By Monmon
Disclaimers: I do not own most of the characters in this story. They are the property of Inoue Takehiko… the story however is totally mine… so please don't sue me… if you see that parts of the story are similar to stories of your own, please tell me which part and I will give you credit for it… I have no idea if I copied anyone's story since I've read too many that my brain is frying now from trying to keep track of everything… but all you slam dunk fanfic writers out there are my inspiration… it is because of all you people that I started fanfic writing in the first place… so I dedicate this story to all you people (especially you Pastles… =)… I really, really wonder if you're reading this)… this is the first fanfic that I have ever written and it's still unfinished so comments everyone! By the way, please do not use Kit without my permission. That kawaii fox is totally MINE!
General Sendoh Akira and his army fell into position in the silent forest. They have been circling the enemy encampment for several weeks now. Now all they waited for was for night to fall. If they succeeded in destroying this encampment, all of the enemy forces would scatter and the war would soon be over. He and his troops yearned to be home at Ryonan, the capital of Shohoku, and far away from this distant and hostile territory.
It has been nearly a year since the war has begun. It started when Baron Sawakita Eiji tried to assassinate King Akagi and Prince Miyagi of Shohoku and seize the throne by force. Fortunately, due to his watchful eye, the Baron's plot was uncovered in time. Now the King's troops were trying to capture the Baron so that peace can once again fall upon the country.
Soon night fell and Sendoh sent out a signal through his second-in-command Lieutenant Koshino Hiroaki to advance. His army silently crept up to the enemy encampment. Suddenly the Shohoku battle cry was issued, and the air was filled with the sounds of swords clashing and cries of death.
Sendoh charged on his horse in the middle of the camp with his sword unsheathed, searching for the Baron's tent. He finally spotted a large tent with the Baron's crest on it. He quickly urged his horse to gallop towards the tent. He spotted a dark shadow on a horse galloping away from the tent and he hastened to follow. He trailed the dark shadow deep into the forest. It soon became difficult to see the dark rider in front of him as the mist, which the forest was named after, thickened. He could no longer see the figure in front of him and he urged his horse to go faster. Suddenly he sensed something. Poisonous darts filled the air. Sendoh desperately tried to change the direction of his horse but it was too late. His horse collapsed to the side and he tried to jump clear of the horse but only succeeded in dislocating his right shoulder and twisting his ankle as he hit the ground jarringly. A dart hit him on his left shoulder and he soon lost consciousness.
Baron Sawakita grinned evilly as he watched the general fall to the ground by his darts. 'I'll just let him die slowly by the poison. No one will find him in time to save him. That stupid general will finally understand the consequences of going against me!' Sendoh has always been watching his every move from the beginning and he has always been loyal to the king. The baron hated him with a passion and was happy to finally see him dying alone on the ground. With one last smirk at Sendoh, he rode his horse deep into the night.
Rukawa Kaede, master healer, woke up suddenly in the middle of the night with a sense of foreboding. He quickly donned his white healer robes, a warm cloak and his boots. His fox, Kit, opened an emerald eye as if asking if his friend required any assistance. Rukawa motioned the fox to stay there and Kit fell back to sleep. He stepped out of his cottage and let his instincts guide him. His face was cool and expressionless.
Rukawa was orphaned when he was only seven. He and his parents were traveling towards Ryonan for the Summer Festival and were going to stop at Misty Village for the night. A band of thieves attacked the family when they neared the village. Rukawa was thrown against a tree and lost consciousness while his parents were stabbed to death. The thieves took all of their possessions and left the bodies for the vultures. Rukawa would have followed his parents but an old healer from the village saved him just in time. The old healer felt something wrong that night and as a result, he ventured out of his house. He found Rukawa bleeding profusely, breathing shallowly and suffering from a bad concussion. The healer noticed Rukawa's potential for becoming a great healer when he saw Rukawa's subconscious trying to stop the bleeding. The old healer immediately notified the authorities of the village and he bandaged Rukawa's wounds. Rukawa slept at the healer's house for a week.
When Rukawa finally woke up, he discovered that his parents were gone. Rukawa cried his eyes out for two days and then he just stopped crying. He grew distant and cold to everyone around him. The old healer agreed to continue taking care of Rukawa and he started to teach Rukawa the basics of healing. Rukawa learned everything at an astounding speed. At the age of fifteen, Rukawa learned everything that the old healer could teach him and soon surpassed the old healer's skills. He became a master healer in his own right. He also learned everything about combat in general. He excelled at the bow, sword, spear, staff, hand-to-hand combat and many other fighting techniques. The villagers were impressed at his determination and aptitude. He also challenged many mercenaries that happened to cross his path to friendly duels. Those duels perfected his skills and made him into the dangerous man he is today.
When the old healer died, Rukawa moved out of the village and lived alone in a small cottage within the Forest of the Mist. He did not interact with the people of the village unless they were hurt or sick, or unless he felt that something was wrong like this time. He enjoyed his solitary life and the people of the village left him alone, at least most of the time.
He found Kit a few years back when he started to live out in the cottage. He was out gathering herbs to produce medicine that he needed when he heard Kit whimpering. He walked over to the sound curiously and saw that hyenas surrounded Kit and his dead mother. Rukawa scared away the hyenas with a handy slingshot and Kit fell into his care. Kit was only a baby then and feeling that the little fox's predicament matched his own when he was young, he bought the fox back to the cottage and cared for him. The fox became his sole friend and family.
Rukawa's sense of urgency grew. He quickened his step but his expression remained impassive. He soon came upon a scene with a dead horse and a man with a very unusual hairdo lying beside the horse. The man's hair was standing straight up as if defying gravity. He quickly assessed the situation with his healer sight. He saw a black aura on the man's left shoulder and on the dead horse. Poison. The man's other shoulder was dislocated and he had twisted his ankle. Noting that he couldn't take care of the horse's carcass tonight, he pulled out a small vial of powder and poured some out on his hand. He sprinkled it on top of the horse, chanted a few words and traced a ward spell with a finger in the air. The pattern drawn in the air glowed a bright deep blue to his sight and then settled on the dead horse. The dead horse began to shimmer lightly. 'That should keep for one day. I should be able to take care of it tomorrow.' He didn't want any other animals of the forest to get affected by the poison. He then looked to the man. Taking a handkerchief out of his pocket, he carefully pulled the poisonous dart out of the shoulder and tied a tourniquet on the shoulder to stop the poison from spreading. The man let out a soft groan. Rukawa then scooped the man up in his arms like a baby, armor and all, and carried him quickly, with ease, back to his cottage.
Rukawa stripped the man of his armor until the man was wearing only his white cotton undershirt and shorts. He set the armor and the sword on a chair across the room. Rukawa then gently settled the man on his bed. The man shivered and let out a soft groan. After giving the man a sedative and a painkiller, he pulled the right shoulder back to its correct position and bandaged it firmly. He applied a splint to the twisted ankle and also bandaged that. He then attended to the poison wound. Rukawa knew he was running out of time. He released the tourniquet on the shoulder and held his hand just over the wound and closed his eyes.
He calmed his mind and then touched the wound with his mind. He was immediately assaulted by the black insidious aura of the poison. He quickly set up a mind shield so that the poison would not affect him. He searched for the black core of the poison. Upon finding it, he gathered his power from the deep reserves of his life force and started to burn it out of the man's system. Sweat poured down his face as he concentrated on cleaning out the poison. He finally broke the link and collapsed exhausted on a chair beside the bed. He blacked out immediately. Kit seeing that Rukawa was unconscious, pulled a blanket from the floor with his mouth, jumped onto the table and placed it gently over Rukawa with experience. Kit then curled up next to the chair and promptly fell asleep.
Sendoh was dreaming. He was in a cold dark room that had icy walls. The walls were closing in on him. He pounded and pushed against the walls but he could not seem to escape. He suddenly saw a warm blue light. He walked towards it and its heat warmed his whole body. He felt safe and drowsy in the light. He curled up on the floor and went to sleep in the now warm and comforting room. The last thing he saw before he went to sleep was a pair of beautiful fox-blue eyes.
Sawakita finally arrived at a place at the edge of the forest about an hour before dawn. There was a huge boulder leaning against a side of the mountain. He dismounted and walked up to the boulder. Sawakita moved his hands on the boulder until he found an unusually soft spot in the boulder and he pressed against it. The boulder shuddered and then started to move slowly to the side and until an entrance appeared. Sawakita quickly entered with his exhausted horse before the boulder's mechanism reactivated to roll back to its original position. He stood there for a minute to let his eyes adjust to the dim light. He was in a rather wide tunnel.
A young boy was waiting for him and bowed when he saw Sawakita walk in. The boy was quite fair with wide green eyes and had an innocent and naive look on his face. He handed the reins of his horse to the boy and then impulsively caressed the boy on the cheek. The boy flushed deeply at his touch but he didn't dare to back away for fear of his life. 'Hmm… this is someone I can play with. But first things first. I have more pressing matters to attend to.' He reluctantly dismissed the boy from his presence. He walked deeper into the tunnel until he reached a large cavern.
"You're late." A low voice growled at him.
"Ah, Matsuki-kun. There you are. I've been looking all over for you." Sawakita turned and smiled at the older man. "Did you miss me?"
Matsuki Dai glared blackly at Sawakita. "Don't forget your promise. I'll provide you with the money for troops but you have to guarantee that the king and prince dies. I must have revenge for what they did to me. Now why are you late?"
"I had to take care of… ah… an unnecessary and bothersome fly. Anyways the trap is set. I will be King of Shohoku and you will get your revenge." Sawakita said with an evil grin. "The encampment was only a trick to make them think that I have no other options since the assassination attempt did not succeed. They do not know that I had already set in motion a back-up plan just in case that the first plan did not succeed. Don't worry. I will not fail this time. Now how about granting me a favor?" Sawakita smiled charmingly at Matsuki.
"What do you want?" Matsuki asked guardedly.
"That youth that took my horse… send him to my room. I want to have a little… fun… before I leave."
Matsuki shuddered at the thought but nodded.
Sawakita smiled charmingly and whistled as he walked towards his room. The stronghold has been crafted cunningly inside the mountain and was quite luxurious. His room was deep within the mountain where thick walls blocked all sound from coming out.