Am I going to get better?" asked Kiku.
Ayame smiled. "Of course you will."
Kiku grinned at her and suddenly began to cough violently. Her coughing fit frightened everyone in the room but Tesshu. Ayame frowned at the sight of the girl coughing. Then she averted her attention to Tesshu. "How can I help Kiku?"
"Well, there is a very skilled miko who could be able to help Kiku-hime," replied the grim-faced Tesshu.
"Where can we find this miko?" questioned the weary sama who was Kiku's father.
"She lives in Ronin Village. Her home is near the red house of the late sage Zennosuke. But if you wish to find her, it would be best to find her before the Midori Clan Ninjas do," explained Tesshu.
"Why is that?" asked Ayame. Her brows were knitted with confusion.
Tesshu crossed his arms and continued. "They've been asking for the miko for several days now. They would not tell anyone why they were looking for her."
Ayame brooded as silence suffused the room. No one spoke for a bit; it seemed everyone else was deep in thought too. Ayame shattered the silence with her valorous voice. "I am going to Ronin Village to look for this skilled miko."
"You should wait for tonight, it is dawn now," interjected Rikimaru.
Ayame rose off of the clean wood floor and met Rikimaru's cold gaze with a glare. She didn't want to wait for tonight, she wanted to find the miko now. She couldn't endure seeing Kiku's pain, it pierced her heart like a poisoned blade. But Ayame could already feel the weariness of being out on a mission all night creeping up on her like a stealthy ninja.
When the day had left and the night had arrived, Ayame stepped out of Gohda Castle and onto the dusty street. The weather was fair and pleasant, just what she had wanted for her rendezvous. A cool zephyr brushed her face and left as soon as it had come.
She slid her two blades out of their scabbards and gripped them loosely in her gloved palms. She checked her ninja inventory over again, making sure she had what she needed. Grappling hook, three blow gun shots, five shurikens, one super shuriken, two caltrops, and one health potion.
Ayame turned her head swiftly when she felt someone lurk behind her. It was her fellow Azuma ninja, Rikimaru. She gave him a baffled look. "What do you want?"
"Gohda-sama wanted me to go with you," he lied abruptly.
She sighed. "Fine, just don't slow me down."
The cryptic ninjas entered Ronin Village quietly and quickly ran behind a house. They saw that a young woman was standing near the entrance. She was unarmed but the ninjas didn't want to be noticed by her. And they didn't want to kill an innocent young woman.
Ayame and Rikimaru observed that tonight was a different night. The rain had stopped and the weather was as fine as it was near Gohda-sama's castle. They also perceived that Ronin Village was even more heavily guarded than usual. Not guarded by its residents but by the Midori Clan Ninjas. One was standing right above them on the rugged roof.
Ayame was the first to act. She grasped onto the edge of the roof and watched the male ninja. He was peering over the edge of the roof on the other side. His back was turned to her and he seemed to not have a clue she was hanging on the roof. She pulled herself up on the roof and approached him silently. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He tried to get free but it was too late. She took her arms off his neck and in a flash, slashed his throat with her two blades. The Midori ninja's body sank down on the bumpy roof, his neck was crimson with blood. Ayame turned her body in a rain dance motion and twirled her blades in a skilled fashion. Rikimaru was on the roof too, watching her with his monotonous stare.
"What is it?" she snarled when she saw that he was staring at her.
"Nothing. Let's go," he said. Rikimaru turned and ran to the Western edge of the roof. He leaped onto another roof and exterminated the ninja on it. Blood dripped down the roof like oil.
With all the enemy ninjas in the vicinity dead, Ayame and Rikimaru started towards the house the miko would be in. Their ki sensed that someone or some people were inside. Before Rikimaru could even put his hands on the screen door, Ayame slid it open.
A blur of white and red robes greeted them. The miko seemed to have been sitting down with her back to the door but stood when she heard it slide open. The miko stood with a paper seal or scripture ready between her right index finger and middle finger. Around the miko were three frozen Midori ninjas; they sported scriptures on their foreheads.
The miko was as lovely as the beautifully written calligraphy on her scripture. She looked to be as old as Ayame. Her dark hair was as black as a raven's feathers and her eyes were almost as dark. Her eyes were accented with a reddish-pink eye shadow on her eye lids. Her nose was perfectly pointed and looked appropriate on her attractively pale face. The miko's lips were not full or thin, but medium sized.
She seemed a bit baffled when she looked at the two Azuma ninjas. She lowered her scripture and knitted her brows. "You don't look like the other ninjas...who are you two?"
"There's really no time to explain. We need your help," Ayame said grimly.
"My help?" the miko said sounding confused,"But first tell me who you are."
"We are the Azuma ninjas. I am Rikimaru," replied Rikimaru.
"And I am Ayame," said Ayame. Her voice was full of irritation.
The miko smiled. "Ah, you must be Gohda-sama's ninjas. My name is Morimoto Mirei. Why do you need my help?"
"Gohda-sama's daughter, Kiku-hime, is very ill. An isha called Fujioka Tesshu recommended you to us," replied Ayame.
Mirei gasped. "She's very ill? Then she might have..the black blight..."
The ninjas looked at Mirei, puzzled.
"It's an illness that is spreading across Gohda Realm. Almost everyone who caught it died, or so they say," Mirei explained.
Ayame stared at the clean wooden floor. It took her a while to fathom Mirei's last sentence. She would not let Kiku die like this.
"Strangely, no one here in Ronin Village has caught it. It probably didn't get here yet," said Mirei.
"We should go now. The binding spell on these Midori ninjas will wear off in a little while," continued Mirei. Ayame and Rikimaru wasted no time in leaving. Ayame slid open the door and stepped outside into the shadowy night. Rikimaru silently followed. Mirei sighed and looked around her home. She picked up the scriptures she had finished and neatly stuffed them inside her white and red miko robes. She checked her medicine inventory and found the right herbs she needed. She placed them in her robes too. Then she accompanied the ninjas outside.
(Author's Note: I was just wondering... do any of the Japanese words annoy ya'll? Should I change them to English? Oh, and thanks for the reviews ya'll, I really appreciate them.)