RaikuRaikuRaiku

Chapter 6: Poison The ninja of Iga crept quietly from their meeting room and out into their own village. Saryu was in charge of keeping watch for approaching enemies; he sat high in the branches of a tree just outside the village. Yoriko, as his responsibility, was quietly sitting next to him. In Saryu's hands was a short bow, with a quiver of arrows slung over his back. He carried nine arrows, counting the one that was already notched on the bowstring. To accommodate the quiver, Saryu had removed his sword, but it was a trade that made sense. "How am I supposed to see ninja approaching?" Yoriko whined, in a soft whisper. "You aren't suppo

Chapter 5: Silence In the depth of night, a crowd of seated figures sat cramped together inside a long room, with another seated figure at its head. While most of figures were clad in normal, dark blue ninja uniforms, the man seated before them wore metal forearm and shin guards, as well as a wooden mask that was carved to look like the face of an oni, a Japanese ogre. "So, Kuromaru is dead?" he said, in a solemn, steady tone. His voice was like footsteps on silk. "Yes Onikaze-sama." said one of the ninja in the group. The masked man sighed. "Oh, this is troublesome... the Iga ninja may see his actions as a declaration of war. With our fo

Chapter 4: Hidden Blade The sun slowly crept into the room through the translucent windows, casting log shadows across the floor. The rays found their way into Yoriko's eyes, waking her. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and turned to look at Saryu, who still slept. He slept fully dressed, laying on his side, with his jet black hair tussled and nearly covering his eyes. He had a content look on his face, and though it wasn't a smile, it was enough to make Yoriko herself smile. If it wasn't for the scar, he would look just like a normal child. Yoriko stood and stretched, her glossy black hair flowing down her back and shoulders. She looked out the

I used to write long poems, I used to read at night. I used to let my talent soar, and let my mind take flight. There was a time I loved things, and never thought to fear, But those times ended long ago, or at least, since this year. It started with my foolish love, a thing that I will never miss, It ended with hate and disgust, and then an evil, fatal kiss. Still it haunts me in my mind, it haunts me in the stagnant air, It haunts me with their stinging lies, it haunts me with her stabbing stare. I started caring what they thought, I started thinking I was wrong. I thought the evil of my ways was that I tried to get along. But now

Chapter 3: Looming Shadows As the sun slowly rose on a new day, it painted everything in shades of orange and red. The shadows were long and imposing, but unmoving, except for the shadow of a boy in a bamboo hat. Yoriko woke first to the knocking on the door, while Kuromaru slept quietly. As she groggily blinked her eyes, it took her awhile to figure out where the harsh sound was coming from. One she realized what it was, instead of getting up and answering the door herself, she simply picked up her pillow and threw it at Kuromaru's still body. Kuromaru let out a loud gasping snore, sat up, and opened his eyes all at once. "Whuh?" was the

Chapter 2: Dawn of Memories Outside the gates of the burning castle, three figures sat in the darkness. The orange-red flames contrasted sharply against the night sky, but the three had positioned themselves directly against the stone wall on the side of the castle, where the light wouldn't reveal them. The two ninja were crouched on all fours while the girl in the elegant kimono sat on her knees in the traditional manner. "Tell me you're kidding. I never thought even you could be this much of an idiot." Saryu's voice, although soft, still managed to cut deep. He shook his head and looked up at Kuromaru with sheer aggravation etched into h