Chapter 4:

New "Acquaintances"

         

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~The guard brandishing a katana smirks as Naoko approaches~

"So, this ninja girl thinks she has what it takes to beat all 4 of us, hmm? Well then little girl, now you will see what happens when you mess with the HISUIIRO NO GETSUEI!!" *Jade Moon!!

~Naoko quickly brings a dagger to the chest of the guard carrying the sword, and he counters just in time to create a bright flash. Suddenly, the scene fades to black as another clashing of swords is heard. Then Ren is seen, clashing katanas multiple times with Rikimaru, as Ayame sits on a rock, watching. Neither Ren nor Rikimaru can get a clean hit off, as each strike is parried and followed by another of even greater power and speed. After a few minutes of this, Ayame gets bored, and decides to jump in. She thrusts a dagger toward Ren's back as Rikimaru comes forward with a slash. After sensing that Ayame had entered the fight, Ren centers himself and jumps straight up several feet into the night air, looking down at his opponents. While in mid-air, Ren gets an idea and smirks. He reaches into a pocket drawing a couple smoke bombs. He flings one downward, which explodes on contact with the ground, obscuring Rikimaru and Ayame's vision. While they are blinded, he tosses his grappling hook, connecting with a nearby branch. After securing himself on the branch, he looks toward the huge cloud of smoke he just created. It was still far too dense to see anything through it. Ren smirks again~

"Heh….got 'em…."

"Think again, Ren."

~Ren slowly turns his head around and sees none other than Ayame, smiling and waving a hand, but a few feet away from him, on the very same branch. Rikimaru is standing on the branch next to it, folding his arms with his back against the bark of the tree. Ren cannot believe his eyes~

"….Ikaga ka..…"*….How…..

~Ayame smirks~

"That move you just pulled was VERY predictable."

~Without another word, Ayame punches Ren in the face, sending him flying from the tree branch, toward the smoke cloud below. Ren composes himself and lands on one knee, trying to feel the area around him, to sense where Rikimaru and Ayame were. He called out~

"…JEEZ! What is it with you punching me in the face all the time!?"

~Ren feels Ayame's arm go around his neck, putting him into a choke hold~

"It's fun! Strangling you is fun too!"

~At that, Ren reached behind his head, grabbing Ayame by the back of her head. In one swift motion, he flung her over his shoulder, slamming her to the ground. As she reached for a dagger, Ren drove his foot onto her wrist, causing her to drop it in pain. At the very same instant, Rikimaru came forward from the haze, swinging his katana. By the time Ren blocked the strike, Ayame was back up, slashing her daggers at Ren. Ren had to give his all in order to parry all the attacks, especially with his vision being hindered by his own smoke bomb. After parrying one of Ayame's more vicious strikes, Ren kicked her in the gut with more power than he had intended, sending her sprawling. After that, he dodged around one of Rikimaru's slashes, spin kicking him in the face, sending him to the ground. Ren sensed that Ayame was back up, and parried one of her attacks. However, by using his katana, he locked blades with Ayame, swinging her over his head, causing her to land on top of Rikimaru. After a few moments, the smoke starts to clear, and Rikimaru speaks~

"That will be enough training for today."

~Ayame jumps up and smiles again~

"Good job Ren!"

~Ren looked at them without saying a word, holding his katana to his side~

"...They aren't even injured! All that fighting we just did...and they don't have a single bruise between them! It felt like I was fighting for my life..."

~Ayame looks at Ren with a look of concern~

"…Hey…daijobu? *Are you O.K.? We were just playing back there, nothing serious. Come on, let's head back."

~Ren, Ayame, and Rikimaru walk back to the village together. A while later, Ren begins to wonder about Naoko~

"I wonder how Naoko's mission is going…?"

~Back at the basement of the tower, Naoko had fully engaged combat with the gang, with bystanders looking on fearfully. However from the look of things, Naoko was winning. The guard with the katana struck out at her, and she countered by dodging to the side while giving him a side kick which knocked him into a wall. Another guard follows up by whipping his spear around, trying to strike Naoko. Naoko dodges each attack gracefully, suddenly grabbing the opposite end of the spear, swinging the guard into another wall. Next comes a guard with claw-like appendages stapped to his hands. He runs forward, swinging his claws blindly. Naoko blocks and parries a few swipes, kicking the guard in the gut. As he doubles over, Naoko kicks him in the face, sending him flying back several feet, leaving a trail of blood through the air. Last comes a guard weilding two katanas. He laughs as he and Naoko lock blades several times. Naoko began to think about what she should do~

"…He seems a lot more skilled than the others were…I haven't even been able to hit him yet…."

~Suddenly, without warning, the man's eyes go wide. He disengages with Naoko, falling down to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Naoko looks on amazed, because she still hadn't hit him yet. She began to suspect that someone else was present, and looked about her, toward the directions of the other guards she'd already dispatched. They were all back up on their feet by now, and each looked at her with anger and hate, because to them, it looked like she had killed the guard.

"You…..will pay for killing him….with your LIFE!"

 ~Suddenly, Naoko saw a figure completely covered in shadow. She couldn't make him out, but he moved in a blur. He unsheathed some kind of weapon. Naoko recognized it as a katana, and it had the blood of the first guard still on it. The figure raced toward the guard with the spear in a blur. The guards eyes went wide, as blood came forth from a wide gash across his chest. The guard dropped to his knees, his face frozen in terror. He fell to the ground, unable to even see what attacked him. The other two guards had seen the figure by now, and were backing away in fear, holding their weapons close. The guard with claws lashed out at the figure, but the figure moved too quickly, slashing his katana across his chest also. The guard fell, his claws clattering to the ground. The guard with the sword called out~

"You may be able to get us, but whoever you are, you'll be crushed by the Hisuiiro no Get--urrrk…."

~The figure had already sunk his blade into the guard's chest. Upon removing it, blood spurted forth as the guard fell to the ground. All this time, Naoko had been looking on, only half-believing what she was seeing. Then she caught a glimpse of his face, though he was still shrouded in shadow.

"Who are you…?"

"I…am…but a simple shadow playing on the wind. Call me Shadow if you wish…"

~ The figure began moving in a blur toward Naoko. Naoko struck out, but the figure parried and rushed past her, up the stairs. As quickly as he'd entered, he was gone, leaving destruction in his wake. However, Naoko noticed that he only attacked the guards. He never even bothered the villagers who were also cowering in the area. At that , Naoko rushed up the stairs, but saw no one once she reached the top. After a few moments, she called down the steps~

"It's all right! They're all gone! It's safe to come up now!"

~The villagers came up the steps, and slowly dispersed back into the village, to their homes. After making sure they all got out safely, Naoko grappled to the rooftops, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, heading home. While on her way, she began to wonder~

"…Who was that guy…?"