Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Background: Well, look at Godsbane's review.
Author's Notes: I'm afraid I know very little of Japanese samurai's so forgive me if I am wrong about everything. Also, if you are looking for a samurai fiction, check out "Legends". (I have no idea why it keeps appearing on top though) I realize that this really really pales beside his work, but oh well.
The Blade of Legends.
A sword carved from the ultimate diamond ever discovered to be in history.
No one knew who created the flawless, gleaming sword.
And since the last Great War it has been lost to history, never to be seen again…
…until now.
It was said that the blade of legends had the power to call people back from the dead, and since the beginning of history, people were said to be bound to the blade if it judged them worthy of having eternal life. In a way, the great sword could be said to be sentient. These people, termed as, "The Greats", are to be the turning point of the final battle, but on whose side they will appear no one knows. The gleaming blade in itself was a deadly weapon, sharper than the sharpest swords forged by the greatest smiths, was indestructible, and would not allow its wielder to sustain any injuries, not to mention that it granted the power of gods to its wielder.
One of the biggest cities in the world, Illian, was dedicated to finding the sword, which had been lost since the war of hundred years. Each year, Illian called the Hunt of the Blade, a worldwide search in which hunters of the sword, named "Sword Hunters", scour the world in search of the forever-elusive blade. This, a long time ago, was to try to find the blade before it fell to the dark side, which would surely disadvantage the light side in the final battle, but as of lately, it had turned into somewhat of a festival that was said by people to be celebrating a myth.
Indeed, not many people believed in the legend of the blade. Supposedly, an unknown warrior, many years ago, had used the sword to push back the dark forces, sealing them behind the sword's seal for a long, long time. After that, peace came over the world. The warrior was said to have died in the final climatic battle of the war of hundred years. Not many people even believed the war of hundred years took place, since somewhere along the way; another war broke out and destroyed all historical evidence of the blade and battle. The legend of the blade had since been passed from generation to generation, and now, it was thought to be nothing but a myth. The only thing that had endured was the Hunt of the Blade.
Keitaro Urashima walked merrily towards the city of Illian. Whistling, the happy-go-lucky person looked around the scenery as he walked. This year, he was going to take part in the Hunt of the Blade, which was just an excuse of him originally; he wanted to go out and explore the world. After all, being a farmer all 365 days of the year was a pretty boring life, and Keitaro was quite okay with his quarterstaff, so he decided to use the hunt as an excuse to get out of the village, but now that he had heard more about the hunt on his travels, he decided that it could be fun, and made his way towards the city of Illian.
As he moved, he muttered to himself. "Hmm, I wonder if the sword really exists?". He scratched his head. Just then, he saw a black shadow flit past him, and his eyes narrowed. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut. Somehow, he deduced that the shadow would bring trouble. He hurried his pace towards Illian.
Mitsune Konno was one of the most powerful ninjas in the Clan of Shadows, a secret clan of ninjas who tirelessly search for the legendary blade all year round. Every year, the clan would send its members to secretly tail the most promising Sword Hunters, and when the hunter had found out any clues as to the whereabouts of the blade, the clan would assassinate the poor fellow to prevent make sure that they were the only ones who might discover the blade. This year, they were sending only one spy, since they felt that they had all the information that they could gather.
Konno did not really like the idea of killing, but there was no choice. To uphold the secrecy of the clan, they had no choice but to kill whomever they had interrogated. They tortured those who did not cooperate, and they wouldn't like news of that leaking out, so whether the subject cooperated or not, they were all slaughtered in the end.
As she passed the boyish person she came across, she sighed, "Another worthless ass trying to be a Hunter!", before disappearing into the distance.
Meanwhile, the person behind picked up his pace.