Flight of the Black Crane: Shinobi

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OK fellows, my friend Khementi has handed this project over to me as he has other commitments in his life to see to and he still wanted to see the story of Kuroi Itezeru told.

Well, here it is, the first part at least. I am almost done with the next part of Archon as well and there shall be an update by the next weekend.

FYI: Kuroi Itezeru, or Magatsu Yagyu, is a character featured in part 2 of the Shura stories.

PS: Self-righteous fools can skip this and post your flames below.

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Prologue:

To the esteemed Professor Jo-annia Thonas:

I am Bokas, a lowly scribe currently employed by the Great Terun University. Just the other day, I was…compelled to pass into your hands the manuscript that this note is attached to. I know how heavy your workload was and tried to decline the request of the man who wanted this in your hands initially. He was most insistent, however that you receive this manuscript. When I refused him a third time, his expression darkened and he reached for the hilt of one of his swords. I thought that I would have surely perished that day. Gritting his teeth as if undergoing some kind of internal struggle, he once again made his request and I felt that to refuse him again once more would be tantamount to suicide. I could only nod in numb acquiescence.

He thrust the sheaf of bound papers into my arms and stalked off, clutching his temples. I did call after him, then to ask if he would like to know when you received his manuscript. He shook his head and said that he would be aware of whether or not the manuscript ended up in your hands.

A most curious, though frightening encounter indeed.


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This is the tale of a champion of light and goodness, a gentleman of impeccable etiquette, a warrior and a poet. To an unrepentant murderer, he was a teacher, a guide and most of all, a friend. If it were not for the trail left behind by the flight of the Black Crane, this bloodstained soul would have been lost to madness and darkness long ago.

In life, he was considered an abomination, reviled by his kin and peers, shunned by all.

In life, his blood and toil drove the blade called Whispering Edge in the dance that proved to be the Empire’s salvation.

In life, the Black Crane averted the reign of Dementia away from the western lands of Gryloas.

In life, he showed a killer how to stave off the bloodlust that had been bred in his bones.

It has been more than three decades since the Black Crane departed this world and his legacy has not been justly treated. His people, ever hateful of the unnatural circumstances of his birth, have gone to great ends to mar his memory and slander his reputation. The chief perpetrators are now dead and their severed heads presently decorate the streets of the Empire.

In death, they called him a coward, he who never let the disgust accorded to him by his very kin lessen his desire to defend them.

In death, they labeled him as a weakling, he who was once the greatest swordsman in the world.

In death, he was condemned for his association with a killer, whose crimes put a dark shadow upon the legend of the Black Crane.

In death, he was slowly forgotten.

Such a thing will not come to pass, not while I remain pen down these words that detail the Black Crane’s journey through his eventful life.

This is the tale of Magatsu Yagyu, better known as Kuroi Itezeru the Black Crane.

This is the tale of a hero.
Shura.

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One:
Back across the years
Amidst the pouring rain
The Black Crane stretched his wings


A lone horseman rode through the heavy downfall, the hooves of his mount impacting dully against the damp soil of the slum’s streets. He reined in his horse outside a rickety shack and leapt off. A sudden gale blew the straw hat off his head, revealing the sharp aristocratic features of a noble-born elf and the symbol of the Yagyu clan upon the headband he wore.

The wails of a newborn baby reached his ears even above the din of the pouring rain, wiping his wits away momentarily. The elf blinked the water from his eyes for many minutes, before shaking his head and sliding the door of the shack open.

A young woman lay inside, tended by a middle-aged midwife who held an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes in her arms. She passed the infant into the elf’s embrace, a wide smile upon her wrinkled face.

“ Your son, Lord Senjuro Yagyu!” The midwife congratulated him. Senjuro held his breath as he gazed into the clear and intelligent, if agitated eyes of his son. The infant began wailing again and swatted at Senjuro’s face with a tiny hand, Senjuro began to laugh in delight as he rocked his son in his arms. His gaze went to the young woman who was lying on her back and smiling fondly at the jubilant elf.

“ Mei!” Senjuro knelt by her side, clasping her hand in his. “ Look! This is our son!”

Mei stroked the infant’s head and the infant calmed down immediately. It began a contented gurgle, much to Senjuro’s consternation. Mei laughed at the expression on her lover’s face.

“ You were never very good with children, Senjuro.” She said. A look of resolution came over Senjuro’s face.

“ I will have to be now!” He declared, drawing yet another laugh from Mei. Unlike the rest of his kin, Senjuro’s face was bereft of the spite and malice so apparent upon the visages of elves. His eyes were always clear and his features never lost their hopeful and innocent, if naïve look.

“ What shall we name him?” Mei asked.

“ Magatsu!” Senjuro replied without
hesitation. “ I shall name him after the kinsman to whom we owe our lives to!” The late Magatsu had been a clansman of the Kage-Yagyu, the secretive branch of the Yagyu clan that served the Empire’s covert interests. He had given his life in the defense of Senjuro and incidentally, Mei on a previous occasion in which assassins waylaid the noble-born elf. Mei nodded, a wide smile upon her face.

“ It is a good name. “ She agreed. Senjuro pinched the cheek of his son gently, only to get a tiny heel in the face for his efforts. He laughed again and swung the newly named Magatsu around in his arms. The midwife smiled and exited the shack to grant the family some privacy in their joy.

She slid the door shut and retrieved her straw cloak, wrapping it about her shoulders. It was still raining heavily. As the midwife began to walk away, she found her progress obstructed by a trio of armored forms. She looked up and saw that they were Imperial samurai affiliated with the Yagyu clan. The midwife bowed hurriedly in respect.

“ Good evening, lords!” She cried as she scuttled from their path. “ Good evening!”

The samurai parted ranks, revealing yet another elf wearing a silken headband that bore the symbol of the Yagyu clan as well. The midwife recognized him as Jintaro, Senjuro’s elder brother. Before another word could leave her lips, the noble elf sprang forwards and beheaded her with a swift stroke of his katana. One of his samurai lackeys kicked aside the toppling corpse before too much of the resulting blood could splatter onto their fine clothes. Another held up a wad of silk upon which Jintaro cleaned the blade of his katana.

“ Human filth!” He spat in the direction of the headless corpse. “ It demeans my sword to shed their blood!” Jintaro stalked up to the shack that housed his brother’s family and kicked the flimsy door in. As the wooden portal erupted inwards in a shower of splinters, Magatsu began wailing again, this time in shock and despair. Senjuro spun around, his eyes wide with surprise as he confronted his brother.

“ Surprised to see me?” Jintaro snarled; his handsome features twisted with dark glee. “ You have disgraced yourself, Senjuro! Worse, you have disgraced our family!”

Mei clutched at the sleeve of her lover frantically but Senjuro disengaged her hand gently and stroked her cheek in a reassuring gesture. He returned little Magatsu into the arms of his mother and stood upright to confront Jintaro.

“ Your actions and bearing ill fit your status as a lord of the Yagyu clan.” Senjuro folded his arms as he regarded his brother with a stern look. “ You can be sure father shall know of your boorishness this day!” Jintaro threw back his head and roared with laughter. He glanced sideways at one of his samurai lackeys.

“ The fool does not know the predicament he is in, eh?” The noble-born elf’s expression hardened. He gestured sharply to the samurai. “ Show him!”

The samurai flung the severed head of the midwife at Senjuro’s feet. The grisly object brought about a muffled shriek of terror from Mei, who cowered with her son in her arms. Senjuro gasped in disbelief and outrage.

“ What is the meaning of this? Why have you murdered this poor woman?”

“ Why?” Jintaro leaned forwards, a sneer on his face. “ She was a human, that’s why! They are mere fodder, to be consumed at our leisure! They are beasts of burden and menial slaves. They are little more than animals and deserve to be treated thus!”

Senjuro shook his head slowly, too stunned by the events that have occurred to offer a rebuttal of his brother’s views.

“ But you!” Jintaro leveled his sheathed katana in Mei’s direction. The tip of the curved sword hovered to point at the small bundle cradled in the young woman’s arms. “ You have committed the foulest of depravities with this human whore here! That mewling brat in her arms is ample proof of your vileness!”

“ Watch your mouth!” Senjuro roared, brushing aside the outer folds of his straw cloak to reveal the hilt of his katana. “ I can tolerate any insults you may level at me but I shall not stand for any contempt directed at my family!” His fury unnerved the samurai lackeys. They licked their lips nervously and more than one hand twitched towards the hilt of a katana. Even Jintaro seemed taken aback by his brother’s anger. Still, rather than disgrace himself before his lackeys, he gritted his teeth and screamed back into Senjuro’s face.

“ You watch your mouth, brother!” His eyes were bloodshot and bleary, a fact that made Senjuro frown in puzzlement. “ By your words, you have associated me with the human harlot as well! I shall not let such an insult go unheeded!” The elder Yagyu lord drew his katana and tossed the sheath aside. Instantly, a samurai grasped his sleeve.

“ Do not be rash, my lord!” He beseeched. “ Lord Senjuro is of noble blood as well and we cannot aid you against him unless the Emperor himself permits it!” Jintaro’s fist crashed into the side of the samurai’s face, knocking him from his feet.

“ I do not need your help, fool!” He snarled at his comatose servant. There was a look of madness in his eyes as he turned to regard his surprised brother. “ Come, Senjuro. It is time we found out which of us was the better swordsman all along!”

“ You are not well, Jintaro! I shall not fight you!” Senjuro let his hand fall from the hilt of his katana and gestured to the two samurai still standing. “ The two of you shall escort lord Jintaro to the Temple of Healing immediately!”

Such was the authority in his voice that the two samurai actually moved to obey his orders before remembering where their loyalties laid. Jinataro snarled at them and they backed away from their master, unnerved at the rabid look of feral rage on the noble-born elf’s face.

“ If you will not fight me, you will die!” Jintaro shrieked, bringing his katana high and slicing it down in an attempt to cleave Senjuro in twain. Senjuro leapt backwards, tripping on the hem of his cloak as he did so. Jintaro’s sword buried itself deep within the wooden floor of the shack and he had to struggle furiously with the hilt for many moments before he could extract the blade.

“ Cease your madness, brother!” Senjuro cried. Jintaro merely broke into a howling laugh as he raised his sword again in readiness to strike.

“ Senjuro!” Mei screamed in horror as the elder Yagyu lord swiped once more at his brother. Senjuro flattened himself on his back as Jintaro’s katana sliced the air mere inches above his face. Before his brother could recover from the momentum of the blow, Senjuro rolled to his feet and laid a hand on the hilt of his katana.

“ Do not do this, Jintaro. I beg of you!” He pleaded. Jintaro only leered at him in response. To the horror of all in the shack, the elder Yagyu was foaming at the mouth. His eyes were now utterly crimson in hue, informing any who had been trained as a warrior of the nature of his ailment.

“ Fiendfog overdose!” Senjuro muttered disbelievingly. Jintaro’s samurai lackeys exchanged nervous glances as they too recognized the side effects brought about by the highly addictive drug.

Jintaro screamed an unintelligible battle cry and swung his sword again, the slender blade ripping through the walls of the shack and showering its interior with splinters as Senjuro ducked the blow. The venom from the thorns of the Fiendfog herb increased a warrior’s strength and speed beyond mortal limits, all the while filling his mind with a seething rage that brought about a sense of invincibility and bloodlust.

Senjuro opened his mouth to plead with his brother again but the sole of Jintaro’s sandal planted itself into his chest, kicking him through the weakened walls of the shack and sending him rolling across the muddy streets of the slums. The rain chilled Senjuro’s limbs as he coughed up blood. Jintaro vaulted through the elf-sized opening and pounded towards his brother, a look of madness upon his face.

Senjuro’s katana sang free from its sheath and he parried the next sweeping cut from Jintaro. The force from the blow sent Senjuro staggering sideways, his fingers numb and ringing from the impact. Jintaro cut downwards with his katana but Senjuro leaned backwards so that the curved sword sang past his body to slice into the mud. Before the battle-mad elf could raise his sword again, Senjuro laid a foot upon the blunt edge of the katana, pinning it to the ground.

With the heel of his palm, Senjuro struck his brother’s lower jaw. Jintaro collapsed from the blow, dragging his katana free. He snarled and sought to stand but found that his feet would support his weight. His vision swam in and out of focus and despite the rage that ate at him from within, he found himself sitting down upon his rump again.

“ You will not be able to stand for some time, brother. The force of my punch went straight to your brain, creating a slight concussion.” Senjuro said, breathing heavily. Jintaro flailed his limbs in the mud and shrieked at the top of his voice like a spoilt and thwarted child. His samurai lackeys ran out from the shack then, and hurried to the aid of their master. One of them removed his cloak and held it over the Jintaro’s head while the other sought to calm him down with little success.

Senjuro felt a slight tug on his sleeve and saw that it was Mei. She had Magatsu cradled in her arms with a heavy scarf protecting him from the worst of the rain. The elf enfolded his lover and son in his arms for many moments before breaking the embrace and turning to regard the samurai.

“ Bring him to the Temple of Healing immediately! He shall answer for the death of the midwife to the appropriate authorities later!” Senjuro instructed. The samurai bowed in unified acquiescence, though there was still a worried look on their faces. “ As for today, I shall remember no faces save that of my brother.”

There was an audible sigh of relief from samurai as they were released from the implications of the day’s events. Senjuro turned to leave, eager to have his lover and son under shelter when another roar of rage burst forth from Jintaro. One of his samurai lackeys went flying as Jintaro backhanded him with the unnatural strength granted by the Fiendfog herb. The other released his grasp on his master’s clothes out of shock.

Jintaro took a faltering step and kicked off from the mud, brandishing his katana. His strength brought him soaring through the air, easily covering the distance between Senjuro and him. Senjuro’s blanched in terror as he realized that he would not be able to get his sword up in time to parry the blow. He closed his eyes and waited for the coming agony.

Instead, he heard Mei cry out in alarm and the sound of steel slicing into flesh. He felt the bundle that was little Magatsu pressed into his arms. He felt the spurt of warm blood. Senjuro opened his eyes and beheld the horrific sight of Jintaro’s katana buried halfway in Mei’s body. The blade had cleaved into her right shoulder and only the lack of Jintaro’s momentum had prevented her from being sliced into two separate halves.

Jintaro’s grin widened in delight as he collapsed face-first into the mud, tearing his katana from Mei’s body. His vision still wavered and his legs still would not obey him but he had struck, and struck well.

“ No!” Senjuro caught Mei’s body in his arms as she fell. Magatsu wailed at the top of his voice. “ No! Mei! Not like this!”

Mei coughed, streams of blood flowing from her mouth as she did so. Her face had turned extremely pale and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She reached out with a trembling hand and Senjuro clasped it desperately.

“ Senjuro…” She began to speak. The elf shook his head furiously.

“ Save your strength! I am bringing you to the Temple of Healing now! The priests will save your life!” He told her. A smile made its way onto Mei’s face.

“ I am so happy to have met you…” She said; her face drenched from the pouring rain mingled with Senjuro’s tears. “ Through autumn’s winds and winter’s kiss…” Mei’s eyes glazed over into the realm of death.

“ Our hearts…shall never part…” Senjuro completed the line from a poem he had written in his courtship of her. He threw back his head and shrieked his sorrow to the heavens. When his screams have died down, he cradled his lover’s head in his lap and his son in his arms, weeping silently. Magatsu cried as well, though he knew not what had occurred.

“ If you treasure that harlot so much, join her!” Jintaro’s katana plunged into Senjuro’s back. The grief-stricken elf merely stared at his brother and collapsed. Magatsu fell into the mud and his wails grew all the louder. Jintaro looked open his bastard nephew and leered at it. He raised his katana to finish off the helpless infant when a shadow fell over him.

Jintaro looked upwards into the visage of an amazingly tall elf wearing the mask of a demon. The newcomer was clad in the loose, non-de-script black garments of a commoner. Jintaro roared and swung at the masked elf, only to have his blade intercepted and clamped in position between two of the elf’s fingers. The masked elf placed a palm on Jintaro’s chest and chanted a couple of unintelligible words. A rushing force emanated from the palm, sending Jintaro hurtling back and crashing to a sliding halt in the mud.

Senjuro beheld the visage of his son’s savior and drew up the last of his strength to speak. “ His name is Magatsu…” The masked elf bent and picked up the wailing infant. Magatsu ceased his crying once in his arms.

“ Magatsu, is it…” The masked elf’s voice was gravelly and hoarse, though filled with power. “ It is a good name, Senjuro Yagyu…” Senjuro opened his mouth to speak, only to find his throat choked with blood. The masked elf spun away from the scene of carnage, leaving Senjuro dying behind him. “ He shall be cared for.”

A look of contentment came over Senjuro’s tortured features and the noble-born elf followed Mei into death.

“ Who are you?” Jintaro demanded. “ Who are you that dares to oppose my will?”

“ I am Sendoh Yagyu, the grandmaster of the Kage-Yagyu, and I answer to none save the Emperor and the head of the Yagyu clan!” The masked elf announced. “ Remember my name, little one! And remember your deeds this day!”

Sendoh moved towards a patch of shadow and his form blended with it. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished utterly, leaving Jintaro screaming and ranting over the corpses of Mei and Senjuro.

 

I would call this excellent if perhaps for two things: the violence and the alienism.

There's a lot of violence in the first part. Maybe this is just to advance the story, and there will be relatively little bloodshed later, but I somehow don't believe that will be the case.

Secondly, this setting is clearly in an Asian part of the world. But the idea of putting Tolkein-esque elves there seems like an alien, even absurd idea to me. Maybe you just needed a people "better" than mankind. But the elven people seem like an odd candidate for this.

Aside from those two points, the description and the narration is very good. A bit blurry perhaps, but the rain and the blood can be felt. Something rarely experienced in fan fiction.

This part of the story is intruiging, exciting, and makes me want to read ahead. A great idea and a great place to begin this story.

And to think that I'm not a big fan of that weird Eastern ninja/samurai/katana stuff.

Oh, yeah, and [/endflame].

 

Great , but I have to disagree with Oaz on his opinion with the elves. After reading one of Shura's previous stories, the elves seem very natural in the eastern setting.

 

I couldnt agree more with Shura's re-interpretation of 'classic' fantasy. if anything ive grown sick of goody two shoes lets not kill anybody, frolick thru the grass, perfect hair legolas type elves.

 

I disagree with Oaz in some places, but sort of not really almost agree with the violence thing. In this part of the story I think it was necessary, but I predict a lot that shall not be in the future. These stories often seem to focus on mindless killing, not that that in itself is a bad thing, but sometimes it's overused.
Neh, just a thought. I think this here was brilliant however, my above comment is just speculating on what may happen.

 

I wouldnt know what it is like in the east normaly, but from the Shura stories so far they indeed suit that place very well.

I dont know where but i remember seeing the beggining osmewhere here on CS. Just the start though.


And about violence... I find it makes quite a job to set up the atmosphere in the story. I odnt find it disturbing in the least. And besides what do you think about first when you see Shura? Quite some violence i imagine.


Just keep up like that

 

Me liked it. And yeah, I am tired of the Legolas elves as well.

 

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I have temporarily lost access to my Archon and Maiden of Pain files, amongst other things.



I shall not get into details now except to say that there shall not be an Archon update until I regain access to my files.

Anyway, here is the next installment. I hope you folks enjoy it.

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No Honor

No Virtue

Only

Loyalty

-
Creed of the Kage-Yagyu


Two:

The youth stood upside-down upon his flattened palms, his brow furrowed in deep contemplation. His long, black hair was tied back carelessly into a ponytail that now hung from the back of his head to touch the cold floor.

“ Why are you standing on your hands?” A female voice, cold with disproval, asked. The youth glanced up at the stern features of an elf garbed in the working attire of a shinobi: dark, loose fitting clothes adorned with bandoliers and pouches strapped across the torso, waist and thighs.

“ The blood rushing to my brain helps me to think and before you ask, I felt that standing on my head would result in it becoming as flat as your chest!” He quipped. The elf wrung her hands as if she wished to throttle the youth but another shinobi caught her elbow.

“ We must be off.” The other shinobi said, trying hard to keep the laughter from his voice. “ I’m sure you have better things to do than bandy words with a child.” The female shinobi glared at her comrade and shook his hand off, walking away with an indignant huff.

“ Good luck on this assignment, Syo!” The youth laid his entire body weight on one hand while he waved his other at the shinobi that had saved him from a throttling. Syo chuckled and shook his head ruefully.

“ You had to get her all riled up right before we set off, did you? I suspect I shall be hearing many a earful of her curses and complaints during the journey!” Unlike his lithe and slender companion, Syo was a burly human that seemed ill suited to stealth. He returned the wave as he spun on his heel. “ See you around, Magatsu.”

The shinobi walked out of Shadow Castle, the Kage-Yagyu headquarters’ main doors, leaving the youth called Magatsu still standing on his hands. A few moments passed before Magatsu leapt to his feet and dusted his palms on his clothes. His hands clasped behind him and humming a nonsense song under his breath, Magatsu strolled along the corridors, ignoring the many sidelong looks directed at him by his fellows amongst the Kage-Yagyu. As an organization that served the Empire’s covert interests, discrimination based on one’s race was relatively absent. Within the walls of the Shadow Castle, elves lived, trained, ate, slept and worked alongside humans and the green-skinned, humanoid creatures known as orcs, most of them filling the many supporting roles that allowed the shinobi to carry out their duties. Weapons had to be forged or crafted, supplies had to be procured and distributed and the Shadow Castle had to be cleaned and maintained daily. Herbalists schooled in the ancient herb-craft of the Kage-Yagyu brewed potions and concocted poisons for use by the shinobi in their missions. Adepts skilled in the arcane arts scribed the talismanic scrolls for which the Empire’s spies are so rightly feared. Only a fraction of Shadow Castle’s population was comprised of actual operational shinobi.

Still, Magatsu stood out amongst the motley folk of Shadow Castle. There were as many men and orcs as there were elves but he was the only hybrid present. Magatsu’s young frame was thicker than an elf’s though his facial features, although sharp in comparison to a human’s lacked the delicate cheekbones and chin so typical to those of elven descent. His ears resembled a human’s in every way except for the fact that they tapered slightly to a point at the end. Few called him that to his face, but in the lands of the Empire, there was only one word to describe one such as him: abomination. Even amongst Shadow Castle’s relatively tolerant community, abominations were treated with unease at best, though no one had any motivation to have a personal vendetta against Magatsu, thanks mostly to the young man’s pleasant yet unobtrusive personality.

He was often taken by curious, whimsical moods though, during which he would do extremely strange, though harmless things and had gained a reputation for eccentricity. All in all, Magatsu had few enemies, and fewer friends.

“ Ho, Magatsu!” An orc called out as the young man walked past his workshop. “ Remember that western contraption you were helping me with last week? I have a few hours free tomorrow evening and would like to tinker with it further. Your help would be greatly appreciated!”

“ Of course, Bizen! I’ll come over to your workshop tomorrow!” Magatsu replied. The orcish craftsman had gotten his hands on a wrecked clockwork device apparently imported from the frigid Central Plains to the west of the Empire but his thick fingers were ill suited for manipulating the delicate pincers used to piece and glue the shattered gears and wheels together. Magatsu was up to the task though, and the pair had made good, if painstaking progress over the last week in the restoration of the clockwork device.

“ What’re you up to now, anyhow?” Bizen asked. Magatsu spread his palms in a resigned gesture and shrugged.

“ Sendoh wants to speak to me.” He replied. His casual utterance of the shinobi-master’s name caused Bizen to blanch in affront. The shinobi-master was a figure of legend throughout the Empire. According to the records of the Empire’s ancient histories, Sendoh Yagyu had fought alongside the Imperial Champion Bu-Shin and the First Emperor in the great Chaos Wars at the dawn of the Empire’s birth against demons and other creatures too vile to be named. Sendoh Yagyu had been instrumental in the establishment of the Empire itself all those millennia ago and was widely and correctly considered to be an individual of great wisdom and prowess.

“ You had better not keep the Shadow Lord waiting, young one!” Bizen hurried him on his way, now utterly flustered at the thought of holding back one bound for an audience with Sendoh.

“ See you later, then.” Magatsu bid the orc farewell as he recommenced his journey down into the depths of Shadow Castle, across the Halls of Night where the senior shinobi held their conferences and to the personal chambers of the Shadow Lord himself. A pair of elves standing guard outside Sendoh’s study glared at him ominously as he approached for a few moments before stepping aside and sliding the door open for him. There was a gust of chill air from Sendoh’s study as the door slid open and the elves flinched despite their discipline. Sendoh was as feared as he was respected and rightfully so, for he was a demanding taskmaster to his subordinates and a cruel and ruthless persecutor to the enemies of the Empire. Battle-hardened senior shinobi often pleaded to be absent when Sendoh deigned to interrogate a captured prisoner personally; so brutal and terrible was his penchant for bloodshed and bodily mutilation. Of all the inhabitants of Shadow Castle, only the enigmatic abomination called Magatsu displayed no fear or trepidation at all in the presence of Sendoh Yagyu.

The Shadow Lord’s room was utterly unfurnished save for the presence of a simple writing desk and a huge scroll hanging from the wall. The eastern character that meant ‘Endure’ was written upon it in a master calligrapher’s script. A single lantern was the sole source of illumination within the interior of Sendoh’s study and it did little to drive away the bone aching chill that dominated the atmosphere.

The door slid shut behind him and Magatsu was standing before Sendoh who sat behind a cluttered desk, scribbling on a piece of papyrus. As always, the shinobi-master wore his demon mask, hiding his features behind its toothy grin and leering eyes.

“ Come closer, child.” Sendoh’s gravelly voice echoed off the walls of his sparsely furnished study. As Magatsu approached, the shinobi-master set aside his quill and his document and studied the young man from within the eyeholes of his mask.

“ You wanted to speak to me of something, Sendoh-sama?” Magatsu asked.

“ I wish to discuss your progress in your shinobi training, child.” Sendoh replied. Beneath his fearsome veneer and terrible reputation, the shinobi-master was an old, tired and very lonely elf. Fifteen years have passed since Sendoh brought Magatsu to Shadow Castle as a bawling infant cradled in his arms and never a day went by in which the shinobi-master did not secretly delight in the young man’s existence.

“ Certainly, Sendoh-sama.” Magatsu seated himself across Sendoh’s desk and refilled his teacup from the pot of tea upon it. He poured himself a cup as well and sipped from it as he awaited his foster parent’s speech. Sendoh smiled behind his demon mask.

“ Your instructors tell me that you are extremely skilled in the installation of traps and constructions intended for mischief.” He began and a sheepish look stole over Magatsu’s face: the young man’s traps have put every shinobi instructor that had the misfortune to teach him through an embarrassing ordeal at least once.

“ Your proficiency in stealth is passable, as is your prowess in unarmed combat.” Sendoh went on. “ And you are a fair shot when it comes to hurling shuriken. All in all, there is no reason to believe why you will not become a shinobi when the time comes.”

“ I’ll try my best, Sendoh-sama!” Magatsu began but Sendoh had not finished yet.

“ You have been avoiding sword practice, though. In this aspect, I was informed that you showed extreme reluctance and distaste in the handling of the ninja-to, the primary weapon of every shinobi.” The Shadow Lord leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands before him. “ Are you still afflicted by the old fear, child?”

The smile faded from Magatsu’s face, to be replaced by a troubled look. “ I…do not like the feeling of a sword in my hands, Sendoh-sama. Every time I take up my ninja-to, the walls start closing in on me and the stench of blood fills my nostrils. Please forgive my ineptness.”

Sendoh sighed and shook his head resignedly. “ It cannot be helped, then. A shinobi is as much a warrior as a spy and I fear to deploy one with such compromised combat capabilities out in the field.”

“ No, Sendoh-sama! Let me prove myself! I shall not let you or the Kage-Yagyu down!” Magatsu cried fervently. “ I am to undergo my gempukku this year and I wish for nothing more than to serve the Empire as you do!”

“ As a shinobi?” Despite himself, Sendoh Yagyu could not suppress the surge of pride that welled within his cold, bitter heart. Indeed, the young Magatsu was supposed to undergo his initiation into adulthood this year as if he was a fifteen-year-old human child. Elves matured more slowly and underwent their gempukku at a later age but when it came to a hybrid like Magatsu, not even the ancient Sendoh Yagyu knew the appropriate age suitable for one such as him to come into majority.

“ Yes! I wish to serve the Kage-Yagyu and you as a shinobi!” The young man declared. A sincere smile found its way onto Sendoh’s face, though it was hidden behind his mask.

“ Very well. You shall be assigned a shinobi’s duties upon your coming of age…” Sendoh proclaimed. Magatsu let out a whoop of glee and leapt high into the air, turning a complete somersault before he landed. “ But you shall be excused from taking a shinobi’s vows.”

Magatsu froze in mid-posturing and turned to regard his foster parent curiously. “ Why?” He asked. Sendoh sighed again and drummed his fingers on the surface of his writing desk.

“ I cannot possibly explain it to one as young as you, but I feel that you have not found your true calling in life yet. Only the passing of years will tell if you are truly destined to serve the Empire as a shinobi.” The Shadow Lord picked up his quill and parchment again, indicating that the audience was at an end. Magatsu bowed respectfully in Sendoh’s direction once before walking to the door and sliding it open. He paused and turned around before he left, though to leave Sendoh with one last parting shot.

“ I am! And even if I am not, I shall be!” He declared, thrusting his fist high into the air in a display of youthful enthusiasm and energy.

“ We shall see, child. We shall see.” Sendoh’s voice was tinged with sardonic amusement.

**************************************************


A wall of dread-filled stares greeted Magatsu as he arrived back at the trainee quarters. Human, orc and elf adolescents, shinobi-in-training all, regarded him with horror in their eyes.

“ What?” He demanded. A stumpy orcish child gulped nervously and opened his mouth to speak.

“ There was a trip-wire at the latrine…” He began. Magatsu nodded impatiently.

“ Yes, that was all that was left of one of my creations.” The other trainees winced at the admission. Magatsu’s setups often involved a series of traps so intricately linked that to set off one was to bring about a chain reaction in which the hapless victim would be subjected to one after another of harmless, if humiliating ordeals. His latrine gauntlet had been discovered before anyone could trip it and he had been forced to remove the bags of itching powder, ink darts and wires that he had so cunningly placed. Inadvertently, he had left out a single tripwire and despite the repeated reminders from his fellow trainees; he had not bothered to remove it. After a few months, it became second nature for everyone to simply step over the tripwire on his or her way to the latrine.

“ Well…Kusanagi was drunk from imbibing the rice-wine he stole from the stores and as he went off to relieve himself…well…” The orc explained.

“ Kusanagi?” Dread began to make itself evident on Magatsu’s face as he considered the implications. Kusanagi was a particularly bad-tempered and vindictive fellow trainee with a penchant for alcoholism and violence. “ He tripped and fell into the latrine?”

“ There was no way his clothes could be cleaned and he had to throw them away, though replacing his clothes for him should be the least of your worries now…”

“ Where…” Magatsu began to ask but the roar of fury that echoed through the trainee quarters answered his question.

“ MAGATSU!” Kusanagi’s voice thundered along the corridors, causing every trainee to jump in astonishment. “ WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE RUNT?”

Kusanagi’s hulking form darkened the doorway. Even at the age of fifteen, the young human towered over many of Shadow Castle’s inhabitants. His facial features were broad and flat and his hair close cropped to his skull. Despite his bulk, the burly youth carried himself with the grace and dexterity of a promising shinobi, except during the times he was drunk. He had cleaned himself up after his dunk in the latrine but his fury had yet to subside. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Magatsu.

“ AHA!” He cried, wincing as the volume of his own voice tormented his hung-over skull. When he spoke again, it was in a much softer voice, though the tone was as harsh as ever.

“ There you are, you rascal! I’m going to pound your head in!” Kusanagi lunged at Magatsu but the smaller youth evaded his grasp and dashed towards the exit after deftly sidestepping him. Kusanagi roared, winced and clutched his temples for a moment, and raced off after Magatsu.

“ Halt so I can smack you!” Kusanagi called after Magatsu’s fleeing back.

“ I don’t think so!” Magatsu retorted over his shoulder. Kusanagi growled and redoubled his efforts in his pursuit of the one who was indirectly responsible for his dunking. The two raced along the corridors of Shadow Castle, knocking aside anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Magatsu led Kusanagi to a series of uninhabited rooms and plucked a small, ceramic sphere from his waist-pouch. With a sharp snap of his wrist, he flung the sphere so that it shattered upon the floor, causing a dense gray mist to fill the corridor outside the rooms. Kusanagi reacted with a shinobi’s training, hurling himself backwards into a roll so that he emerged from the mist, a shuriken held at the ready in one hand.

“ You’re not going to use that on me, are you?” Magatsu’s voice chimed from within the depths of the mist. Kusanagi snarled and flung his weapon at where he deduced Magatsu would be based on direction his voice came from. Too late, he remembered the smaller trainee’s skill in throwing his voice and stamped his foot in frustration as he heard his shuriken clatter uselessly on the floor.

“ Come out and fight like a man, damn it!” Kusanagi protested. Magatsu did not reply but Kusanagi had the feeling that the half-man was jeering and sticking out his tongue at him through the mist.

“ The effects of your mist bomb will not last forever, Magatsu! This is a dead end, with nowhere to go! I’ll get my hands on you sooner or later!”

“ Come and get me, then.” Magatsu replied. Kusanagi paced the breadth of the corridor impatiently until the last vestiges of mist from Magatsu’s mist bomb vanished. Readying another shuriken in each hand, the burly youth flattened his body against the wall and inched forwards to the series of rooms Magatsu had disappeared into. He flung open the sliding door of a room and pulled back his arm in readiness to hurl his shuriken when he realized that it was empty.

“ At the rate you’re going, you will take forever to find me!” Magatsu’s voice echoed from behind the door of another room. “ Here I am!”

Kusanagi slid open the door of that room and rolled away from the opening, as if expecting a barrage of projectiles to originate from within. No weapons flew out in an attempt to impale him and after a moment’s hesitation; Kusanagi peeped around the corner of the doorway into the room.

Magatsu stood in the center of the cluttered room that had been used as a storeroom in previously, his arms folded calmly in his voluminous sleeves. There was a look of supreme smugness upon his face, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Kusanagi. The distance between the doorway and Magatsu was without a doubt heavily trapped but Kusanagi was confident that his awareness to that fact combined with his skills and reflexes would allow him to evade each trap as he tripped it.

“ Prepare yourself for a sound beating!” Kusanagi charged into the room, deftly hop-stepping over a series of tripwires as he did so. His foot depressed a pressure sensitive switch, causing a pair of brooms to swoop down from the ceiling. The young human kicked his own feet out from under him, falling on his back to avoid the arc of the swinging brooms and rolled back into a readied crouch. The brooms were pulled back into their original positions by an elastic cord and there was a faint ‘click’ as they were affixed by their catches.

“ You’ll have to do better than that!” Kusanagi said. Magatsu merely quirked an eyebrow and shrugged.

Kusanagi clenched a fist and charged, bellowing his fury as he did so. As he neared, Magatsu leapt high into the air, reaching for the support beams of the low ceiling. Kusanagi made as if to leap up after him but he found that his footing had become extremely slippery.

“ A greased floor!” Kusanagi yelped as his arms flailed desperately in the air in a vain bid for balance.

“ Indeed.” Magatsu quipped, hanging from the ceiling with one hand. He reached into his waist-pouch with his other and produced a small pebble that he had picked up a few days ago on a whim. He flung the projectile at Kusanagi’s flailing form. The pebble bounced off his broad nose and knocked him off balance completely. The fall of his heavy bulk provided all the momentum needed for him to continue sliding along the greased floor. Kusanagi blanched in horror as he realized that a number of floorboards have been raised to form an impromptu ramp which his body went flying off of into the air. His airborne form was snared by a noose hanging from one of the support beams of the ceiling and the momentum caused him to spin around and around the support beam like a grotesque windmill. The rope that formed a noose about Kusanagi’s thick waist snapped after a few revolutions, dumping the human into an unceremonious pile upon the floor, where he lay giddy and confused for many moments.

Magatsu dropped back down and began making his way to the exit, easily avoiding his own trip wires as he did so. He paused at the doorway and looked back upon his latest victim, who was by now getting to his feet with a resolute growl. Kusanagi was a fearsome opponent indeed and Magatsu once again thanked the gods that he had seen fit to prepare this room long ago in anticipation for such a day.

“ Wait…” Kusanagi growled. Magatsu waved a mocking gesture of farewell to him and began striding down the corridors, away from his trapped room. The young human beat his fist upon the floor in a gesture of impotent anger and stood up. As he left, Kusanagi carefully avoided the portion of the floor that was greased, the raised floorboards and a few suspicious looking patches amongst other things. He forgot about the switch that activated the brooms, though and they swiped him in the back with enough force to send him staggering towards the doorway.

Right into the tripwires.


**************************************************

When Magatsu reappeared in the trainee quarters later with a self-satisfied look upon his face, his peers applauded him generously. At least, until the bruised, battered and sullen form of Kusanagi entered. He stomped over to where Magatsu stood and towered over him, glaring down at him balefully. All the trainees held their breath as they anticipated what would come next. To everyone’s surprise, Kusanagi extended his hand in a gesture of comradeship.

“ You win this time, Magatsu. I congratulate and acknowledge your superiority. Think of the things we can accomplish together as allies! Let there be no grudges against us from this day on!” He said. Magatsu blinked in astonishment. He was used to being treated with grudging admiration, derisive amusement and simple contempt and this sudden offer and display comradeship took him aback. Numb with surprise he readily clasped Kusanagi’s hand in his own.

“ Allies we are…” Magatsu’s words were cut off in a strangled choke as Kusanagi seized his collar as well, pulling him in close. With a violent heave, Kusanagi flung the much smaller Magatsu over his shoulder, slamming him into the floor and driving the breath from his lungs. Kusanagi regarded his winded foe gasping at his feet and patted his hands in satisfaction.

Magatsu began to laugh abruptly, sprawled out on the floor as he was, startling Kusanagi and the rest of trainees.

“ Hey, I took special care to avoid hitting your head! You aren’t about to go all crazy on us now, are you?” Kusanagi asked tentatively. Magatsu leapt to his feet, his sides heaving with genuine mirth. He had prided himself on his wits and cunning all these years only to be outsmarted by a thick-limbed human like Kusanagi who approached him with an offer of friendship.

“ No. I am fine.” He turned to regard Kusanagi who was still looking at him suspiciously. “ Does the offer of an alliance still stand, now that we are even?”

Kusanagi burst out laughing at the statement. “ You would trust me even after all this? You are a funny fellow indeed!” Magatsu’s mirth did not cease and their combined laughter echoed throughout the trainee quarters, drawing more than a few onlookers.

“ You have a big heart for one so small, I’ll grant you that!” Kusanagi declared. “ I shall be honored to have a friend such as you!”

“ Excellent, friend Kusanagi! I would say that you have a suitably large brain for your large form as well!” Magatsu retorted.

“ I shall take that as a compliment!” Kusanagi declared. With that, the duo broke out into a fresh wave of laughter and sealing their friendship.

 

A very good read, Shura. I rather like the relative absence (so far) of detailed descriptions of violence too. Don't let that stop you from writing the way you want, though.

Looking forward to reading this as much as the next Shura story.

[relurk]

 

Now that I've gotten around to reading it, I can say that it is really very and extremly good.

 

OK, here's the next part.

Some writer's notes: Shura VS Kuroi Itezeru/Magatsu Yagyu

Shura is a villian and at best an anti-hero, whereas Magatsu is a hero, albeit a somewhat unorthodox one.

The first part of Flight of the Black Crane will be a lot more lighthearted than the first part of Shura. It will also be a lot less violent. Relatively, anyway.

I'm still toying with the idea of weaving previous Shuras into this story, ie. the 14th or 15th incarnation.

With these musings, I bid you to read my work and hopefully enjoy it! Thanks.


**************************************************

Three:


The shinobi instructor started in surprise as he sensed the presence of the Shadow Lord behind him. He hurriedly turned around and bowed in respect. Sendoh dismissed his salutations with a wave of his hand.

“ Greetings, my lord!” The shinobi said. “ Your presence inspires us all.”

“ You seem surprised to see me here.” Sendoh walked to the edge of the cliff upon which the both of them stood. It overlooked a vast forest of gigantic mushrooms that stretched beyond eyeshot. Many centuries ago, the Kage-Yagyu dug deep into the bowels of the earth with the aid of otherworldly allies, the Grundians, a squat and compact race of humanoids with an uncanny affinity for stone. Many miles beneath the surface of the earth, they discovered a huge subterranean cavern through which a river rich in rare and precious minerals were deposited ran across. Trading deals were struck and concessions made between the Kage-Yagyu and the Grundians. The Grundians would be allowed to sift through the river’s depths for deposits of the minerals and the Kage-Yagyu would be granted considerable discounts when purchasing weapons forged from said minerals from the Grundians.

Foremost amongst the priorities of the two leaders, however was the establishment and fortification of a garrisoned outpost along the river in which the Grundians could carry out their sifting. A variety of strange creatures lived within the subterranean mushroom forest and many of them were carnivores with a taste for humanoid flesh. Over the centuries, the stalwart Grundian warriors have had little difficulty in holding their carved niche against the native inhabitants of the mushroom forest with the aid and military intelligence provided by the shinobi scouts of the Kage-Yagyu. The mushroom forest served another purpose for the Kage-Yagyu, though.

“ You have not presided over an initiation trial for nearly a decade, my lord.” The shinobi instructor said. “ Thus my surprise at your presence here.”

Sendoh nodded perfunctorily in his acceptance of the shinobi’s explanation and returned his attention to the mushroom forest. Whenever the time came for a batch of trainees to undergo their final test before they would be considered shinobi, a huge section of the mushroom forest was cordoned off and warded by the shadow sorcery of the Kage-Yagyu. The shinobi instructors would heavily trap the cordoned area and those creatures stuck within the perimeters of the trial area would put a measure of randomness into the entire affair. Trainees were required to cross the length of the cordoned area within a specified time period. They were free to utilize any skills or tools they might have thought to bring along.

“ How are things proceeding?” Sendoh asked.

“ According to the other shinobi instructors stationed beyond the perimeters, there has been relatively little activity from the creatures outside the trial area. A day has passed since the trial has begun and we should glimpse the first arrivals by tomorrow afternoon.”

“ Good.” Sendoh spun on his heel and began walking towards the enchanted stairwell that would return him to Shadow Castle within moments. The shinobi instructor trailed him for a few moments in case he had any further instructions to impart.

“ Inform me immediately if any complications occur.” The Shadow Lord said. The shinobi instructor bowed in acquiescence as Sendoh’s form blurred and faded away upon entering the stairwell.

**************************************************

Magatsu and Kusanagi glided through the shadowy depths of the mushroom forest, exuberant grins etched upon their faces. Although they had not shown exceptional results in their usual training, they excelled when it came to actual combat and field operations. Already the duo had subdued a pair of grudge-bearing trainees that sought to give Kusanagi and his friend a sound trashing and had sneaked past a column of strange ant-like creatures.

Their alliance had not been ill forged, for Magatsu’s wiliness and cunning complemented Kusanagi’s great strength and battle prowess perfectly, as proven in the previous conflicts where they had triumphed together.

A sudden rustle in a fern bush ahead caused both of them to pluck a shuriken from the bandoliers strapped across their torsos and fall into a battle stance. Kusanagi’s expression was grim as he addressed his ally.

“ Did you hear that?” He asked. Magatsu nodded and began his advance forwards, gesturing for his friend to cover him should the source of the disturbance prove to be hostile. He did not get far, though as the bush parted to reveal the retreating back of another trainee, Hamako, a shorthaired orc girl.

“ AHA!” Kusanagi raised his hand to hurl his shuriken at the girl’s back, thinking that this was yet another attempt at an ambush upon them.

“ No! Wait!” Magatsu’s frantic shout caused Kusanagi to cease his attack and squint in confusion.

“ What’s wrong?” He demanded. Magatsu looked over his shoulder and the young human could see the dread on his face.

“ This is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves, you big oaf!” Hamako’s voice was cold with its customary arrogance. She turned and began running towards Kusanagi and Magatsu, away from the bush from which she emerged. Magatsu took the cue and did likewise, running towards his friend who still stood there dumbstruck with a shuriken in his hand.

“ Wha…” Magatsu seized Kusanagi’s forearm before the big human could complete his sentence and began pulling him away. Kusanagi was about to shrug his friend’s hand off until a deep, rumbling tremor knocked all three of the trainees off their feet.

“ Giant centipede!” Hamako cried. “ It must have caught our scent!” Both Magatsu and Kusanagi regarded her with blank skepticism and disbelief until the enormous, mandible-adorned head of the recently named creature emerged from the bush, knocking down a pair of giant mushrooms as it did so.

“ Argh!” Kusanagi shrieked in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. “ I hate worms!” He scrambled to his feet and began to flee, his fellow trainees doing likewise. The giant centipede clattered after them. It was shockingly swift for a creature of its great size and it gained on the trio rapidly.

“ We cannot outrun it!” Hamako cried, her voice becoming hoarse with exhaustion.

“ Take to higher ground!” Magatsu instructed, untwining his grappling hook and beginning a hasty swing for it to gain momentum. He flung it into the canopy of mushroom caps after a few revolutions and began his ascent as fast as he could. Hamako managed the feat easily enough, though Kusanagi fumbled a few times. Nevertheless, they all managed to climb onto the cap of a giant mushroom moments before the giant centipede crashed into where they had been standing.

“ Quick thinking there, Magatsu.” Kusanagi congratulated him between pants as he strove to catch his breath. Magatsu grinned at the compliment and was about to utter a self-congratulatory remark when he noticed Hamako peeking worriedly over the edge of the mushroom cap and studying the giant centipede.

“No…I do not think that we are in safety yet.” She said. There was a terrific crunch as the giant centipede bit through the mushroom’s stalk, sending it crashing to the ground. The three trainees leapt away as the mushroom fell, tucking their bodies into a roll to absorb the impact as best as they could.

Magatsu was more dexterous than Kusanagi by far and ended up relatively unhurt unlike his friend whose body glanced off the stalk of another mushroom and ended up in a bouncing roll across the damp forest floor that left him in a winded and dazed heap. The giant centipede reared above Magatsu and struck in a single, swift movement. The young trainee leapt aside as the centipede’s mandible tore through the stalk of the mushroom behind him. The centipede flung the severed fungus aside and advanced upon Magatsu, its head weaving to and fro as it tried to anticipate the movements of the trainee.

Magatsu’s heart hammered in his chest and a cold spike of fear tingled down the length of his spine. He could sense the malevolence rolling off the gigantic monster and he knew there and then that they were not dealing with mindless beast, but rather a cruel and cunning predator. He drew a shuriken and readied it, though he did not know what he hoped to accomplish with the puny weapon.

Kusanagi groaned somewhere off to his left and the centipede’s head darted towards the prone human, its mandibles clacking in hunger.

“ Over here, big and ugly!” Magatsu bellowed at the centipede, hoping to distract it from his friend until he could recover from the effects of his fall. He hurled the shuriken at the centipede’s head where it bounced off harmlessly. The monster hissed and waved its mandibles at him but returned its attention to Kusanagi quickly. It reared up to strike and Magatsu ran towards his prone friend in desperation, seeking to somehow drag the heavyset human to safety.

There was a sudden ‘boom’ as a ceramic sphere shattered upon the forest floor between the trainees and the centipede. A cloud of dense, gray mist enshrouded the entire area and the centipede hissed in confusion as the distinctive sharp odor of the mist bomb masked the scent of the trainees.

“ Let us leave while we can!” Hamako whispered tersely into Magatsu’s ear as she tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“ Help me move him!” Magatsu demanded, pulling one of Kusanagi’s thick arms over his shoulders and straining under the human’s weight. Hamako cursed under her breath but she complied, taking Kusanagi’s other arm. Together, the three of them moved as swiftly as they could through the forest, seeking to leave the ravenous centipede far behind them.

**************************************************


They crouched by the side of a mushroom stalk, panting breathlessly from almost an hour of non-stop running. Kusanagi had recovered swiftly enough from his fall, taking the burden of his weight off the shoulders of the other two trainees.

Hamako leaned against the mushroom stalk, holding her sides and wheezing for breath and Magatsu took the opportunity to study her. The slightly built orc girl was considered something of a prodigy, being more intelligent than her usually dull-witted kind by far. Her face was narrow and had a greenish complexion speckled by small stripes of black under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Her thin-lipped mouth lacked the tusk-like lower canines of an orc, though her slightly jutting lower jaw made her heritage evident. The fact that she probably had human blood in her veins as well struck Magatsu abruptly. Like him, she was an abomination, though such creatures are viewed with less condemnation amongst the lesser races of orcs and humans.

“ What are you staring at?” The ever-perceptive Hamako growled. She had noticed Magatsu’s scrutiny within moments of its beginning.

“ How did you manage to rile that monster?” Magatsu shot back. “ And why were you in front of us? Neither Kusanagi nor I detected anyone overtaking our lead.”

“ You mean you never bothered to keep a lookout, assuming that every trainee group would attempt to ambush the notorious Kusanagi and Magatsu just to prove their prowess.” Hamako sneered. “ I have no such need to prove myself, especially not to fools like you lot!”

“ Where is the rest of your group?” Kusanagi asked, a look of concern coming over his face. Despite the gruff demeanor he had always exhibited to his fellow trainees, he had little wish to see any of them come to harm. “ Did that monster…?”

“ I am alone.” Both Magatsu and Kusanagi exchanged surprised glances at Hamako’s announcement. The shinobi instructors had specifically told them to travel in groups of three, or in pairs at the very least and the two youths had been very grateful for that decision. Many an obstacle they have encountered so far had been overcome with relative ease by their combined talents. For Hamako to make it this far on her own was a testament to her prowess as a shinobi. The orc girl read their expressions and a smirk came over her face.

“ Unlike the incompetent louts that you are, I am more than capable of making my way across the forest by myself. Safety in numbers is a concept solely for the weak!” She stood up and began walking away. “ I shall leave you to whatever doubtlessly amusing bungling the two of you will pull off now. There is still much ground to be covered! Farewell!”

She broke off into a run that carried her swiftly out of sight, leaving a bemused Magatsu and fuming Kusanagi behind.

“ That arrogant little freak!” The big youth pounded his fist into his palm. “ She needs a little shaking around the collar to get her act together!”

“ Leave her be.” Magatsu waved a hand dismissively, amused at his friend’s chagrin. “ We have our own journey to make and I am sure you do not wish to arrive at the finishing point after her, yes?”

“ After her, no!” Kusanagi growled. He got to his feet and began striding off, looking back over his shoulder once to hurry his friend. “ Let us be off! I am eager to get this done and over with!”

Magatsu nodded in agreement and the duo resumed their journey across the mushroom forest.

**************************************************

The Shadow Lord stood once again at the edge of the cliff, glaring ominously at the shinobi instructor that had dared to summon him. The hapless elf cowered most appropriately at the aura of fear that radiated off Sendoh’s body and the bone-biting chill that permeated the atmosphere whenever he was around.

“ For your own sake, shinobi, I hope you have not wasted my time.” He said.

“Definitely not, my lord. You wished to be informed of any possible complications and I have just received a most disturbing piece of information from our Grundian allies.” The shinobi answered hurriedly. He was about to continue when a gruff voice interrupted him.

“ I shall speak for myself.” A Grundian warrior clad from head to toe in heavy armor stomped towards the Shadow Lord and his subordinate on short and stumpy though powerful legs. His thick black beard covered most of his face, hanging nearly to his knees. He squinted up into Sendoh’s demon mask, seemingly unaffected by the unearthly chill that had daunted so many in the presence of the Shadow Lord and made a brusque, curt bow. “ Good day to you, Shadow Lord. I am Arcus Hartstrike, captain of the third Grundian Infantry.”

“ Speak then…captain.” Sendoh waved a hand in a condescending manner.

“ A prisoner has escaped from our containment cells two days ago and we fear that he has been trapped within the stretch of forest the Kage-Yagyu have cordoned off.” Arcus Hartstrike began.

“ It is of no consequence.” The Shadow Lord sneered as he turned to leave. “ If the trainees are unable to deal with one of your kind, it is best for them that they die here and now, rather than disgrace the Kage-Yagyu as shinobi.”

Arcus Hartstrike quirked an eyebrow at the Shadow Lord’s biting and insulting statement but he was not angered, having been accustomed to his arrogance a long time ago. “ If you would allow me to finish, lord…”

Sendoh paused and inclined his head slightly towards the squat Grundian warrior. “ Yes, yes. Do finish up your tale if it does your heart good to waste my time!”

“ The prisoner that had escaped was not just any prisoner, lord. He was the one once known as the Destroyer and we fear that he might just be a little bit too much for your trainees to handle!” Arcus said in a deliberately even tone, hoping to see the effect it had on the insufferably arrogant Shadow Lord. He was not disappointed. Sendoh’s body stiffened and he turned towards the shinobi instructor attending him.

“ Gather the rest of the instructors and get them to meet me here!” He snapped. The elf dashed off to comply. Sendoh glared at Arcus.

“ Are your jailors so incompetent that they allowed one such as him to escape?” The Shadow Lord demanded. “ I agreed to his incarceration on this plane of existence only because I was assured that he would never escape!”

“ Nevertheless, he did. He is not called the Destroyer for nothing.” Arcus’s implacable calm only served to irk Sendoh further.

“ You have unleashed a scourge upon this world!” Sendoh’s voice was tight with anger reined in only through his supreme discipline.

“ And we are ready to deal with it.” Arcus said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder where a company of heavily armored Grundian warriors awaited their captain’s instructions. “ We could really do with the services of your shinobi, though.”

“ You shall have it. We can spare no effort in apprehending the Destroyer.” Arcus was about to thank the Shadow Lord when he spoke again, his tone harsh with anger. “ I shall have another talk with your General after all this is over, captain. It seems as if we have a bit of…re-negotiation to carry out over the trade concessions between our peoples in view of this current fiasco.”

“ Aye, as you would have it, lord.” Arcus bowed once again. Such affairs were beyond the concern of a simple soldier and craftsman like him.

**************************************************

Magatsu and Kusanagi jogged on evenly, keeping their senses focused for any hint of a threat from the denizens of the forests and from rival groups of trainees. They had left the others far behind, though and the only humanoid tracks the duo came across were the occasional, barely noticeable signs of Hamako’s passing. The orc was extremely skilled in the ways of stealth and wilderness crossing, Magatsu noted.

As the hours passed, they began to let their guard down, chatting casually as they moved. Magatsu was trying to impress Kusanagi with the ingenious facts he had discovered within the pages of a factual book of natural law when they spotted Hamako some distance away in front of them. Kusanagi stifled a bored yawn.

“ About time something more interesting than listening to your jabber happens, Magatsu.” He said, reaching for a shuriken. “ Let’s subdue her and leave her tied up, hanging from underneath a mushroom cap! That should teach her a lesson!”

“ That would be a great waste of time.” Magatsu objected. “ I say we bypass her and be on our way. We are nearing the end of our journey and I’m sure you prefer the comforts of the trainee quarters to the hard forest floor for another night.”

Kusanagi scratched his head and snorted but he returned his shuriken to its holding place. “ You are right, as usual. Well, then. Let us finish this and head on home, shall we?”

There was a worried frown on Hamako’s face as they neared and she moved to stand in their way.

“ What do you want?” Kusanagi snarled, raising a clenched fist to menace the orc girl. Magatsu hurriedly threw out an interposing arm between the mutually hostile human and orc.

“ I have no inclination to do battle with you, oaf, but the results of such a conflict, should it come to pass, would be pretty obvious.” Hamako replied coldly with her arms folded. “ You would be a cold and stiff corpse within moments of angering me.”

“ Why you…” Kusanagi tried to push past Magatsu but the half-man held fast.

“ Answer his question, Hamako! And do it swiftly!” Magatsu snapped. “ Why are you standing in our way?” A look of contempt crept into Hamako’s eyes.

“ Are the two of you such utter dullards?” She said. “ Look around you! Something strange has just passed this way!”

Kusanagi swept his gaze around the general vicinity and scoffed. “ I see nothing out of the ordinary. And the only strange thing that has passed this way would be you, you deformed freak!”

That statement touched a nerve with the orc girl and she bared her teeth in a snarl. She reached for a shuriken, as did Kusanagi when Magatsu’s sharp voice startled them.

“ Enough of this!” Magatsu turned a dire glare on Kusanagi who adopted a sheepish look as he abruptly recalled the mixed parentage of his companion. If anything, Magatsu was more of a freak than Hamako could ever be. Seeing the big human chastened by his companion seemed to placate Hamako and she resumed her haughty poise.

“ She is right.” Magatsu’s visual examination was far more detailed than Kusanagi’s. He bent down and pointed to a huge, humanoid footprint indented into the forest floor beneath them. The trail went on ahead, running parallel to the course they would have taken to reach their destination. “ These tracks belong to no trainee.”

Kusanagi swore at his mistake and shook his head in disbelief. “ Imagine the size of the feet that made those tracks! Perhaps some fearsome monster awaits us along the way.”

“ No. The footprints are undoubtedly humanoid, made by someone who is not wearing footwear of any sort.” Hamako pointed out the width between the footprints of each leg and the distance from one pair of footprints to another. “ This individual is wide in girth and his or her legs are short, judging from the tracks. The depths of the indentations indicate that whoever has gone on before us is at least ten times heavier than Kusanagi!”

“ He might not be a threat at all if he is no monster.” Magatsu said, hoping to dispel the worried looks on Kusanagi and Hamako’s faces. “ Let us continue on our way and see what we shall find.”

“ Our?” Kusanagi echoed skeptically.

“ We?” Hamako did the same.

“ Yes.” Magatsu sighed theatrically. He placed a hand on Hamako’s shoulder and pulled her into a trot with Kusanagi following behind. “ ‘We’. There are now three in this group, the group that shall arrive back home first!”

Hamako brushed off the half-man’s hand roughly. “ I have not agreed to an alliance with the two of you! I shall spell it out in clear, concise terms that we are simply walking along the same path for now!”

“ You insufferable little…” Kusanagi was about to reach out and throttle the orc girl but Magatsu stopped him with a pointed look.

“ We need your intellect and expertise, Hamako, and I am sure the both of us are more than capable of supporting you in any combat situation.” He offered.

“ We shall work together, then.” The orc replied after a few moments of consideration. “ For now.”

“ That is good enough for me.” Magatsu agreed. Kusanagi opened his mouth to voice his dissent but he was hushed abruptly by both of his companions. Magatsu and Hamako fell into a readied battle stance and Kusanagi did the same.

“ What is it?” He whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Hamako pointed ahead of her with a shuriken. The huge silhouette of a sitting humanoid could be seen in the distance, resting its back against the stalk of a gigantic mushroom. Magatsu began to advance slowly and cautiously towards the sitting humanoid, though his hands remained bare of any weapons.

“ The hordes of demons came boiling over…” The stranger’s voice was fevered and fervent and it was spoken in a tongue that belonged to the inhabitants of the Elemental Plane of Earth, a language in which the trio had been schooled in. “ Glinting eyes and yellowed teeth…spears! Knives! Claws!”

Magatsu stepped closer and beheld the most gargantuan Grundian he had ever seen. The stranger’s body was Grundian in proportion with thick, short and heavily muscled limbs that sprouted from a broad, barrel shaped torso but he was thrice the typical height of his kin, towering over even Kusanagi. His skull was adorned with a mass of red, unkempt hair and his face was covered with an equally unkempt beard. He wore a thick, tattered robe of a brown hue that left his shins and arms bare. Magatsu marveled at the number of scars that covered every exposed part of his skin.

“ A Grundian.” Hamako said, a thoughtful frown on her face. “ Why would one of them be here and so ill-equipped in such hostile an area?”

“ The pain…!” The Grundian cried, waving his hands as if to ward off some imaginary tormentor. “ Wouldn’t listen to me…none of them…could not see what had to be done…!”

“ He has a fever!” Kusanagi laid a palm on the tormented creature’s forehead. “ He has probably been separated from his patrol, wandering around lost in the mushroom forest until we found him.”

Magatsu unhitched the hollow bamboo sticks that carried his drinking water while Kusanagi took out a small, metal pot from his pouch. The half-man filled the pot with water and began adding various powdered herbs from a collection of small bottles in his waist pouch into it. Kusanagi then began digging a pit in which to start a fire.

“ What are you doing?” Hamako demanded.

“ Helping him.” Kusanagi answered brusquely, engrossed as he was in digging the fire-pit with a small shovel.

“ We cannot possibly leave him sick and raving here like this.” Magatsu explained before Hamako could object further. “ There is no telling when a monster like that centipede shows up and makes a meal out of him.”

“ All the more we should be leaving now that we know the way is clear!” The orc girl said. “ Why should we care about this…him?”

“ I will not leave anyone in such a plight.” Magatsu said quietly, a tone of finality in his voice. Hamako growled and threw up her hands. She stalked over to Magatsu and snatched away his waist pouch.

“ Are you trying to poison him?” She snapped into his startled face. “ I shall mix the fever remedy. Go and help the stupid and clumsy Kusanagi before he cuts off his toes with that shovel of his!”

Magatsu suppressed an amused grin as he ambled over to his human friend. Behind him, Hamako began distributing the herbs professionally.

**************************************************

The trio now sat around the delirious Grundian. Kusanagi had poured the herbal remedy down his throat an hour ago and the stranger was now in a disturbed state of slumber, his limbs twitching in agitation and expressions of horror and pain appearing on his face. Still, his breathing had become less shallow and the faint sheen of sweat that appeared on his skin indicated that his fever had broken.

“ Dead…all dead…their eyes…” The Grundian mumbled. Magatsu directed a questioning look at his companions but Hamako merely shrugged, as ignorant as him and Kusanagi had already dozed off.

“ Looks like our journey will be delayed for yet another night.” He said. Hamako frowned as she looked behind her. In the sunless depths of the underground cavern, only their innate sense of time allowed them to mark the hours.

“ No other group is close to catching up with us. Such is our lead.” Hamako replied. “ There is no cause for concern as we shall still be the first to arrive.”

“ You used the terms ‘us’, ‘our’ and ‘we’ in three consecutive sentences.” Magatsu pointed out, an amused glint in his eyes. Hamako snarled and turned away, though her embarrassment was obvious.

“ Not enough power…he promised me power…” The Grundian’s ravings went on. “ Power enough to save my people…lead them to glory…no!”

Magatsu poured the last of his water down the fevered being’s throat. He gulped it down thirstily, though it did little to soothe his dreams. Looking behind him, Magatsu saw that Hamako resting against the stalk of another mushroom, her eyes closed in slumber. He yawned and stretched out beside the fire that Kusanagi had built. Within moments, he too was fast asleep, despite the constant stream of murmurs from the Grundian.

The Grundian’s breathing gradually became steadier and steadier as a couple of hours passed and his ravings became complete sentences.

“ They betrayed me. They refused to see the truth. They were blind! Blind!” His voice rose in volume, though it was not loud enough to rouse the three trainees. “ Master! I did your bidding! I did what you asked me to! I killed them all! I wiped out their families! I destroyed them!”

His eyes popped open abruptly. They gleamed a bright red in the perpetual gloom of the mushroom forest and they burned with unholy power.

“ I Destroyed them.”

 

Shura I know you have enough on your hands (like cleaning rifles )
But please try not to take soo long between portions of the story. Its too good to be left alone.
Hope to see the next parts soon.

 

How... excessivly brilliant
I'm sure you can take a few moments between rifle cleaning to jot down a few words

 

This is cool. More please.

 

Alright, I apologize for the delay in updating this. Some technical difficulties concerning my files have just recently been rectified and I can finally begin writing again properly.

Anyway, here's the next part. Hope you people enjoy it. Thanks.
**************************************************

Four:
Magatsu awoke with a startled gasp, fleeing the grasp of some nightmare that was rapidly fading from his memory. His gaze swept around in a wide arc, instantly detecting Kusanagi’s snoring form and the slight outline of Hamako resting against a gigantic mushroom stalk. The orc girl was stirring from her slumber as well and she blinked her eyes blearily in an attempt to rid the sleep from them.

“ You stopped to aid me.” A deep, powerful voice said behind him, causing Magatsu to spin about to regard the speaker. It was the Grundian, looking decidedly worse for the wear but on the road to a full recovery. “ I am grateful, young ones.”

Magatsu blinked in surprise for a few moments as the Grundian executed a seated bow and waved his hands in a hasty and polite acknowledgement. “ It was nothing, sir! We simply couldn’t leave you here like this!”

“ Nevertheless, you have gone out of your way to assist me and I thank you for your kindness.” The Grundian replied, his words still slightly slurred from his fever. “ Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Menklias.”

“ And I am Magatsu.” The young trainee got to his feet and bowed formally. He gestured to his companions in turn. “ The one still asleep is Kusanagi and the girl is Hamako.”

“ I am honored, young Magatsu.” Menklias pulled himself up, bracing his body against the mushroom stalk for support and took a few wavering steps. He sighed in relief as his legs supported his considerable weight quite adequately. “ Alas, I am not usually subject to such bouts of illnesses. I hope I have not inconvenienced your band overmuch.”

“ It was hardly any trouble…” Magatsu began, but Hamako cut him off as she elbowed him aside to stand before the massive Grundian, a suspicious look on her face.

“ You have not named your clan, Menklias-sama.” She pointed out, trying to keep the tone of her voice as civil as she could. “ Who are you and why are you out here in such a condition?”

The conversation roused Kusanagi and the big youth sat up, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Magatsu whirled on Hamako, a rebuke on his lips but Menklias merely sighed and chuckled ruefully.

“ You are sharp indeed, little girl and wise to the ways of my people.” He said. “ Nothing remains of the Lightningfist clan save for my brother, whom I have not seen in an unimaginably long time and I. We are outcasts and even now, I flee my captors.”

“ You are a fugitive from the Grundian fortress?” Hamako took a few steps back and assumed a defensive stance. “ What have you done to warrant such a punishment?”

An expression of utter remorse and sorrow came over Menklias’s tormented features. He hung his head and bowed his shoulders as if in unimaginable agony. “ I shall not answer that question, little Hamako. The burden of my crimes is mine to bear alone.”

“ That statement has rendered you untrustworthy in my eyes!” The orc girl cried and drew a pair of shuriken from the bandolier strapped across her body. Magatsu caught her wrists before she could hurl the weapons.

“ He has done us no harm and has treated us with nothing but respect and courtesy!” He snapped, struggling against the surprisingly strong orc girl. “ What do you think you’re doing, behaving in such a manner?”

“ Let me go, you fool!” Hamako snarled. “ You trust too easily and willingly!”

“ He could have slain us all in our sleep if he wished us harm!” Magatsu retorted.

“ That does not make him an ally to our cause!” The orc girl managed to wrench a hand free and drop the shuriken it grasped before tangling it in Magatsu’s collar. With a heave and a tuck of her hip, she hurled the half-man over her shoulder and onto the forest floor, driving the breath from his lungs. “ If he is no ally, then he can only be an enemy!”

Magatsu caught the front of Hamako’s garment, preventing her from standing up so that she could menace the huge Grundian. The struggle began anew and turned into a grappling match between the two young trainees. It did not last for long, though. Kusanagi strode over and clamped a strong hand behind the necks of each of his comrades before yanking them apart and holding them so that their feet dangled above the forest floor.

He cast an amused look at Magatsu and smirked. “ This is hardly the way to express an interest in a girl, Magatsu.”

“ What?” Magatsu protested, though now both Hamako and he blushed furiously. Kusanagi laughed and unhanded his friend before turning his attention to the orc girl.

“ Why do you insist on dividing the whole world into enemies and allies?” He asked, pointedly ignoring the venomous glare she cast at him. “ I find such a mindset overly tiring at best.”

“ Release me…” Her words were cut off with a yelp as Kusanagi dropped her so that she landed unceremoniously on her rump, despite her shinobi training. The big youth sighed and shrugged as he turned to address the Grundian that towered over even him.

“ I don’t know what your story is, Menklias-sama, but I feel that it would be prudent for us to go our separate ways.” He said. “ The three of us have a specific destination in mind and we would not like to jeopardize our journey any further. We would help you further if we could, but you just drank the last of our water and we have no food left to speak off.”

“ You have helped me enough, Kusanagi.” Menklias bowed once again on unsteady legs. “ I have not the slightest clue as to how I can possibly hope to repay the three of you. Indeed, we should part ways now. Farewell.”

Magatsu called out as the Grundian turned to leave. “ Wait, Menklias-sama! The forest is too dangerous for someone in your weakened state!”

Menklias looked over his shoulder and regarded the worried youth. A smile cracked his grim features and he nodded. “ You have a kind heart, boy. Never forsake it, not even when the trials you will surely face throughout your life wear at your resolve and spirit.”

“ Wait…” Magatsu began, but Kusanagi laid a heavy hand on his shoulder and steered him away.

“ We must be going.” He said. “ He must fend for himself, now. The pact Shadow Castle has with the Grundians forbids us from aiding any of their fugitives or criminals.” Magatsu considered the reminder for a few moments before nodding despondently and following Kusanagi’s lead as they resumed their journey. Hamako cast one last suspicious glance at Menklias’s back just before the Grundian disappeared into the forest’s gloom.

**************************************************

Menklias staggered unsteadily towards the north, his otherworldly senses guiding him unerringly. There was a look of fervent desperation on his face, mingled with fear. He had to make his way to where ancient tunnels dug millennia ago would lead him back to the world above, from where his master’s call beckoned to him so strongly. His mighty fingers twitched as they clenched and stiffened to form claws capable of tearing a man’s head off in a single sweep. A trickle of blood flowed down the side of his mouth and he realized that his jaws have been clamped shut for so long and with such force that his gums now bled from the pressure.

Menklias gasped and clawed at his face, seeking some unattainable reprieve from the torment he felt inside. With a mighty effort, he forced his jaws open so that he might inhale deeply of the dank, moist forest air.

“ I have found you again, my champion!” A disembodied voice filled with age and power resounded within his skull. “ You have been kept from my will for too long! Now come, follow the bloodlust that fuels every beat of your heart!”

“ Where, master? And to what?” The Grundian asked softly, speaking into thin air.

“ To the homeland of my enemies.” The voice said. “ And to spread the grip of Chaos once more over this world!”

“ NO!” Menklias clutched his temples and shook his head furiously. “ I have renounced you centuries ago! You are not my master!”

“ And you are still alive, after all this time, thanks to my grace.” The voice adopted a reasoning tone that was still dry with a sick, perverted humor. “ You cannot renounce me, my champion. You are tied to my cause to eternity and beyond.”

Menklias’s massive shoulders heaved as he sobbed in anguish. Still, he picked himself up and resumed his hopeless walk.

“ Yes, that is how you should behave, my champion. Seek out my proxy in this world and I promise you that all your grief and hopes for redemption shall fade away as the slaughter begins.” The Grundian knew that his master spoke true and he quickened his pace, seeking gratification since redemption was beyond reach.

**************************************************

“ There!” Magatsu’s keen eyes spotted the perimeter cordon laid down by the shinobi instructors from his perch high up upon a mushroom cap. He pointed in its direction. “ We should arrive there in less than an hour’s time at our current pace!”

Kusanagi let out a joyous whoop and punched his fist into the air and even the dour Hamako could not keep a grin from her face at the thought of their grueling trial ending. Magatsu climbed down swiftly, relief and worry for the Grundian warring in his heart.

“ We cannot help everybody, eh?” Kusanagi clapped Magatsu on the shoulder as he noticed the despondent look on the half-man’s face. Magatsu simply sighed but he nodded his appreciative acknowledgement.

They jogged on for a few minutes until Hamako stopped abruptly. She sniffed the air and frowned, casting her gaze about in the gloom of the forest.

“ What is it?” Kusanagi demanded, irritation edging his voice. The orc hissed at him and swept her hand in a gesture that called for silence.

“ There is a rankness in the air…” Magatsu muttered, catching the foul scent as well. Kusanagi gave them both a befuddled look.

“ I smell nothing.” He said. Hamako gave him a withering glance of disdain.

“ Dull-witted human!” She spat. Kusanagi ignored the remark, focusing his senses as best as he could.

“ Something approaches swiftly!” Magatsu announced urgently. Hamako nodded in agreement and even Kusanagi did not fail to register the crashing and grinding sounds of a large creature tearing its way through the forest.

“ Higher ground?” Kusanagi suggested, a worried look on his face.

“ Definitely!” Magatsu agreed. The trainees produced their grappling hooks and looked to the caps for a viable point of ascent. Before any of them could toss their hooks, though the stench of fresh carrion filled the air. Magatsu looked over his shoulder, his worst fears confirmed: the giant centipede they had encountered earlier had pursued and caught up with them.

“ Gods! It’s the damned worm again!” Kusanagi screamed. With surprising alacrity and accuracy, he hurled his grappling hook and set it securely. He was halfway up the rope before his words had finished issuing from his mouth.

Magatsu gritted his teeth and flung his grappling hook as well. It caught on securely and he began his ascent. The centipede reared, its mandibles clacking together in ominous glee. Cold sweat beaded his face as he ascended hand over hand. An arm’s length away from his chosen mushroom cap though, he looked down over his shoulder. Fear stabbed itself through his being like an icy spike.

“ Hamako!” Kusanagi hollered. The human was already crouching upon a mushroom cap, his voice tinged with panic. “ What the hell are you doing?”

The orc was petrified with fear. Her grappling hook hung slack from its cord in her hands and her eyes were wide with terror as they regarded the monstrous centipede that reared over her. The centipede’s mandibles clacked together once more and a few shapeless objects fell from its maw to rain down around the orc. Hamako’s keen eyes did not miss them: they were the half-eaten remains of other trainees that had not been so fortunate in their encounter with the centipede.

“ Damn you, orc! Climb!” Kusanagi yelled down at her, hoping to snap her out of her terror. Hamako did not hear him. Her mind was blank with sheer instinctual fear, all her years of training forgotten. The human wrung his arms in helpless frustration and swung his gaze to Magatsu. He nearly shrieked as he beheld the sight of the half-man upon the forest floor again, running towards where Hamako stood.

The centipede struck but its mandibles caught only the damp soil as Magatsu shouldered Hamako aside with all his might. The impact sent the both of them tumbling head over heels away from where their monstrous antagonist hissed and struggled with its maw buried halfway into the soil.

Magatsu recovered first and he raced over to where Hamako lay prone, shaking her head in an effort to clear it. He seized the orc’s shoulders and attempted to drag her to her feet. Hamako rose with little need for assistance and together the two of them began their flight. The centipede freed itself and caught their dwindling scent. With a decisive hiss that spoke of an intellect far beyond that of a simple insect or beast, it swept its multi-legged body in an attempt to encircle the fleeing duo.

Hamako and Magatsu faced the approaching wall of spike-like legs and tensed in readiness to jump. The orc leapt first but Magatsu stumbled upon a patch of loose soil as he kicked off. His leap was not as high as he had originally strove for and the centipede’s body caught his shin a glancing blow in midair, sending him into a wild spinning flight. The half-man’s body crashed into the stalk of a mushroom and Magatsu heard the distinctive crack of bone as his right shoulder blade broke. He gasped at the agony but refused to let his focus wander from the centipede that now reared over him, its mandibles clacking in gleeful anticipation and malice.

A ceramic sphere soared through the air and cracked against the creature’s head, releasing a cloud of thick, gray smoke as it shattered. The centipede hissed in frustration. Magatsu felt a pair of hands on his tunic and a sharp, wrenching pain as Hamako hauled him to his feet. He tried to stand but found his shin broken as well. A yelp of agony escaped his lips. With an arm draped over Hamako’s shoulders, Magatsu hobbled away from where the centipede thrashed furiously.

“ What were you thinking?” Hamako snarled at him as they fled. “ You should have left me to fend for myself! I displayed weakness in the face of an enemy! Why did you take such a risk?”

Magatsu’s vision had begun to fog over from the pain and his breath came in low, shallow gasps. Cold began to encroach upon his increasingly numb limbs but still he opened his mouth to answer. “ We are a group. Never shall I abandon a companion!”

“ You fool! You utter idiot! You have dung for brains!” Hamako berated him, her voice filled with venom. Still, her voice broke as she cursed and eventually her expletives degenerated into incoherent sobbing. The orc’s voice now seemed to come from a great distance to Magatsu, echoing through a roiling fog of darkness that clouded his consciousness.

“ Magatsu!” Kusanagi’s voice echoed through the dim fog. He opened his eyes and glimpsed the huge silhouette of his friend. He felt his weight transferred to the human’s much stronger arms.

“ He’s badly hurt!” Hamako’s voice was shrill with panic. Kusanagi grunted in response.

“ We must hasten, then!” He said. “ This way…”

His words trailed off as he beheld the centipede charging in their direction despite the dissipating cloud of smoke that hung upon its head. The creature thrashed its massive body wildly, slamming into the stalks of mushrooms and bringing them crashing down onto the forest floor. A large chunk of stalk hurtled towards the trio, sent flying by the centipede’s body. Kusanagi thrust Magatsu towards Hamako and adopted a battle stance as the stalk approached. He possessed neither Magatsu’s agility nor Hamako’s intellectual keenness but he reigned supreme amongst the trainees when it came to the fighting arts.

Bracing his outstretched palms before him, Kusanagi focused his ki, the life force that suffused every living creature. With the training imparted to him by the Kage-Yagyu’s particular school of ki manipulation, Kusanagi roared and struck the stalk with his open palms. There was a terrific cracking sound as the stalk shattered and Kusanagi was sent flying. The human rolled head over heels across the forest soil, coming to an eventual halt against the base of another mushroom stalk, out cold from the impact.

Hamako shrieked and sought to drag Magatsu and herself to where Kusanagi lay but a smaller chunk of debris glanced across her shoulders. The orc stumbled and fell heavily, pinned to the forest floor by Magatsu’s body upon hers.

The half-man hastily rolled off her, gasping from the effort. “ Quick! You must flee while you still can!”

“ Do you expect me to hold myself to lower standards than you do?” Hamako scolded him. She hoisted him up again and began hobbling towards Kusanagi’s comatose form. She looked back over her shoulder and froze in terror less than a pace away from Kusanagi. The effects of her smoke bomb had worn off and now the centipede regarded with what seemed to be a sense of amusement. They had nowhere to run and with both Magatsu and Kusanagi incapacitated, there was no way they could avoid the creature’s next strike. Hamako whimpered and held the half-conscious Magatsu tighter.

Magatsu reached for a shuriken with his good hand and hurled it at the centipede’s head. The projectile bounced ineffectually off the creature’s thick hide.

“ Never give up!” He snarled at the centipede, though his words were directed at Hamako. “ Not until the last breath!”

The orc, her eyes gleaming with tears, nodded furiously and reached for her shuriken as well. Before she could fling it though, the centipede decided that it had waited enough and flashed its head down, mandibles arcing for the defiant duo.

Magatsu heard Hamako’s cry of terror and he too flinched at the centipede’s rushing maw. He closed his eyes just before he expected to be crushed. There was a sudden rush of air…then nothing. After a few moments, he gathered his courage and forced his eyes open.

Menklias stood between them and the centipede, one massive hand clamped on each mandible holding the creature away from the trainees. Tendons and veins stood out vividly on his thick forearms from the tremendous effort but no sign of strain showed at all on the Grundian’s face as he looked over his shoulder at Magatsu.

“ You have a warrior’s spirit, young one. Such a thing is not often found alongside the kind heart you possess.” He said, his voice brimming with admiration.

“ Menklias-sama…” Magatsu exclaimed weakly in surprise. He heard Hamako echoing him, albeit without the respectful suffix and realized that she had closed her eyes as well.

“ What are you doing here?” The orc asked her voice filled with wonder and fear at the same time. “ How did you find us?”

“ I found this creature.” Menklias struggled with the centipede briefly. “ The evil radiating from it is immense! You face no mere beast, young ones, but a demon-possessed monster!”

Up close, both Hamako and Magatsu could see the dark, swirling mist that seeped from the creature’s hide and feel the intense hatred the centipede emanated as a palpable force and knew that the Grundian spoke true. Menklias released the centipede’s mandibles abruptly and the sudden action caught the struggling creature unawares. It’s head slammed into the stalk of a mushroom, bringing the gigantic fungus down upon it.

“ We must flee now!” Hamako cried. “ You cannot possibly battle a demon and win!” Menklias waved a hand in the opposite direction.

“ Bring your companions to where they will be safe, girl. Do not worry about me!” The Grundian told her. Hamako complied, dragging Magatsu and Kusanagi behind her as best as she could.

Now fully recovered, the centipede regarded the Grundian that stood between it and its chosen prey and transferred its wrath accordingly. It sensed that Menklias would not prove as easy an opponent as the trainees and hissed as it studied him with all its malicious cunning.

“ Menklias-sama!” Magatsu cried feebly as the centipede struck. The Grundian paid the half-man’s warning no heed. Pivoting on one foot, Menklias avoided the venomous mandibles and hammered his massive fist into the centipede’s head. The creature hissed and swayed away.
“ By the gods!” Hamako breathed in awe at the unbelievable sight. Magatsu was similarly dumbstruck. The Grundian’s eyes now burned with crimson flames and his sad, fearful features were now contorted into a leer of demonic bloodlust. Menklias threw back his head and roared, the sound so loud that Magatsu and Hamako were momentarily deafened.

“ Blood! Blood and death for you, master!” The Grundian roared. “ Blood and death for the Lord of Chaos!”

The centipede, now sensing that it might be overmatched, turned around and began to slither away. Menklias would have none of that. A mighty leap sent him hurtling over the creature’s head and he landed upon it, slamming down with his fists and putting all his tremendous weight into the blow. The centipede’s carapace cracked open, spilling its viscera. An unearthly scream arose from the creature, the cry of the demon that had possessed it. The centipede bucked and thrashed to no avail. Menklias pounded on it again and again with his fists. Finally, he reached into the creature’s head and tore out a handful of flesh and nerves. The centipede convulsed once and went limp. The dark mist that had shrouded the creature dissipated, accompanied by an eerie moan.

His hands covered with gore, Menklias raised them high into the air and roared in victory. His powerful voice echoed through the forest, a cry of joyous rage and sadism. The madness left his eyes abruptly, though and Menklias stumbled off the centipede’s corpse. When he looked upon the cowering trainees again, his features had resumed their normal cast; an expression both relieved and horrified.

“ It…it is done…” The Grundian said weakly as he stumbled towards where Magatsu, Hamako and Kusanagi were. The orc gasped fearfully as Menklias extended a massive hand towards them and shrank back. Menklias’s eyes turned sad at her actions and he lowered his hand with a resigned sigh.

“ Menklias-sama. What…?” Magatsu bit off his tentative question with an alarmed cry as the Grundian collapsed face-first onto the forest floor suddenly. His huge frame made a loud yet muffled thump as it fell. Ignoring his own injuries, the half-man crawled over and began searching Menklias’s body for injuries. He confirmed his suspicions readily. The palms of Menklias’s hands were deeply gashed by the centipede’s mandibles and the venom had already turned the edges of the jagged wounds black. The Grundian’s fever had returned tenfold.

“ What shall we do now?” Hamako asked, her voice trembling and uncertain. Magatsu could only give her a look of utter helplessness. His own injuries were considerable and even Kusanagi could not carry Menklias’s comatose form were he awake.

“ Examine him.” Magatsu said, pointing to Kusanagi. His words were slurred and thick from pain. Hamako readily obliged, pulling the unconscious human to a sitting position and shaking him by the collar a few times. Kusanagi coughed once, and clutched his head. To their relief, he opened his eyes and regarded Menklias with much surprise.

“ What happened?” He asked.

“ Let me know if you’re injured or not, fool!” Hamako snapped at him impatiently, running her gaze down the human’s body with a critical eye. Kusanagi pushed her away.

“ Merely got the wind knocked out of my lungs. I’ll be fine.” He assured her. The orc continued her visual inspection anyway, glad to have something to occupy her thoughts and divert them from their grim circumstance.

“ He saved us.” Magatsu informed his friend. His head had begun to droop despite his efforts to sit upright. “ He has defeated the centipede.”

“ That’s impossible!” Kusanagi protested even as he spotted the centipede’s battered corpse in the distance. “ Only a monster could have done that!”

Hamako exchanged a nervous glance with Magatsu and the half-man expressed his wish for her to be silent with an earnest visual plea. The orc nodded numbly, having completed her inspection of Kusanagi’s body and satisfied that he had sustained no major injuries. Magatsu clutched his chest suddenly with his good hand, a look of agony coming over his face. He coughed up a gobbet of bright, pinkish blood to the horror of his companions. It was the sign of a pierced lung, likely due to the multitude of fractures that the half-man had sustained during the battle with the centipede.

“ We must get you to the instructors!” Kusanagi reached for Magatsu but he was waved back.

“ We…cannot leave him…”He protested.
“ You will die if your wounds are left untended!” Hamako cried, wishing to seize Magatsu’s collar and shake some sense into him but fearing that she would aggravate his wounds.

“ He…saved us…” Magatsu reminded his companions. Kusanagi snorted in frustration and scooped up the dying half-man in his arms, ignoring his feeble protests.

“ We are shinobi, not samurai!” Kusanagi said. “ Besides, I do not think he would want you to die beside him while you could have been saved!”

“ Hurry!” Hamako, having discerned where their destination lay, pointed towards it. “ We must get him back before he dies!”

She took a few strides and then stopped abruptly with a startled yelp. Gorobei, a shinobi instructor had found them and he looked down at the grievously wounded Magatsu in alarm.

“ Set him down, trainee!” He instructed Kusanagi who readily complied. Having done so, Gorobei turned and whistled into the gloom of the forest behind him. The sound of heavy boots pounding against soil filled the air, as did the jangling of heavy armor. Within moments, a trio of Grundian soldiers emerged from the gloom with their weapons aloft. They were much smaller in stature in comparison to Menklias, the tallest of them barely topping the fallen fugitive’s knee. One of them took in the entire scene with a sweeping gaze and barked a series of orders to his two companions.

“ Secure the perimeter and remain on guard!” He said, hitching his mace back upon his belt and doffing his gauntlets. “ Fire the signal quarrel!”

The other Grundians complied swiftly, one of them hefting a crossbow and firing a quarrel past the overlapping caps of the giant mushrooms. The tip of the projectile flared brightly as it sped into the air, marking their position for all to see. Another shinobi instructor leapt down from his perch atop the caps above the trainees. Every search party comprised of three Grundians and a duo of instructors, with one of the shinobi traveling from cap to cap so that they could spot any quarrel flares.

“ He’s dying!” Hamako cried, pointing frantically at Magatsu. Gorobei turned to the ungloved Grundian.

“ Well, captain Hartstrike?” The instructor asked. Arcus reached for a small, sphere-shaped pendant he wore tucked into the collar of his mail-shirt and took it out.

“ I am a healer and a follower of the Earth Prince as well as a soldier. I shall beseech my deity for aid and healing!” He replied. Gorobei frowned in distaste but he did not object.

“ We have no choice, though it pains me to resort to such sacrilegious measures!” The instructor said. “ Work your blasphemous prayers, then. It shall be your soul that burns in eternal torment in the end after all!”

The other Grundians glared balefully at the instructor, deeply offended by his words but Arcus waved them away. He closed his eyes and placed his hands over Magatsu’s body, chanting the words of his faith. A pale blue glow suffused the half-man’s battered frame briefly before it faded. Arcus staggered back, his face tight with strain and his breath issuing in harsh gasps.

“ It is done…though the healing has taken much of my strength.” The captain announced. “ It is difficult to work the Earth Prince’s will upon this plane of existence.”

“ This world belongs rightfully to the Heavenly Lord, unbeliever.” Gorobei sneered. He drew his sword and pointed at the comatose Menklias. “ And what will you do about that creature now?”

Arcus strode over to where Menklias laid and his head solemnly. “ He does not require my prayers. Already, his wounds knit and his body recovers. It will be some time before he regains consciousness, though.”

“ How is Magatsu?” Gorobei asked over his shoulder, directing the question at Hamako. The orc nodded slowly.

“ His breathing is better and his bones have mended.” She reported. The instructor mouthed a silent prayer of thanks at the news. The Shadow Lord’s wrath would be great indeed if his favored pet trainee was slain.

“ Why do you not slay him, Grundian?” Gorobei enquired, referring to Menklias. “ Why are such great pains undertaken to hold one so dangerous when it would be easier simply to send him to hell like he deserves?”

“ You are unfamiliar with the history of my people, shinobi.” Arcus replied. He regarded the fallen Menklias with a look of deep sorrow. “ For every horror he has wrought, for every life he has taken and for every atrocity he has brought about, he did so with one thing foremost in his mind: the preservation and glory of the Grundian race. He is the Destroyer, a fiend of carnage and suffering but he is also the hero of the Grundians. Without him, my people would have been driven to extinction long ago. We hold him in captivity, keeping others from his murderous rage as best as we can. The Grundian race owes him this much, at the very least.”

“ Yet, he escaped this time.” Gorobei pointed out. “ There is no way the Shadow Lord will allow you to incarcerate him here now.”

“ I am but a lowly soldier, shinobi. But my guess is that the Council of Stone will bring the Destroyer back to our native plane after this, for better or worse.” Arcus propped Menklias into a sitting position against a stalk, easily taking the Destroyer’s great mass upon his short but sturdy frame. Gorobei sheathed his blade and walked over to Hamako and Kusanagi.

“ The three of you are the closest to your destination by far and are deemed to have passed the trial, despite Magatsu’s plight.” He announced. Kusanagi and Hamako exchanged surprised glances and nodded in weary joy.

“ There is great potential within these three.” The other instructor said as he walked up. He nodded to the trainees. “ Well done. You are now considered shinobi of the Kage-Yagyu, your lifeblood will be spent, or if the situation calls for it, spilled in the Empire’s service.”

Kusanagi and Hamako knelt on a single knee, their right palm pressed to the ground and their heads bowed in the customary poise of acceptance as they were anointed shinobi of the Kage-Yagyu.

A much different fate awaited Magatsu.

 

Gah, I hate cliffhangers.

But I love this. More, please

 

im ashamed of what i wrote. im not a writer really.. I just tried to write because i dont have anything to do and just thought it would be cool to write something.

I cant understand some of the words because its not in my vocubalary.whaa!hhee. (ineed to look at the dictonary) im so stupid.

Maybe I got used to texting like--> l8tr; cu; thanx; wut?; i dunno; i luv u; and so on, thats why when i write words there in shortcut mode. wow cellphne does have its toll.


well i never liked my english subject anyway-My favorites P.E. hahah!)Grammar(e.g. the bread and butter thing is considered as one and when the jury,commmitee(i forgot what their called-collective nouns?) acts as one you conside it as one.. anyways i dont need that stuff much)

so wutever..

 

Oh. My. *substitute a suitable word to rpelace "god"*.

Shura, you are a bloody geenius.

 

wow brilliant (just thought id bring this topic tp the top, where it deserves to be :wink: )