Chapter 6:

A Legendary Power

         

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~Lord Ghoda was suprised when his counsel informed him that Naoko was back already, and had come to see him. He immediately allowed her access into his private chambers, and nodded when he noticed the other newest Azuma, Ren beside her. As they entered the stately hall, Ren noticed Rikimaru standing not too far away, in the hallway just before Ghoda's chambers. As Ren and Naoko walked past to enter the rom, Rikimaru stood leaning against the wall, arms folded, head tilted slightly downward, though he remained silent. Naoko and Ren both kneeled down before Ghoda, and he bade them speak. Naoko was the first to look up at him and do so.~

"My Lord, you may rest easy knowing that all the hostages were freed from their captors."

"Very good, Naoko. You have done well."

~Naoko winced at the statement. She pondered momentarily how to tell him what she wanted to say next. Finally, she spoke again.~

"My Lord, there was another.... besides myself who had fought with those members of Jade Moon who took the villagers hostage."

"Truly...? Another ninja, not one of the Azuma..."

~Ren nodded, looking up as well~

"It is so. A mysterious warrior, known only to us as Shadow, affiliated with the Dark Blade..."

~Counsel Sekiya immediately stood upon hearing those words, a look of true worry on his face.~

"Shadow... of the Dark Blade you say...?"

~Ghoda and Sekiya exchanged glances, as Naoko looked on.~

"My Lord... you know of them?"

"You must forgive me.... for my knowledge of that rouge group is very short. Sekiya knows more than I. Counsel Sekiya...?"

"Of course, my Lord. I must admit, I have only heard rumors of their existence. However, they are an extremely dangerous group, highly skilled in ancient ninjutsu arts. No one knows exactly how many make up their number, but they are to be treated with the utmost caution at all times."

~Naoko stood, Ren following suit. They looked at each other briefly, then Naoko spoke again.~

"We do know, that the Dark Blade has some sort of conflict with the Jade Moon. While I was freeing the hostages on my mission, Shadow appeared out of nowhere, and cut down every member of the Jade Moon there, but never attacked me, or any of the villagers."

"I wasn't so lucky," Ren chimed in, "Shadow attacked me while I was out in the forest, not even a few miles from these very grounds. We seemed evenly matched for the most part, but he escaped just as Naoko returned."

"This is all very interesting," Ghoda said, "so as Sekiya said, I want both of you to be careful from now onward. In addition, I have another mission for you. Some of my soldiers have discovered what they believe to be a secret hideout located not far from the village you just went to, Naoko, belonging to members of the Jade Moon. When they came across it, it was for the most part completely vacated, and they could find nothing. This was around the time that they began taking the villagers hostage. I want the two of you to investigate the hideout, and gather whatever information that you can."

~Ren and Naoko nodded, leaving the chambers, and heading back toward the village together. As they left, Rikimaru entered Ghoda's chamber.~

"Rikimaru, please keep an eye on the two of them. Wether they realize it or not, things have gotten much more volatile. They are still vastly inexperienced, no matter how skilled they may be, and I dare not think what may happen if they are not careful."

"Of course, my Lord."

~Giving them time to get ahead, Rikimaru departed for the forests, a silent silhouette moving through the trees.~

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"Hey Ren, let's take a quick break here."

"Alright, but not for long. I want to hurry to that hideout before dawn."

~Naoko nodded, the two young Azuma halting in a small open clearing. Naoko hopped to a tree branch, reclining against the bark of a tree. She stared at the pale moon, as Ren hunted around for small twigs for a fire. Collecting them fairly quickly, Ren had a small fire going within minutes. Reaching into one of his pockets, he retrieved a pouch of rice and vegetables, along with two tiny wooden bowls. Ren sat cross-legged, cooking the rice over the fire. Up in the treetops, Naoko gazed dreamily at the moon, looking back down at Ren hunched intently over the fire from time to time, always with a faint smile crossing her lips.~
"So, he was really worried about me..."

~Gradually, the aroma from the rice drifted up to Naoko's branch, and she gratefully inhaled, sighing happily.~

"Smells good..."

"It's ready. Come on down."
~Naoko landed softly beside him, sitting down on a nearby log as he handed her a bowl of rice.~

"I'm starved..."

~They then consumed the rations, Ren then reclining back on his log to glance up at the stars. Naoko rose slowly, walking over to sit next to him.~

"Ren, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah...?" Ren said, not moving, but looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"About Shadow, and the rest of the Dark Blade. Are you...worried at all? I mean, they are a complete mystery.... we don't even know how many of them there are."

~Ren sighed, exhaling sharply.~

"I don't know... I can't really say for sure. But, I do know that if we stand together, we'll be able to handle whatever they throw at us."

~Naoko smiled at his words. They were... reassuring for her, especially coming from him. She had learned through their childhood years of training together that there was no power greater than that within the spirit, and that power was multiplied tenfold through working together, despite the general rule of working alone. As the small campfire began to die down, Ren stood up, going over to put it out.~

"C'mon, we've rested for long enough. It'll be dawn in a couple more hours."

~Naoko nodded, not quite ready to leave just yet. But she did so, leading Ren through the forest terrain, until they were a couple kilometers from the outskirts of the village. Ren used his grappling hook on a tall guard tower, climbing up for a better vantage point. He scanned the forest area for several moments.~

"They said it was well hidden... but I think I just found it."

~Ren hopped down, dashing into the brush of the forest, Naoko following close behind. Unsheathing Lighthawk, Ren slashed his way through some dense foilage, revealing a small campsite, with an open entrance to a dark cave not far away. The area was not very well lit, as the light from the stars and moon were only partially able to shine through the crowded treetops. As they set foot on the site, they remained alert, watching out for anything, anything at all. But there was no noise, not even from the animals of the forest. The pile of wood where the campfire used to be had been put out, the individual pieces of wood still vaugely warm. As Naoko skulked toward the cave, her foot bumped into something solid, causing her to hop back with a slight gasp. Ren quickly turned to see, and they both suddenly discovered a dead body, with others at the entrance to the cave. They stepped cautiously inside the cave, hands grasped on their sheathed weapons, just in case. Deeper inside, it was even darker than before, the only sound being the occasional drip of water from somewhere inside. There were more corpses inside, each killed in an equally painful looking way. Wide slash marks were a common occurence, body parts severed on a few of them. Naoko shuddered, not wanting to look at the sheer horror frozen on their faces at their respective moments of death. Then suddenly, they both noticed a dim, faint light coming from the inner reaches of the cave, which grew brighter as tey grew nearer, though not by much. Finally, the two Azuma reached an open area of the cave. As they reached the center, Ren accidentally stepped on a dark brown rock, which sank into the ground with a suspicious "click". The two ninja hopped away simultaneously, both instantly fearing a trap. However, nothing happened. A moment later, there was a great rumbling noise, as a huge boulder making up a part of a wall slid aside, revealing two small jewels sitting on a large rock. Ren approached them, one of the jewels growing much brighter as he came near.~

"Hmm... what are these? Naoko, come take a look."

~He motioned for her to come closer, and the second jewel procceded to light up, almost as if on cue, as she did so. The jewels were very small, a dark golden color, circular shaped, with red marks on them. One had the kanji for "Rin" on it, the other had the kanji for "Kai". Ren took the one labeled "Rin", Naoko taking the one labeled "Kai". On contact, the jewels resonated brightly, an intense gold glow emenating from the small orbs closed within both of their palms. The light from the orbs eventually spread to Ren and Naoko themselves, Naoko going wide-eyed in slight panic as the golden auras surrounded them. The sensation was strange, though not quite describable in words.~

"Ren... what's happening!?"

"I have no idea...."

~After a few moments, the intense light died down, a final red flash coming from the red marks on the orbs, the orbs returning to their original faint glow from before. The giant rock started up again, threatening to seal them inside the wall.~

"Naoko, quickly!!"

~The two Azuma dashed back into the main open area, the giant rock wall closing just as Ren's foot slipped past. A great cloud of thick brown dust was raised, settling back down a few moments later. As they collected themselves, Naoko noticed that the glow from both jewels had completely vanished. The two placed them in their pockets for safekeeping, and would bring them to Lord Ghoda. As they started to leave the giant room of the cave, Naoko felt a strange sensation in her head. It was almost like being dizzy at first, a slight throb coming from the back of her mind. Ren glanced at her as she closed her eyes, grunting lightly.~

"Naoko... daijoubu?" *Naoko, are you alright?

~Then, her mind's eye saw a small, reflective kunai whistling through the air. At that instant, Naoko's closed eyes opened wide.~

"Ren! Abunai!!" *Ren, watch out!!

 ~Ren suddenly lurched forward with a pained gasp. Naoko looked back, to see a small, silver kunai lodged in Ren's back as a dark silhouette dropped from the ceiling, kicking Ren sideways into a cave wall. The kunai was exactly like the one she just saw in her mind's eye. Naoko dashed toward the silhouette, unsheathing her twin daggers in an instant. The figure unsheathed a katana, swinging it swiftly to parry Naoko's strikes. After a few moments of blocked attacks, Naoko jump flipped back, as Ren started to get up. He leaned on the cavern wall for support, pulling the kunai from his back, tossing it aside. The figure finally spoke, in a voice decidedly feminine.~

"Good, it looks like you haven't found them yet... it's a shame Shadow had to send me, even after he killed everyone in this entire hideout...."

"So you're with the Dark Blade!"Ren accused.

~The woman smiled, her features becoming more apparent as she stepped into what dim light there was, lighting the room. She was about Ren's height, with a thin build, silvery-white hair tied into a spiky ponytail, deep emerald eyes. She wore a deep brown, simple kunoichi outfit, which blended well with the dark walls of the cave.~

"Name's Sayaka. Not that it matters, since you both will die here."

~Ren had had enough. He leapt from the cave wall, unsheathing Lighthawk in a wide swing in one swift motion. Sayaka parried effortlessly, ducking under a second swipe from Ren's blade. Naoko rolled to the side, dashing for Sayaka's left side as Ren attacked from the front. Naoko's next attacks were blocked, Sayaka then jumping straight up to avoid a horizontal slash from Ren. Naoko leapt up to meet her in the air, then the two girls locked blades several times in mid-air. As Sayaka blocked an attack from Naoko's daggers, she brought her katana upward, forcing Naoko to leave her torso open. Without hesitation, Sayaka planted both feet in Naoko's gut in a forceful kick, sending Naoko into a painful collision with the ground. Ren slashed at her several more times as she landed, but couldn't get a clean hit. Growing frustrated, Ren dodged an overhead slash from Sayaka, nailing her in the side of the head with a roundhouse kick. Sayaka let out a cry of pain as the hit connected, as she was taken off her feet to hurdle several feet through the air to smash upside-down into a cave wall on the far end of the room.  Ren looked on with complete suprise, as he thought he'd only barely applied enough force to momentarily break Sayaka's rush attacks. Sayaka fell from the wall to the ground, lying there for a moment before sitting up, a look of disbelief on  her face.~

"There's no way.... did these two idiots find the Kage Orbs before me!?"

~Ren and Naoko both approached her, side-by-side, weapons at the ready. Sayaka stood, giggling.~

"No matter. Even with the Rin and Kai Kage Orbs, I'm still more than a match for both of you. It's only a matter of time before all 9 Orbs will be ours. "

~Sayaka dashed at them, in a complete blur. The Azuma ninjas held their blades in defense and just before contact would have been made, Sayaka vanished. Ren looked for her, having no success. But Naoko saw, in her mind's eye, that Sayaka was hiding in the dark recesses of the ceiling of the cave.~

"Ren, she's up there!"

~Naoko flung several shurikens all aimed at a specific dark spot on the ceiling, and several clanging sounds could be heard, along with bright flashes that gave away Sayaka's position. She dropped from the ceiling, smirking arrogantly.~

"Very good, ninja girl. It seems the Kai Kage Orb has already been activated within you. I assume the Rin Kage Orb has awakened the hidden strength in that boy... that explains how he can attack so fiercely."

~Without warning, Sayaka turned on her heel, slashing her katana at Ren. He was taken completely off-guard, stumbling back. Fortunately, his lightweight chainmail hidden under his clothing protected him from most of the force of the attack, but it was still painful. Naoko dashed forward, swinging her daggers angrily. Sayaka turned, deflecting them with a spin, angling her blade so that it just barely cut Naoko in the upper arm. Sayaka continued to spin, taking the opening to kick Naoko in the face, lifting her from her feet in a spin, to land face first on the ground in pain. There, Naoko tried her hardest to rise again, but she couldn't. She could literally feel her body shutting down, and knew she was about to pass out. The last thing she saw before the darkness consumed her was Ren, starting to get back up and ready Lighthawk for another attack.~

"Ren...... gomennasai..." * I'm sorry...

 ~Ren was back up on his feet at this time, but before he could attack, Sayaka was already upon him, with a strong knee to his torso, into a side kick aimed at his chest. Ren flew back, crashing into a wall near Naoko. Sayaka walked toward them slowly, blade held downward. She raised her katana, a look of amusement across her face. As she brought it down, there was a loud clanging sound, as her attack was deflected by a shuriken thrown from the darkness! She fixed her gaze toward the shadows, to see none other than Rikimaru and Ayame emerge! Rikimaru folded his arms, as Ayame stepped forward, hands on hips.~

"So, what's all this talk about 'Kage Orbs'? Care to share?"

~Sayaka's eyes narrowed, and she clutched her katana tightly, just as Ren recollected himself, and Naoko began to regain consciousness.~

"Damn you Azuma... I guess you win this time. But those Orbs will be ours. Next time, I won't be so merciful on your little rookies."

~At that, Sayaka sheathed her katana, performing some strange hand motions, Ren recognizing them as the exact same as he'd seen  Shadow do after their battle in order to make his escape. Another instant, and she was completely gone, only the four Azuma left in the room. Ayame smiled, helping Naoko up.~

"So, what's the story? Was she one of the Dark Blade?"

"Yeah." Naoko nodded. "She was talking about 'Kage Orbs', Ren and I found two in this cave. But she said there were more... I think they want to gather all of them..."

~Rikimaru spoke, still not moving from his spot on the wall.~

"About those Kage Orbs..."

"We're not quite sure exactly what they are," Ren said. When we touched them, they... 'resonated' with us. Here.... have a look."

~Ren pulled his Orb out from his pocket, Naoko doing the same.~

"Hmm..." Ayame pondered. 'Rin' and 'Kai'.... I wonder...."

"The safest thing would be to show these to Lord Ghoda." Rikimaru said. Ren nodded.

"Agreed."