A Twist Of Faith: Dark Shadows
Chapter 2
Spring had tuned into summer, and all is well. Princess Kiku is out in flowergarden, cheerfully playing between the beautiful flowers. From the shadows appeared Ayame.
"AYAME!"
Yelled the princess. Happiness filled her face.
"Hi princess."
Ayame replied.
"I've come to pick you up, your father wishes to see you."
As Ayame reached out for Kiku's hand, she suddenly jumps back. A shuriken just misses her. It was Rikimaru.
"Get away from her princess, she's not the real Ayame."
"What do you mean Rikimaru?"
"He means that I am the real Ayame."
The real Ayame appeared next to Rikimaru.
"Looks like I got back in time. Rikimaru, please take princess Kiku back to the castle. I'll deal with this imposter."
Rikimaru nodded, grabbed the princess and disappeared.
"Just you and me, lousy imposter! And very original, trying to kidnap the princess…"
The real Ayame drew her blades, and before the imposter could reply, Ayame launched her attack. The imposter had no choice but to back up. Meanwhile, the guards that where knocked out by the imposter, regained consciousness. But seeing the two Ayames fighting left them confused, as they watched the fight with their mouths wide open. Not knowing what to do, the two guards readied their spears and awaited the outcome. The two Ayames where locked in a fierce battle. The imposter blocked an incoming blow to the head, and countered with a vicious punch in Ayame's stomach. She answered the punch with a fast summersault kick. The imposter fell back. Before hitting the ground, the imposter threw needles towards Ayame. She repelled the needles effortlessly with her blades, and replied with three kunai. The imposter barely was able to jump over them.
"You may be able to copy my looks, but you'll never copy my skills!"
Ayame flipped on the imposter's shoulders, with it's head between her legs. She made a 360 spin, breaking the imposter's neck. Ayame jumped off behind the imposter, who was falling to the ground. She had killed the imposter. The body of the imposter was surrounded by smoke. When the smoke cleared, she saw a masked man, dressed in a dark gi. The two guards, after realizing that the fake Ayame was dead, started cheering.
"Cut it out!"
She spoke, angered.
"How could you let that imposter get so close to the princess?"
"Uhh…She looked just like you, so we thought it was you."
"Yeah, but uh…after she knocked us out, we didn't think it was you anymore."
Said the guards.
"Great detective work you guys…"
She shook her head.
"Just report back to the castle."
"Yes ma'am!"
The two guards ran back to the castle.
"Urgh…stupid guards give me headaches…"
Ayame disposed of the body and reported to lord Gohda. After the situation was explained to lord Gohda, he took some time to realize the predicament he was in. With Tenrai on the loose, disaster could strike at any given moment. He decided to strike back. But to blindly charge in would be stupid, so he ordered Rikimaru and Ayame to collect information. They where to check if Tenrai didn't move to a different location, and also to gather intell concerning the force and size of Tenrai's army, as well as his generals. And if they encountered a general…
"Let them go…for now. We'll deal with them later…"
Gohda spoke, with a dark sound to it. This was it, Tenrai went too far this time. Gohda had enough of all the problems Tenrai caused. Now it's payback time. Off they went, back to the hidden castle in the mountains.
"Wow, lord Gohda is serious! I've never seen this side of him before."
Said Ayame, worried.
"All this time our lord has swallowed every attack that was thrown at him. It's good to see that he still has the courage to spit back…"
Rikimaru said that with admiration. The way Rikimaru spoke those words, calmed Ayame.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're smiling behind your mask right now!"
They both started laughing, stealthy naturally.
"Enough fun and games, the mountain is just behind this forest. Split up, and regroup near the east wall."
Ayame nodded. They parted each other and went in to the forest. Rikimaru was near the entrance of the old coalmine. He saw a group of three ninja patrolling the are near the mine. He silently took them out one by one from behind. After he covered up the body, he spotted more ninja up in the trees surrounding the entrance of the mine. He disposed of them easily, using shuriken and kunai. Rikimaru then rushed to the entrance, and jumped on top of it. By the time he was settled, the first couple of bodies hit the floor, from the trees. A guard came rushing out of the entrance, just as he suspected. He jumped down on him, forcing Izayoi through the ninja's skull, then flipped off of him. After he landed, a sword came rushing down on him. Rikimaru quickly rolled to the side, and in a reflex, he sliced open the ninja's guts.
"Seems like they've enforced security around here…"
Rikimaru once again set foot in the old mine, walking through the partially collapsed pathways.
"Deja vu…"
Rikimaru sighed, as he reached the dark open space. Standing near the entrance, Rikimaru looked for a gap. Then he spotted a hole, way up in the room. He immediately aimed his grappling hook at the hole, and almost flew through it. He was at the foot of the mountain. 'Guess who's back Tenrai!' He thought with an evil grin. Meanwhile Ayame just cut open another ninja. A total of nine bodies lied scattered over a ricefield, which lay on the other side of the castle in the mountains.
"So much for the welcoming-committee."
She said, with a sadistic smile on her face. Ayame moved swiftly, and met Rikimaru at the east wall.
"Ayame, you know the way here. First check if Tenrai's still here, then search their general's room. They might be plotting something. I'll go and search the basement and west side of the castle."
"But the general's room is on the west side."
"Then we'll meet there, now go…"
Again they each went their own way. Ayame went straight to the tower where Tenrai's room is. When she got up to the roof, she noticed that the little gap was closed. Like an acrobat , Ayame hung upside down, and peeked through the window. Tenrai wasn't there, but judging from all the papers, and a pipe, which still had some burning tobacco in it, they're still here. Suddenly she heard a noise coming from the courtyard.
"THAT INCOMPETENT FOOL!"
It was Tenrai, and his generals.
"He's better off dead, if he couldn't even complete a simple task such as that."
"Hahahaha! We should go now and destroy Gohda castle!"
"Patience Onikage. The time will soon come that we can resurrect lord Mei-Oh. Then we can go and crush Gohda and his Azuma roaches!"
Evil laughter filled the castle. After the group went into the tower, Ayame went to the general's room. When she reached the room, Rikimaru was already waiting for her.
"Did you hear what Tenrai said in the courtyard?"
Ayame whispered.
"Yes, just like everybody else in the area…"
He said sarcastically.
"We got what we need, let's head back."
As two shadows, they glided back through the darkness, back to Gohda castle. They handed the gathered information to lord Gohda. He then carefully studied the information. After a while lord Gohda spoke:
"So…they're after the Spirit Stone…Well, well…Ganda and Kagami are sent to retrieve the stone. The stone is located on mount Go, that means that they at least need three days to reach it. You two will take them out the first day. Set up an ambush at Kaminari Temple. Go now, and return with their heads…"
"Yes, my lord!"
Ayame and Rikimaru replied. They left immediately.
"We're gonna ambush them?"
"There's a first time for everything Ayame."
They reached the temple quite fast. After they set some traps, they hid themselves. Two hours have past. Then, they spot a big, huge contour, Ganda's, no doubt. A few feet behind him, was unmistakably Kagami. Before they could reach the temple, Ganda accidentally tripped a wire. Explosions went off on both sides of him. After the smoke cleared, Ganda still stood there as if nothing happened. Rikimaru jumped out of his hiding place, and threw several kunai towards the giant. One swing with his massive rod was enough to deflect the incoming kunai.
"My turn…"
Spoke Ganda, as he charged towards Rikimaru. He started to wheel the stick savagely. Rikimaru had difficulties dodging and blocking Ganda's wild attacks. Behind them stood Kagami, just grinning, while watching Ganda fight Rikimaru. Ganda swung his stick from side to side. Rikimaru jumped up high, and threw a kunai right between Ganda's eyes. Ganda seemed paralyzed. When Rikimaru landed, he immediately rushed towards him, stabbing Ganda right through his heart. He slowly took out his sword, but then, suddenly Ganda grabbed Rikimaru by his head, and threw him away. Kagami started laughing out loud.
"Now!"
Yelled Rikimaru. Right after that, Ayame jumped out of the bushes, her blades pointing at Kagami's throat. Stunned by this, Kagami coudn't move. You could see how surprised she was, in her eyes. Ayame was about to stick her blades in Kagami's throat, when suddenly she got jumped by a big, white wolf.
"Thank you, my pet."
Kagami said, and she started grinning again. The wolf joined Kagami by her side.
"Great…"
Said Ayame, as she got back up. Her left arm, filled with scratches from the wolf's sharp paws. Ganda now also turned to Ayame. He was slowly walking towards Ayame. Out of nowhere came four shuriken, which all landed in the head of the wolf, putting an end to it's life. This really ticked Kagami off. Blinded by rage, she once again left an opening for Ayame to attack. This time, Ayame got blocked by Ganda. Rikimaru landed on Ganda's shoulders, pushing Izayoi through his skull. Then he switched his grip on the handle, and jumped off the front of Ganda, slitting him open from his head to his legs. Ganda fell in two pieces, one to the left, the other to the right.
"G..G…Ganda…"
Kagami babbled. Again, Ayame saw an opening. When she got close enough to stike, she got blown away by an explosion of energy that surrounded Kagami.
"Geez, three times in a row, cut me some slack will ya!"
Ayame said, agitated. Out of control, Kagami was in a stage of complete rage. Strong gusts of wind emanated from her body. 'Ah shit…' Rikimaru thought. 'HOLY SHIT!' Ayame thought. Kagami fiercely started firing spells towards Rikimaru and Ayame. All they could do was try not to get hit.
"Ayame, go!"
Ayame nodded, and disappeared in the forrest.
"You can't dodge my attacks for ever!"
Kagami shouted. Rikimaru tried to get in close, and charged towards Kagami. When he was almost able to launch an attack, he got hit by one of her spells, and he fell to the ground.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Kagami laughed, she laughed so hard, that it seemed she went crazy. Rikimaru's body was suddenly surrounded by smoke. When the smoke cleared, Rikimaru's body was gone, only a log remained. Kagami again had a surprised look on her face. Not only because Rikimaru was gone, but also because Ayame just slit her throat.
"Finally…"
Kagami fell dead to the ground.
"Good job, Ayame."
Rikimaru appeared next to Ayame.
"Let's collect the heads, clean up here, and go back."
Ayame nodded. After a couple of hours, they where back at the castle. Before they reported to lord Gohda, Rikimaru took care of Ayame's wounds. They entered the main room.
"My lord, we bring you the heads of Ganda and Kagami."
Rikimaru said, as he pulled the heads out of the bag.
"Excellent work you two!"
Lord Gohda was a bit shocked at first when he saw that Ganda's head was cut in two. Then he noticed Ayame's arm.
"Ayame, how's your arm?"
"It's nothing my lord, just a few scratches."
Her face turned red, she was embarrassed about those small scratches.
"Good, now get some rest you two, you deserve it."
"Yes, my lord!"
The two vanished in smoke. After a full day of resting, Gohda summoned his trustful shadows once again.
"According to the documents, another warrior of Tenrai will arrive today. He goes by the name of Jinnai. You should be able to find him in the border town of Ronin Village. Just don't expect a warm welcome."
"Yes, my lord!"
There they went, again. Hardly noticeable, they where on their way to the Ronin Village. The village wasn't too far away, and the two shadows quickly ran into the first guards patrolling the area. It where two ronins carrying spears. Ayame and Rikimaru easily disposed of them. The guards didn't even had a chance to realize what happened. Soon after that, they reached the main entrance of the village. Now what self-respecting ninja would use the front-door? Rikimaru and Ayame certainly not, so they each went a different way, Rikimau right, Ayame left. Without much resistance, both Ayame and Rikimaru where at the last house, in the back of the village. As the two where about to bust in(Rikimaru trough the roof, Ayame from a side-window), a ronin was busted out straight trough the front-door. Right after that, a messenger ran through the broken down door.
"Ayame, stop him!"
Rikimaru yelled. Ayame nodded and chased the messenger. Meanwhile, Jinnai stepped calmly outside, to the center of a small square, in front of the house. Without hesitation, Rikimaru jumped down from the roof, striking towards Jinnai. Startled, Jinnai still managed to block the incoming attack.
"You! Stay out of this!"
An angry voice sounded from inside the house. It came from a bald man, wearing all blue.
"This bastard is mine!"
He continued. Rikimaru looked surprised at the bald man.
"Well now, let's keep this a fair fight gentlemen…"
Said Jinnai, as he snapped his fingers.
"So, you decided to show your ugly face after all, Sakyo."
Sakyo grinned, and drew his sword. When he drew his sword, a strange, but strong gust was formed, and went straight towards the bald guy. He blocked this attack with his bare hands, which appeared to be on fire.
"Not bad, Tesshu!"
Spoke Sakyo. Jinnai had no time to watch his brother fight, because he was locked in combat with Rikimaru. He gave him not even a chance to take a breather. Rikimaru knew he had to stay close to Jinnai, so he was unable to execute the same move his brother did. Four great warriors, stuck in what seemed to be an endless battle, as none of the fighters where planning on letting their foe leave alive. Brutal combinations where exchanged, with lightning speed, and fierce power. The battle seemed to be going on for ages. None of the warriors where willing to back down. While twirling around the enemy, Rikimaru and Tesshu made short eye-contact. In a blink of an eye Rikimaru and Tesshu switched opponents. Overwhelmed by the unexpected move made by Rikimaru and Tesshu, both Jinnai and Sakyo where left wide open. Rikimaru quickly stabbed Izayoi in Sakyo's stomach, twisting it, then sliced him open, all the way through his head. Tesshu grabbed Jinnai by the throat, then jabbed his right hand into the chest of Jinnai, ripping his heart out. He held the heart in front of Jinnai, then squished it in his hand. The two brothers fell down the same time. But this wasn't the end of the battle. Rikimaru and Tesshu now stood across each other, simply starring towards one and other. In the meantime, Ayame caught up with the messenger. He was near an abandoned house. He was about to enter it, when he fell down, right before the door. He had a kunai, stuck in the back of his head.
"Phew, that was a close one…"
Ayame sighed. Suddenly, the door was smashed open, and a loud bang sounded. Ayame quickly jumped out of the tree. The bullet only scratched her hair.
"Now that's TOO close!"
She said, enraged. Before she hit the ground, she threw a couple of kunai into the door opening. Laughter was coming from inside. As the man stepped out of the shadows, and outside, facing Ayame, she immediately recognized him:
"So, Tajima, he brought you back to life as well, eh? What a waste of energy…"
Ayame sarcastically shook her head.
"Hahaha! Your as charming as ever, Ayame. Now close your eyes while I pop this bullet into your skull. It'll be over soon…"
Tajima aimed his gun at her head. He pulled the trigger. Ayame simply moved her head to the right, and instantly threw a kunai, which went alongside Tajima's gun, into his right eye. As a reaction, He dropped his gun and grabbed with both hands the kunai. Ayame appeared in front of him, cutting off his head, along with his two hands.
"Thss, you where right. Too soon. Oh well, better luck next life."
She disposed of the two bodies, collected Tajima's head, and went back to Ronin Village. When she returned to the village, she saw Rikimaru fighting a bald guy. She took an offensive position on a nearby roof, and waited for the right moment to jump in. Rikimaru advanced with a vertical strike from above, Tesshu side-stepped, and was about to counter, when he stopped his attack. Rikimaru had the point of Izayoi at Tesshu's throat. The needle in Tesshu's hand was just as close to Rikimaru's neck. Both fighters withdrew.
"You truly get to know a person, while engaged in a good fight, don't you agree?"
Tesshu said.
"If you say so…Anyway, where you able to make up your mind?"
"Hmmm…I have decided….I'll be your ally, but it'll cost you."
"Money is not a problem."
"HEY! What's this all about!"
Ayame jumped down from the roof.
"Ayame, this is Tesshu, our new ally. Now let's head back to the castle. We'll discuss the details there."
Back in the castle, Rikimaru and Ayame presented the heads to lord Gohda.
"Another head cut in two pieces? Rikimaru, it seems that you're developing a bad habit…"
Ayame had troubles holding her laugh in.
"Anyway, I see the two of you ran into some unpleasant surprises, but you dealt well with it."
"My lord, we also ran into a pleasant surprise."
Rikimaru added. He singed the guard at the door. Tesshu walked in.
"My lord, my name is Fujioka Tesshu. I offer you my services."
"Tesshu, you and your skills are more then welcome. Now all of you, get some well deserved rest."
"Yes, my lord!"
The three warriors left the room. They need their rest, cause the battle is far from over…