AUTHOR'S NOTE:
To be perfectly honest, this is one of my favorite chapters in Dokugumo-Ureeru Tsurugi. Why? Because I get to introduce one of my favorite bad guys (actually, girl) in this chapter. Ryu and Ayane are put to the test, and when all the smoke is cleared, the woman I introduce leaves her mark with Ryu & Ayane. I really hope you enjoy this one.
I've been wondering what's been going on with FanFiction(dot)net over the weekend and turns out they had a Power Failure. I wasn't able to read anyone's stories and because of the power outage I don't think anyone has been able to post their stuff. Well, things happen and I'm glad they're back up and running again. The stats have been reseted and I'm surprised to see that people are STILL reading "Ryu vs Murai: The Final Bout". I don't think I could ever make another 5-chapter fight scene so I'm glad those people are still enjoying it.
On to other things, I got myself a new hobby. While I'm at work I do all the writing I can, along with website maintenance, and actual work (at the job, I mean). Now my new hobby (when I get home) is that I now work on videos. I'm starting to learn a lot of Video Editing techniques and the programs needed and I must say, I'm putting together some pretty attractive material. Once one of my final products is done, I'll be ready to make that announcement and post it up.
In a bit of bad news, I won't be posting anything on THURSDAYS this month and probably not next month either. There are personal reasons for this, I can assure that it's no fault of anyone but mine's. But I WILL still continue to post chapters to Dokugumo-Ureeru Tsurugi & Amnesia on SUNDAYS (or Mondays if something happens to where I can't post on Sundays) and WILL still continue to post Entrapment on the first THURSDAY of each month.
Well, I'm going to post this chapter and get to doing some ACTUAL work. I really hope you enjoy this one, as I said, it's one of my favorites. Please R&R.
Chapter 6 – The Black Spider Clan
Aileen emerged from the forest wrapped in a blanket and saw the Hierarch lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
She immediately spoke in shock and fright. "Is she…?" The young woman couldn't finish her sentence.
Ryu turned and saw her frightened face. "I told you to stay hidden."
"Did you kill her?" She asked again with pleading eyes at Ryu.
"What's her problem?" Ayane asked.
"She has never seen a dead person before." Ryu replied with a low tone. He quickly walked over to Aileen and grabbed her and held her tight, he felt Aileen releasing her frightful emotions onto Ryu. "Shhh, it's okay." He said trying to calm her.
Aileen only sniffed at the shock and surprise to see her love murder another human being. She heard the stories of Ryu doing whatever it took to not only be successful in his missions, as well as save his own life, but she never actually witnessed Ryu take the life of another.
Ryu led her to a nearby tree and had her sit against its log and he knelt to her.
"Well, I guess it's obvious she can't come along with us." Ayane snickered.
Ryu warned, "Not now, Ayane."
"Why not, Ryu? You said it yourself, this forest is covered with Black Spiders. If she stays with us, she'll get killed, or she'll just be watching more killings."
Ryu stood and turned to her. "I know that, Ayane. I know she can't stay. What I do not need right now is your arrogance."
"My arrogance? It's her fault we're out here anyway."
"If anyone's to blame for you being out here right now, point the finger at yourself. You wanted to come when I told you to stay at the village."
The ninjas' argument began to flare even more as Aileen continued to stare at the dead body. She never saw Ryu as a murderer or a killer. She always viewed him as a peaceful, sweet, loving man. She wouldn't have even expected it out of Ayane. She was like Ryu, she always saw the pure golden heart in Ayane, and rather than the tough-girl act she portrays and is known for. Sure, she has heard the female ninja blab about wanting to kill Kasumi time and time again, but now she wondered if Ayane was vicious enough to actually kill her own half-sister.
Many thoughts ran through her mind as she continued to stare at Widow's dead body. She even hissed in disgust at Ryu and Ayane, they actually had the audacity to have an argument around a deceased body. Though Widow was evil and Aileen despised her actions upon her capture, she still felt that this evil hierarch still deserved the proper respect.
A leaf fell from the tree above and landed on Aileen's shoulder. Aileen ignored it and wrapped herself tighter with her cloth as the winds began to blow causing a slight chill. She went back to her thoughts as she found herself studying and contemplating on Widow's dead body. Then another leaf fell and landed on the same shoulder. She brushed it off but almost instantly came another leaf. Puzzled, Aileen looked up to see the cause of the falling leaves and saw a ninja of the Black Spider Clan squatting on the tree branch just above her. His eyes were locked on to her. She gasped in fright and when she began looking around the forest, she saw more and more ninjas hiding within the nature around them.
"Uh, guys?" Aileen nervously spoke out, but Ryu and Ayane were too caught up in their own argument to where they both either ignored her or just didn't hear her call out. "GUYS!" She said louder this time catching the attention of her comrades.
Ayane hissed. "What is it!"
Ryu saw Aileen looking up at the sky. He looked in the same direction and immediately noticed that his love was not looking at the sky, but rather the environment covered with Black Spider Clan's ninjas sitting stationary watching them.
Ryu and Ayane retrieved their respective weapons. Ryu then heard a clapping noise. Alerted he turned to the sound and saw a woman standing and applauding to an invisible audience.
She didn't dress anywhere near the same fashion as the Black Spider Clan, instead she wore a short white tank-top exposing her torso covered with a long sleeve faded light blue jean jacket. Her pants matched her jacket as they were light blue and somewhat like slacks. Her white boots were heeled to add to her height. Her hair was long and completely white as laid against her back and her pale light blue eyes added even more mystery to her persona.
"Congratulations, Hayabusa-chan." The woman ended her applauding.
Ryu readied his sword. "Let me guess, another hierarch?" He said coldly.
The woman gave a smile and a nod. "So you are the ninja that gave us so much trouble at the Vigoor Empire?"
"Who are you?"
"Please call me Aisu." She spoke her name.
"Okay, Aisu. What are we standing here for?" Ryu readied himself for his fight.
"Oh please, Ryu, you have me all wrong. I'm here to thank you." Aisu walked over towards the dead body of Widow. Then she spat on the dead body that laid in front of her. "Thank you for killing this hyper bitch."
Ryu gave a puzzled look as Aisu continued. "Don't get me wrong, she was fun at first." A reminiscent smile formed on her face as she emphasized. "A whole lot of fun!" Aisu then threw her long white hair back. "But after a while she was just becoming simply annoying." She began walking away from Widow's lifeless body never taking her eyes off of Ryu. "Due to the rules of the Black Spider Clan, I cannot kill a hierarch without a good reason. Highly ventilated sex drive isn't a big enough crime for a death sentence." She remarked with a snickered smile. "So that is why I'm glad you got rid of that annoyance for me. Finally, I can start getting a good night's rest."
"Glad to help." Ryu sarcastically and coldly replied.
Aisu smiled and gave another nod. "But our only problem is that, now that a hierarch has been murdered, someone must pay for the crime of dishonoring the rules of the Black Spider Clan."
"There's always a catch isn't there?" Ayane interrupted.
Aisu smiled at Ayane's comment and threw two fingers in the air. Just then, the hiding ninjas in the trees jumped down from their branches and began to surround Ayane and Ryu leaving Aileen out of the circle. Ryu knew a battle was about to begin, but he was fearful for Aileen's safety.
"Do not worry about your little girlfriend. My orders are to kill you and have her watch. Don't fret, she'll join your grave shortly afterwards." Aisu spoke.
Ryu was a bit relieved as he readied himself in his fighting stance; but he was still in doubt as to how much he could trust Aisu for Aileen's safety.
Then the beautiful smile on Aisu's face cringed up into a frown as she yelled. "ATTACK!"
The circle of ninjas obeyed their commands as they attacked their prey. Two of the ninjas attempted to slay Ryu at the same time, but the resourcefulness of the "super ninja" saved him as he swayed away from one of the ninjas' attacks causing him to accidentally strike his own partner. Then with his opening, Ryu retrieved his secondary blade shoving it into the spine of the ninja. Then without hesitation, he removed the small blade from the dying ninja and quickly threw it behind him as the traveling blade drove itself into the skull of another ninja preparing an unsuccessful sneak attack.
As Ryu battled on against the overly athletic and agile ninjas, Ayane was successfully holding her own ground as well.
Surrounded by three of the Black Spider Clan ninjas, Ayane readied her katana as she watched the ninjas circle her slowly. She was familiar with their style after watching Ryu taking out so many during his adventure on the Vigoor Empire. They were known for attacking from behind. Fortunately, she mastered her blind spot defenses, as the ninja behind her made the first attack.
He raised sword and launched at Ayane, but before he could lower it for the kill, he felt a strong kick hit under his chin as he was sent flying to ground. Without hesitation, Ayane quickly swung her foot, kicking the ninja in front of her, and then she perfectly executed a side kick, landing on the stomach of her adversary adjacent to her. She quickly leaped into the air, landing on her adjacent opponent, slaying him deep in his heart with her katana. Once dead, she quickly removed the katana and threw it at the attacker that once stood behind her. The blade lodged deep into his skull as he dropped his sword and fell lifeless to the ground.
Finally, Ayane stood off of her lifeless opponent as the last ninja composed himself and readied his sword. Ayane was beginning to think it was a mistake getting rid of her weapon to battle a Black Spider ninja with an expertise in sword fighting. She readied herself in her fighting stance, unarmed. They circled for awhile, until the ninja made the first move. Unfortunately for him, his first move was his final move as when he swung his sword; Ayane caught him by the wrists. Quickly, she twisted his wrists, breaking them at the same time, until the blade was pointing at his stomach. Then fiercely, she used the ninja's own sword and shoved it into his stomach. The ninja fell but was not completely dead, but was now ineffective in battle. She removed the sword and claimed it as her own as more ninjas began to surround her.
"Now the odds are even." She said readying her new sword as her new victims surrounded her.
The slaying continued as Aileen slowly stood and watched her lover murder the attacking ninjas one by one, sometimes two by two. She wanted to run, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the fight. She couldn't take her eyes off of the killings. She felt as if she wanted to vomit if she another man's throat sliced open.
She looked to her side and saw a clear view, where there was no violence of any kind. She just wanted to get herself to safety and away from these dangers. She decided to make a run for it, but as soon as she turned in the direction, Aisu stood in front of her.
"Where do you think you're going?" She said in a soft tone with a pleasant smile. "I promised Ryu your safety. I can't go back on my word now can I?"
"Please, just let me go."
"You're so innocent." She said caressing Aileen's face with the back of her hand. Aileen could feel an uncomfortable shiver travel down her spine. "No wonder Widow wanted you all to herself." She then grabbed Aileen by her arm and forced her body to turn and face more of Ryu's slaying while pressing her own body up against Aileen. "Now watch your lover die by the swords of the Black Spider Ninja Clan." She spoke fiercely.
Ryu had slain another ninja as more began appearing out of the woods to join in on the battle. Ryu was able to catch a glimpse of Aisu holding tightly to Aileen; but he forced himself to keep his attention to the activity surrounding him.
"Ayane!" He yelled out. "Split up!"
Almost immediately, Ayane flipped out of the circle and the ninjas followed. A bit relieved, Ryu could now focus on a lesser amount of the ninjas, and confident enough that Ayane could take care of herself, for the time being.
Ryu continued on with his battle, while highly on the offensive he always stayed cautious and alert not to become a victim of a swinging blade. The Clan worked too well in numbers, just as they did on the Vigoor Empire. Ryu was familiar with their style, but the larger they were in numbers; the more difficult they proved to be.
Surrounded by four of the swift ninjas, Ryu readied his sword as the four slowly circled him. As expected, a ninja from behind tried to attack first, but Ryu was ready as he flipped over the ninja throwing shurikens at the attacker before his feet even touched the ground. The shurikens injured the ninja's shoulder, but he still stayed in the fight as the other three began their attacks. Two of them flipped at Ryu with their swords flying in mid-air. Ryu quickly blocked their attempts and as they landed he smashed one guy in the back with the handle of his sword while kicking the other away from him. The remaining tried to end the life of Hayabusa with a quick incendiary shuriken, Ryu caught the projectile with his own hand and threw it at and threw it at a stumbling ninja who was just making his way back to his feet.
The ninja felt the sting on his back and his eyes grew as he knew what was coming next as a loud explosion let off and the ninja fell dead with his entire backside bloody and burnt from the deadly explosion. Afterwards, the injured and the stumbled ninja recomposed themselves and quickly launched after Ryu. The two ninjas proved to be a small match for our hero, until Ryu managed to find his opening when he brutally slammed the head of one ninja into the shurikens embedded in the shoulder of the injured ninja. The sharp metal viciously pierced his temple and instantly penetrated into his brain as he instantly died stuck to the injured ninja.
The injured ninja's gave his last scream of agony due to pressure of the buried shurikens digging deeper into his arm and Ryu used his opportunity to slide his blade into his stomach, then pushed him off, letting one of the remaining ninjas fall dead to the ground.
Ryu then turned his focus to the last remaining ninja who only readied his sword. Ryu began the attack as their swords clanged against each other. Surprisingly, the other ninja was relentless. He was able to catch every surprise attack Ryu attempted to strike with, and he was also surprised that his foe had a few tricks of his own up his sleeve. Finally, their swords clung together as they stood in their pose and Ryu stared deep into the ninja's fiery red eyes.
"It really is you." The ninja spoke as he used his might to shove Ryu away from him, they stared at each other for a quick second. The ninja looked at him as if he was supposed to know him. Eventually, the last Black Spider Clan ninja tore his eyes away from Ryu and made a surprising retreated back into the forest.
"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Aisu yelled out.
But the fleeing ninja gave no answer, he only disappeared within the forest as even more ninjas emerged and surrounded Hayabusa, in the exact same fashion. Ryu readied his sword, but he knew there were too many. He didn't know how much longer he could keep up such an intense battle.
Just then Ryu heard Aisu yell, "TEIRYUU!"
All the battling and fighting stopped suddenly. The ninjas stopped their attacks and focused their attention to Aisu. Ryu panting from the long battle and heavy adrenaline looked at Aisu, as well, puzzled as to why she stopped the battle. Aisu only flicked her head to the side. The Black Spider ninjas obeyed the silent command and retreated back to the woods. Aisu turned her focus back to Ryu.
"You're good. Better than I expected."
"I was only getting started." Ryu said gathering his breath.
Aisu giggled at the obnoxious ninja. "Oh really? I could kill you so easily right now."
"Try me." Ryu taunted with his Dragon Sword ready for another bout.
Aisu released Aileen as the woman fell to the ground. She slowly walked towards Ryu stepping over the dead bodies of the many slain Black Spider ninjas. Then she stood in place with still a great distance between the two. She raised her hand to meet her face to reveal to Ryu a small amount a frost air surrounding it.
"Do you really want to know why I was promoted to a Black Spider Hierarch?" She asked.
Then, not waiting for an answer, from her hand she shot something, unknown, at Ryu. The blast was extremely quick, but Ryu proved to be quicker as he sliced the blasted projectile with his Dragon Sword before it made contact with his body. The fragments landed on the ground as Ryu witnessed remains of an ice shard laying in the dirt.
Aisu witnessed the same, but did not show any impression of shock. She only kept her same pleasant smile. "I stand corrected. Even as exhausted as you are, you still prove to be strong and quick. Now I understand the interest Widow had in you, as well. You don't see that type of hunger for success out of most ninjas."
"I'm not like most ninjas."
"Correct, you are, but neither am I. Please note, that though you may have stopped a simple ice shard, you still cannot defeat me in the condition you are in."
Ryu readied his sword again. "Then come kill me."
Aisu giggled. "I'd rather not. Don't worry, we will soon enough have our encounter; but I think with my report, Master Mitsuri will have something much more interesting in mind for you."
"Who is this, Mitsuri?"
Aisu smiled. "Don't worry little ninja. You will learn everything you need to know soon enough."
She turned to leave but was stopped when she saw a small squirrel running up a tree. She spoke over her back, loud enough for Ryu to hear. "Oh and by the way…" She said as she raised her hand with the same frost air surrounding it. An ice blast left her hand and hit the stand-by squirrel. The blast wasn't nearly the same projectile thrown at Ryu. The small animal was instantly covered and frozen in a small block of ice as it fell from the tree, hit the ground and, like glass, shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Aisu finished her sentence. "That is how I would've easily killed you."
Without saying another word, she turned her head in front of her and proceeding her walk back into the dark woods.
Ryu stood at wide-eye shock at the shattered dead animal. He knew that Aisu's use of the black magic would become a great obstacle for him in the latter future.
MY REVIEWS:
LadyMidnight: Another chapter is flawlessly delivered. I thank you again for your skill as a writer and artful portrayl of all characters and emotions. I look forward to your next chapter!
Flawless? You really think so? I'm really glad you can see the work that I put into this. And you shouldn't thank me, it should be me thanking you for taking the time to read my work. Speaking of which, THANK YOU, for choosing my story to spend your time to read and I do hope you continue. Let me know what you think of this one. XD
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Thunderxtw: Ha! You make Ayane quite the comedian. And I liked how they tricked Widow into thinking she would be spared, especially after what she did to Aileen. That was clearly action packed and I enjoyed it. A story has never made me want to read it this bad before. Oh well. Until your next chapter, I'll be waiting.
Wow 2 Reviews! Thanks. XD
Hehehe...Ayane's my babygirl, I had to give her the spotlight at least once before I had it shone on it back on Ryu.
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Thunderxtw: Wow, sounds like one scary lady you wouldnt want to take to dinner, lol. So, in a way, she's like spider man? Not exactly, but in some ways. And this thing about seducing, does that go toward any gender? I'm guessing it does since in the last chapter she captured Aileen and stripped her of her clothes. Man, look how quickly I catch on. I'm smart!
This looks to be one tough adversary for Ryu and Ayane. How are they going to deal with such a beast? I'm on to the next chapter to find out.
Nice job.
Widow isn't the type you would want to take home to meet mommy...lol. Yep in someways she is like Spider Man and yes, the seducing goes both ways. She's...uhhh (:- looks in dictionary for the proper word -:)..."experimental" that way >:) ... Unfortunately, I can give away this spoiler, we won't see Widow any longer in the story but I can say that she is the cause for a twist that is going to be revealed later (Around Chapter 13 or 14, still a ways to go.)
COMING SOON
Chapter 7 – Deja Vu