A/N: After reading over it for a while, I've decided that I'm going to make a few changes to the original plot that I was going by. This will have snippits of first person, and you will meet a new char and guild. BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.
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Unknown chamber
I awoke softly, my hart beating barely. With a sense of pride, I realized I had done the impossible. Giving myself a whoop of glee, I acknologed the fact that I had just sustained myself through time with meditation. Looking down upon my body, I noticed nothing amiss, and my swords still shone with the only reflection possible in the chamber with but one air and light source.
I grinned my full smile, and started to move. Well, I tried to, as my limbs were still in entropy that plagued the dead. I figured that I still had a while to go before I got out of my chamber.
And I might need a few clothes too…
Hinata City
He half walked, half ran. Keitaro knew there was something amiss with the girls. Some strange force pulled him to the inn, forcing him to decide to go ahead of the Aoyama party. He knew whatever it was, there was no way out of a large confrontation with whatever was plaguing them.
He tuned a corner.
And walked straight through someone. Giving a startled cry, he whipped around, and almost fell to his knees in what he saw. Motoko Aoyama faded in and out, always transparent, tears pouring down her face which was covered by her hands. She was just standing there as people moved through her with no awareness that she was there.
"M-motoko?" he whispered out.
Hearing her name, she looked up at him, and with eye contact, hers widened in disbelief, then anger. Raising her hand, she moved to hit him, then broke down again as she moved through him again.
Looking around, he noticed very little left on the streets, probably due to the storm clouds above, threatening to unleash its fury down at any moment. He moved to the closest wall and slid to the ground. He knew there was no way he could talk to the spirits, he had tried with the ones that hung around the graveyard at the training grounds, but he wasn't giving up hope. He waited for her to settle down.
Aoyama Training Grounds
Tsuruko exited a room at full speed, a blur to those untrained. She had just held council with the leaders of the school, however it did not end well. They revoked the action of mobilizing any squad, however freely let her do her own thing, as long as it didn't contradict with the order. She would have to go alone, without Setsuna to guide her to the exact location. She would however seek her sister out.
She had questioned Setsuna before making a summons, and had gained some good information. Information as to the whereabouts, and she wasn't happy that her sister left her in the dark about this. But that would come later. She had a demon to track down, as well as a pupil. She wan not happy at the situation at all.
She sped to the nearest train station, keeping a tight grip on her katana as she went.
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A New Hope
Chapter 4b
Exorcism
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Ruins
I had freed myself from the chamber to encounter the worst sight I would ever have to behold. All around me were the ruins of a large training fort, which looked like it had weathered a siege. The fact that the buildings were still standing was some sort of consolation, however the freshly killed people around me weren't. Women, children, elderly, and men were scattered about the place, dead eyes open in terror. I deducted immediately that this was now a siege. It was a slaughter. Murder, pure and simple.
Turning to the nearest entrance to the dojo, I walked the long hallways that were once very familiar to me. This was my home once. Looking at a nearby sheet of paper, this was my home seven hundred years ago. There were a few changed timbers, new halls, etc., however it had stood through the passage of time like I had. It had weathered it like I had. And now, it had observed murder, like I had so many years ago.
I found a room with clothes easily enough. There were signs around telling people where to go. After a quick changing of clothes, I went to the front courtyard, and fell to my knees. I through my head to the sky and screamed out, allowing my frustration loose. And I made a vow, to avenge these innocents. Even if it was the last thing I do.
A blast of dark energy rippled across the air, and I knew it wasn't good. I took off in the direction that it came from.
Hinata Streets
He was following her. A few minutes before, she had settled onto a better way of thinking, and by moving and her actions, she beckoned him to follow her. And he did, not caring about where she was leading him to. A long way to go, he realized, to reach the Hinata house, however he noted the direction she was going. Away from it. Watching her fading figure, he saw her striding purposefully into the shadows.
Wanting to call out to her, he couldn't. She couldn't hear him, and vice versa. He realized things were going to be a lot harder when he tried to restore her, provided he got to her physical body. Stopping as the last of her faded into nothing, he felt rage build inside him. He felt his aura call for vengeance against the culprit. Turning, he the way to the Inn.
'I don't know what's happening, but by god, I will end it. I will get to the bottom of this.'
Putting one foot in front of the other, he strode his way to the Inn. 'What ever it takes…'
Hinata Sou
'Is this it? This is where the trail ends?'
I looked up at the structure and knew. A dark being was pulsing with energy like a beacon. A lighthouse for those who followed its call. 'Let's begin this party shall we.'
I went a nearby tree. One foot above the other, I scaled it quickly. I knew by now I was being watched. The Kage family was part of the shadow after all. I leapt onto a balcony, and opened the sliding door. I stopped still.
A woman lay there, dressed in hakama and gi. Raven hair was framing her pale face. But it was the emptiness that caught me. There was no soul.
The Kage-ryu, or more commonly known as the shadow sword style, was dabbled in many things. One was the replacement of souls. Being a very tricky business, not many practiced the art. What happens is the user finds a target, not necessarily human, and after contact with bare skin, plus a hell of a lot of concentration, can grab the soul and remove it from the body. The body without a soul will naturally die. However, after extensive research, the creators found a way to keep the subject from dieing using shadows. Shadows are passive beings which are devoid of light. Not knowing how to do anything, they bend to anyone's will, provided they don't have to do anything. A simple transplant of soul, the user calls a shadow to preserve the body. It inhabits the body and does not allow it to pass on. And with inspection, not even a shadow inhabited this ones body. I soon realized time was of the essence. I looked up as the main door flew open.
I narrowed my eyes. The female standing infront of me reeked of darkness. Most confused the shadow and darkness as the same thing. I can say, we are totally different.
I rose slowly, eyes not breaking contact.
"Kami-sama, protect me in this fight. My vow of revenge for those innocents must be upheld. Protect me, for this demon is my rival. Amen."
I flew at the woman who was channeling the dark.
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Tsuruko stopped on the dime. Not three buildings away stood the Hinata Sou, Keitaro was at the door, running inside. On the annex roof, there were two people, blurs being their movements. The faint clash of weapons proved that they were not the best of friends. They moved back and fourth along the annex, eventually moving onto the roof, staying on the tip. It was spectacular that they could move so fast and not loose balance.
She soon realized she had a lot of training to do, just to match one of them.
Jerking her head, she noted Keitaro had made it to the annex. With an audience.
'Shit…'
She leapt across the remaining few roofs, knowing also that the lives of innocents were now at stake.
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Keitaro burst through the door, not really knowing what to expect.
The girls, sans Motoko, were gathered around the table eating. Well, not any more at any rate. They were looking at him with shock. Then they recovered and rushed him, blocking him from the stairs.
"Sempai! Keitaro, that you? It's the dork! Yay, he's back, with bananas? Still single hon?" The sounds were all shouted out at once as they crowded around him. He searched their eyes for anything, and found them all relieved at his presence. There was a bit of anger and disbelief at him, but they wasn't anything at all wrong, or 'off'.
Naru was right in front of him. "Keitaro? You came back?" She launched herself at him. "I've missed you s-oomph"
She was cut off as Keitaro used his sword handle to 'gently' strike her in her stomach, causing her to grab her stomach as she fell to the ground. He cruised past her fallen form, and glided up the staircase, three steps at a time. The tenets, quickly recovering from the shock of him striking Naru, helped her up and went after him.
Keitaro exited at the annex to the sounds of swordplay. Seeing the area, he stared at the precise movements of the combatants, shock and awe forming at the cleanness they combated with. A hustling behind him informed him that the tenets were there. He turned slowly. Whoever it was that was on his side of the fight, he wished them luck.
"Well, if this is the way you want it…" he brandished his training bokken, drawing it seemingly from the air, "I'm afraid that you'll have to stay back. I never was here for you."
Naru, seething with anger, spat words back at him. "If you weren't here for us, then who for? We were fine," 'physically,' "When you weren't here."
"Motoko. Have you noticed her absence? The fact she does not stand here with you now?"
"Our manager, as much as we don't like her, said she had fallen ill and that she was looking after her."
"How long was she ill for? And who's the manager?"
"A day." His eyes widened at the time span. She would be close to death by that point, her soul damn near faded into the ghostly realm. "And our manager? Some chick named…"
A figure fell from the air, cutting her off with a soft thud as Tsuruko's feet hit the deck. "We meet again, Keitaro. I trust all is well?"
"As well as can be, Tsuruko-sensai."
Naru's own eyes widened at this. "YOU!? You took him away from here, causing that stupid hina sword-searching manager to arrive? Our lives have been hell since she arrived here."
Keitaro looked back at her sharply with the name of the Hina blade. "Hina sword-searcher? Who is the Manager Naru? This is important. Who is she!"
"Someone named Kanako."
Keitaro's eyes widened in fear. If Kanako found the Hina blade...
He spun around in instinct, raising his sheathed sword to block a blade black as night. Staring into his eyes, hers devoid of light, was his sister.
"…Kanako…"
"EVIL BANISHING SWORD: TENTH FORM!" the cry went out, and Kanako with speed unheard of, whipped around but it was too late to block. Being as close as she was, Tsuruko fired it at point blank range.
The sword dropped from her limp hand, life returning to her eyes. "B-brother…" was all she muttered out before she collapsed in exhaustion.
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I watched as my opponent sped away from me, engaging the male from behind. By some stroke of luck, he whipped around and blocked the blow, while his companion preformed the exorcism not a second later. As the chi subsided, I remembered the girl a floor below. I rushed below, ignoring the others.
I knelt by her body, putting my hands on her temples. The door flew open, revealing the female swordsman. Her eyes widened in the scene before her. "MOTOKO!"
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A/N: sorry about the cliff hanger. Hey readers! I'm back, if not for long. This is the chapter where I change a few things, as you have seen. Don't worry too much. I intend to make things a bit more interesting now. The Kage-ryu style is MINE!!! I meade it up. Kage stands for shadow. I took it from one of my other LH attempts that I havn't posted yet. It will be posted eventually too.
Thanks for hanging on for this chapter. I really apreciate it. I hope to upload another two chapters before I have school again, so wish me luck with the ideas. Plus, now I want you to provide them too, if you have them. I'll incorperate them somehow in. So R&R! I like this story too, but depending on responses, i dont know what ill do. See ya next time. And don't forget. R&R!