Chapter 10 is here after all this downtime. I was hoping I'd also have 11 as well, since some of you might have read chaper 10 at Tiger's BR Fanfic archive, but...
It is incomplete. Also, it seems I might have to get a different browser to work FF.net. So! Another reason for the posting of this without Chapter 11 as its partner is to see if I need a different browser or not. I'm too impatient to wait for the official announcement on Tuesday. I'll probably be able to view the Bloody Roar fanfiction list by then. Until then... only the FF.net main page, fanfic pages, and profiles!


Chapter 10: Stains of Blood
~~~~~~~~~
With a surprised squeal, Uriko roughly slammed into the padded mat. She saw her opponent lunge towards her and she rolled out of the way. He was in her blind spot, but her ears caught the faint rapid tapping noises of a ninja's footwork as he ran up the wall to prepare for another strike from above. Once again she had to immediately move away from his foot and find an entrance to move in for the attack.
Kenji had been training her to fight an assassin. At first, the training had not been very serious, but with Uriko's demands and improvement, it became more like the training he and his master did every morning, actual fighting. She had already learned Kenpo and she sought to perfect the techniques she already knew, some of which the other ninja recognized as a known assassin's moves and techniques. Although her style was loose and clumsy, she was fast. Speed was the future Bakuryu's strong point as well, and it took quite a while for Uriko to get used to his movements as he started to go less and less easily on her.
"Now!" she whispered when she saw an opportunity to use her chain. The idea was to move on to different successive strikes to take the opponent off guard and not allow him to think, as the attacks were coming in quickly one after another. "One, two, three-and-four..." she repeated to herself to keep a good rhythm so the strikes could be executed successfully. Kenji knew how to block her moves and when she moved in to deliver a final move, he pulled back, concentrated his strength into his palm and thrust it forward right into her, sending her flying back.

He stood up and calmly walked up to the girl as she was starting to stand up. "You're too weak to defeat me," he told her while positioning hands, one with two fingers extended in the ninja fashion, just below his head.

Uriko was furious. "Hey, hey... what's with that arrogant streak?"
"'Arrogant...?'"
She sat up crosslegged and pointed at him. "Yeah! You ninja are always going on about 'weakling' this, and 'you're too weak,' that, and... 'Amateur! Let's not forget the 'amateur' remarks! What's up with that?"

"I'm merely stating a fact. You are too weak to defeat me."

"While that may be true (for now)..."

"See? You agree, so why are you getting angry?" he told her matter-of-factly, turning away from a flabbergasted Uriko to reach for a towel to wipe his head. When she asked him why they were quitting now, he told her he was going out with the master that night. They had a mission that night, and he had to prepare himself. It was his first, in a way. He should be back a little after midnight, he told her.

"What are you doing?" she asked while following him away from where they had been training.
"I mustn't reveal the details of my missions."
"Awww... come on..." she whined.
"No."
"Please? For me...?"
He looked at her wither her hands folded together against the chin of her face, which bore a pleading expression. He raised an eyebrow and looked almost disgusted when he asked, "What are you trying to get me to do?" Without waiting for a response, he briskly walked away to where he was expected to be without another word.

"So, young lady..." called an older voice from directly behind her. The brown haired girl jumped up with a "Kymphh!" caused by a hand blocking her usual cry. "That will not be necessary," he sighed.
"Mkmyuumyuu..."
"Right you are."
He released her and she proceeded to take her usual offensive stance and her usual complaint about his tendency to pop up out of nowhere right behind her like that. In truth, it was a habit of all the ninja there to which she had not yet grown accustomed.
"I presume you have heard of our outing?" he asked, "I suppose I don't need to tell you what a 'mission' for an assassin is, do I?"

She hissed in a quiet voice, "You're making him kill people."

"Your deductive ability astounds me."

"Kenji doesn't want to kill people!"
"'Doesn't want to...?' He doesn't seem to mind. The blood on his fingers affects him in no way at all. You, however... can you deal with it? You have never seen someone die, have you? If you knew what he could do first-hand... could you deal with it? Would you still be so devoted to freeing your precious 'Kenji' after that, or would you abandon him, too afraid to accept the truth about him? Your fleeting feelings would fail you, wouldn't they?"
"Sh- shut up! I want to take Kenji away from all that! It's wrong!"
"You will, will you?" he sighed, his slight smile taunting her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, Ryu, I hear there is a mission tonight," the prince said, placing one hand on the Young Dragon's shoulder as he stood alone in a drab, metallic room. He, Bakuryu, and a few other ninja were in various areas outside their quarters, preparing the upcoming mission.
The youth stared at him with wide golden eyes and asked him who he was supposed to be.
"It seems every time I turn around I must reintroduce myself to you, Ryu. I am the Prince Cronos."
He quickly bowed and gave an apology. Cronos sighed and muttered something about him at least being polite after his sessions.

"Why did you call me 'Ryu?'"
"Must I explain this again as well? I prefer it over 'Young Dragon,' just as I prefer you just call me 'Cronos.'"
"Oh, I couldn't," the dark haired boy quickly objected, "that would be improper."
Cronos glanced over to one side and sighed with a slight smile. "Perhaps that's why I only tell you to call me that." He supposed he only liked hearing the ignorant child pay him respect as if he really felt he was the royalty he was. He did not know the boy very well, and they were not exactly friends, but they shared an occasional conversation should one come up should they cross paths. He amused the prince; perhaps it was an "innocence" he had, if someone like that could be called innocent. He, too, was a pawn of corrupt individuals destined to continue deeds planned out for him.

"I guess Miss Ken-, Uriko doesn't like that name either. She insists on calling me 'Kenji.'"
"Do my ears deceive me, or do I hear a mention of a girl? A fellow ninja?"

"No, she's someone the master brought."

He asked why and the ninja told him he did not know. He told him he thought the master wanted him to have some sort of contact with her. The master kept on asking questions about her and what he did with her, which the acolyte found rather peculiar. When the prince asked what he thought of her, he was a little confused as to how to reply. She was nothing like anybody else. She was... she was...

"Oho.." he crooned, casually seating himself on a rather depressing metal table which bore leather straps to hold down experiments, "It sounds like you're interested in her..."
"Interested..." the ninja echoed, sitting down on the table as well.
"Let me guess...," he sighed and held one hand delicately to his heart and closed his eyes, "you've never felt this way before... your heart pounds when she is near... her voice... pierces your very soul! She never leaves your mind and she runs through your dreams as you rest. She must be destined to be by your side, for you feel you were made for each other. She is heaven. She is your angel, the saving blessing that saves you from this horrid existence! Surely, love is blossoming in your heart and you wish to cultivate the exotic flower of love in hers as well, for words cannot even begin to describe the ecstasy of love!"

Suppressing a chuckle at himself, he glanced over at the pale child, whose golden eyes were opened wide and staring at him. He nodded slightly though his speech, but was obviously taken off guard by some of the other things he said.
"I...guess I went a little overboard with poetry, huh?"
"Umm... I have had dreams about her..."
"Is that so...?"
"Last night, I dreamt we were in the little garden and we were talking like normal and then she asks me to kiss her. I can't, so she just walks up and kiss me... and she doesn't stop!"

How old is he, fifteen, the prince thought, and he's acting all shocked over a dream like that?
"I think I know what's happening here..." he mumbled, averting his eyes, while the Young Dragon continued to describe how she held him and easily pushed him to the ground and started holding and kissing him and doing things he could barely describe, all arousing a growing tension surrounding him. At one point, he looked up and saw the Master Bakuryu standing there, staring right at them.

"I did NOT need to know that..."
"But that was when I was sure this was something I wasn't supposed to be doing!"
He began to try and tell her this was not right, but then she did something completely unexpected. With a large smile, she yelled for all to hear, "The old fart can go hang himself for all I care!" She planted another wet kiss on his mouth. "Now why don't you just come here and kiss me and let that shriveled up fossil 'disapprove' all he wants... he's just jealous."
Had he just heard the name he thought he had heard? Had she just suggested what he thought she had suggested? An even greater shock was his reaction. He reached up and held her closer and started imitating her actions. Their hands' positions shifted and they moved to grope sensitive spots. When he finally did take her off him, he, with one single motion, pulled off the light frock she always wore, her only article of clothing and then he pounced on top of her and began to grab at her exposed body and pull it towards his own while she undid his shirt.
"And then..."
"Okayokayokay! You don't need to explain any further!" The prince yelled with the violent waving of one hand.

"It's always the quiet ones."
"But, it felt-"
"I know how it feels!" he interrupted in a loud voice.
"And what we did-"
"I have a pretty good idea of what you did!" he yelled once again to block out anything he might say.
He stopped him before he could talk again and told him, "Next time you find a biology book or something in the lab, look up 'human reproduction.'"
"I know what human reproduction is... you put-"
"It's more than 'A in B equals baby!' It's so much more! It's.... never mind (it's no use trying to explain it to you)..."
The Young Dragon leaned over and gazed at the floor sadly. "I wonder why I deliberately disobeyed him like that... I actually smiled when she said those things about him."
The other looked at him with narrowed eyes.".... was that wet dream about her or your master?"
"'Wet...?' Oh, how did you know-"
"Look, let's just change the subject. You have some people to slaughter, don't you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Uriko once again wandered into the indoor garden, wondering what time it was. She had still not found any clocks and it bugged her how the ninja were so well aware of the time and expected her to do the same even though there were no timepieces. She gazed up at the glass in the ceiling, through which shined an artificial moonlight onto the tamed wildlife and reflected off the clear water of the pond.
She ignored it and moaned, "Isn't it midnight yet...?"
"It is 12:07."
"Kenji!"
She turned around to greet him and then stopped when she saw the blood all over his hands, staining his clothes, and splattered onto his face. She took a few steps back while the teenage boy looked at her wondering what could possibly be troubling her.
"Kenji... you're... covered..."
"Oh, this?" he sounded innocently, motioning towards the stains, "It washes right out with a little soaking and scrubbing. We were expected and there was a fight. This normally doesn't happen unless there's a fight."
He was simply covered in the stuff, and the bodily fluid's pungent smell stung her nose and sickened her. If she concentrated, she could made out little solid bits in the liquid. Were they pieces of the victim's body? She had known he was an assassin, but the real connection had not been made. Her Kenji had actually gone out... and spilled some living person's blood and ended his life. There were dead people somewhere right now, killed by his hands.
"Miss Uriko, could you tell me about-"
"Kenji... not now," she groaned, looking for something else to look at.
"Miss Uriko?"
"I can't talk to you right now. Not while you're looking like that. Tomorrow, okay?"
She bade him good night and turned to leave. He glanced down at the browning red on his hands and tried to find whatever she found distressing.

"Did... did I do something wrong..?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You couldn't handle it, could you?" Master Bakuryu questioned in a voice with a hint of amusement. Uriko looked down at the floor angrily.
"What was that pledge again? You would make him remember, even if it meant making him fall in love with you, was it? You can't love a killer like my heir, can you? I thought not."

She clenched up her gown in her fists and shook with the rage that man always seem to rouse up in her. She would show him! She stormed out of the room and not long after, the master heard an angry voice order, "Come on Kenji. We're training." and the loud thumping of her feet as she dragged him off by one hand.

He pondered the experiment for a while. After a few minutes, a lower ninja approached him, bringing news of an uprising within the ranks. Some of the other groups of assassins -though they were more like riffraff and delinquents than assassins- were revolting elsewhere in the building and help was being requested to take care of these individuals, who were not that valuable in the first place, as their skills gave them a low rank among the other assassins there.

"What a perfect opportunity..." he chuckled, much the lower ninja's confusion, and he immediately left to seek out the Young Dragon to halt his training session. The heir, of course, stopped everything at once when he was summoned. He quietly told him the details and the boy nodded and bore an unusual grim expression Uriko had not seen before. The wide-eyed boy she knew from before had disappeared, leaving behind what seemed to be the master in a younger body.

"Mission accepted" was all he uttered before running off to complete his task.
That Kenji, Uriko's mind told her, was different. So far, it had seemed "Kenji" and "Young Dragon" were basically the same person deep down inside, but the boy she had just seen had a glare which made a chill pass through her. She wasted no time in following him out of the ninja's quarters and into the rest of the building. She barely noted the labs and cages and the dreary surroundings, as she was now completely focused on following Kenji, not even wondering what she was expecting herself to do when she caught up with him.
She could gradually hear more and more voices echoing through the halls. She started to see people running though the labs, breaking anything in sight. She could hear voices declaring, "We won't let them use us any longer! This is the last straw!"

"There's one of them!" one yelled, and soon Uriko found herself running in the opposite direction to escape whatever fate they had planned for her. Three ganged up on her and one of them snatched her up from behind.

"LemmegoLemmegoLemmego!" she squeaked, squirming in the man's arms. She never expected his grip to actually loosen in response to her demands. The other two men were perfectly still, their mouths wide open as they stared in her direction. Was it that much of a shock?

It was then she noticed something wet and warm dripping down the back of her neck. When she looked up at her captor, she saw the tips of blood soaked ivory spikes peeking out from his face. Behind him was the hulking beast, one of the Clan of the Soil in his large mole form. It was Kenji.

The other two made the starting motions to retreat, but it was futile. The mole violently thrust the corpse off his claws and killed the first, delivering two fatal swipes with his claws before thrusting the body to the floor with both paws, and then he moved to the second, stabbing his daggers into his gut with one paw, then the other, and then repeatedly with the first, despite the fact that the man was dead before the second strike impaled him.
Others had noticed their deaths and while some ran, others came to try and defeat him with numbers. They met their deaths by his claws before they were even aware he was approaching them. He hopped onto the shoulders of the last one and twisted off his head before flipping down to eliminate those who had tried to run away.
Was that really Kenji? Uriko's body trembled and she took a step forward only to slip and fall in the blood and entrails that smothered the floor and easily soaked into the bright white fabric she wore. Her chest heaved at the sensation of being completely smeared in what was left of a once living person. Rational thought slept away from her and she began to hyperventilate.

A small splattering sound accompanied each approaching footstep. A quiet voice reached was muttering to itself, so she could barely hear the words.
"...at my master's command, I rain fear and death upon the accursed. I am master of stealth, user of the Dark..."
Without even wanting to, she croaked, "K..Kenji...," in a choked voice.
His cold eyes shifted to the only living form on the floor and he wasted no time in roughly flipping her over and clamping her neck with one hand.
"You. Why were you here? Are you one of them?"
Her breaths became high pitched gasps which pained her lungs. Tears started to spill from the corners of her eyes.
"Speak!"
Instead, she bawled loudly. He examined her silently and then said to himself, still in that stern and unfeeling voice, "No. You have never set foot out here have you? You wanted to know what I was up to, and you followed me." His look softened. "Are you hurt?" His face returned the one she knew and he picked her up to help her in case she was injured.
"What's wrong?" he asked her while she clawed at his soaked shirt, buried her face in it and sobbed uncontrollably.