Shadow of Time (+16)

[Crow]

Chapter one - Last resort

The night was dark as the sky was full of storm clouds. The occasional flash of lightning was the only source of light for the group of monks that was struggling to make their way through the dense forest. As the one in the lead looked back for a moment he only had time to see another one of his companions be killed by the enemy.
Cursing he turned around, clutching the bag on his shoulder and kept running, with the last two of his companions right behind him. he could distinctly hear their pursuers getting closer and closer but they could not stop, at least not until they were forced to.
Just as they passed the last trees they came across the edge of a cliff. Only then did they realise that that was their enemies' plan all along.
They were getting closer and closer and even though it would not have been a difficult descent, with their enemies on their trail they could not risk it. However, as the one in the lead turned around to look at the worried looks on his companion’s faces, he saw an instant change as they turned their backs to him and pulled out their swords.
"Go on, Sorata! We will hold them off as long as we can," said the one on the left.
"Your mission is to guard the statue," said the other. "Ours is to make sure you accomplish it."
"I cannot leave you… you'll be killed!" the bald monk protested.
But just as he was about to grab one of his friends by the shoulder, they both pushed him off the cliff and he was forced to use his grappling hook to grab onto a ledge. Moments later he could hear that the fight had begun but he would not let their sacrifice go to waste and he started to descend.
When he reached the bottom, he stopped for a second to listen but he could hear no more fighting, looking up he saw five black figures coming after him. Without wasting another second he ran off, praying he would escape.
In the distance he could see the temple but it was far and his enemies were drawing closer and closer. Realising there was no way he could reach the temple before his enemies caught up with him, Sorata decided to go to the nearby town instead. There he could hide and hopefully lose his trackers.
Unfortunately he was only able to get downtown before they caught up with him and he was forced to hide in a loud disco. There was a large crowd inside and he hoped that he would at least be able to hide there until he could regain his strength. But the five ninja even followed him inside and although they did not see him when they entered, sooner or later they would.
The monk went to the back of the club and hid inside the bathroom just as a young man was coming out. Sorata pushed him back inside and gave him the bag he was holding.
"Please, you must help me!"
"What the hell are you on?" the boy replied.
"Take this bag to the shinto temple in the mountains. Just show the monks what's inside and they will understand."
"What temple? There’s no temple around here," the boy said confused.
Without answering, Sorata tried to leave but he just as he opened the door he saw three of the five ninja not twenty feet away. The monk backed down inside and the boy was about to hand him the bag back when he grabbed him by the arm, turned him around and hit him with the length of his hand on the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious.
He grabbed the boy before he could fall and gently set him down. Next he opened his back and took a small, black statue of Nataku and placed it on the ground. Then he sat down and started chanting. In only a few minutes a purple smoke started rising from the statue, it hovered for a few moments above it and then headed straight for the boy and entered his nostrils.
When it was over, he placed the statue on the young man’s lap, wrote him a note and left the room, making sure the ninja saw him leave. Half an hour later, the young man woke up and seeing the statue and the note that read: <Go to the mountains and if you can’t find them, yell 'Yasarane' and someone will find you.>
Going home he felt dizzy but still was still clutching the small statue in his hands. Placing it on the table next to his bed, he changed his clothes and fell on the bed, feeling very tired. That night he had a nightmare about being chased by dozens of soldiers armed with swords. Every once in a while he stopped and threw a few shuriken at them, each one taking down one target with pinpoint precision. The nightmare ended when he came face to face with a tall man with red hair and dark grey skin and tattoos on his face.
The next morning, he was walking through the forest with the bag on his shoulders. He looked very angry and was kicking everything in his path, from leaves to rocks and sticks, trying to calm down.
"Why did I even come here? Crazy ass monk! You told me to yell? Ok, I'm yelling! Yasarane!"
As he expected nothing happened and he decided to go back but he only managed to take a few more steps before being surrounded by over two dozen men and women dressed completely in black. They each had a kodachi in their right hand and three shuriken in their left.
"Oh… shit…" the boy said shaking.

[sungoddess]

Uuuuu...curios...dac are blood si gore me wanna read more..

[Crow]

Chapter 2 – Hidden

He tried to keep as still as possible but with so many weird people with weapons in their hands surrounding him it was not easy. They, however, were as motionless as statues, not even blinking as their piercing eyes glared at him, which were all he could see of their faces, the rest being covered by black masks.
When he heard movement from behind he slowly turned around to see what was going on. A woman wearing what looked like armour made out of a very flexible material walked forward. She was armed with the same weapons as the others but she had two, one was still in its sheath that was tied to her back. After examining him for a few moments she looked him straight in the eye.
"Who are you?" she asked the tone of her voice cold.
"Kai… Yoroshi Kai."
"What are you doing here?"
"Some weird bald monk gave me this," he answered and reached inside his bag.
In a split second she grabbed her other sword and placed both of them in a cross, only a millimetre away from his neck. She was so fast that he didn’t have time to see her move until she stopped. Being too afraid to react he froze and one of the others approached and checked what he was reaching for. When the one examining the bag pulled out the small statue everyone gasped and even she looked surprised for a second. The next second she narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him, not lowering her weapons.
"Where did you get that?" she asked, her voice clearly sounding furious.
"I told you! Some weirdo gave it to me last night and told me to come here and yell for some guy Yasarane."
After further inspection, they also found the note Sorata had written and recognising his handwriting, the woman lowered her weapons. Kai first sighed relieved but then he was told that he would go with them to the temple and if he were lying, they would kill him.
The walk through the forest took them almost an hour. To Kai it all looked the same but his escorts seemed to be following a fixed path. He was starting to get bored but did not dare to ask any of them how much longer it would be until they reached their destination, whatever it was.
They walked all the way to the foot of a cliff that did not seem to have any distinguishing marks, as far as he could tell. But the woman, who he assumed was their leader, walked to the rock wall and pushed a rock that looked a little loose. Moments later the ground started to shake and the entire cliff opened up and after they all walked in, she pressed another rock and the cliff closed back up.
For about ten minutes they walked through the long, dark and damp cavern, only the sound of their own footsteps breaking the silence. When light was seen ahead Kai thought they were approaching a room by a lot of torches, he didn't expect to find himself at the entrance to a plateau.
The sun was shining above and the whole place was the size of a town much larger than the one he had left in the morning. He didn’t have time to admire the scenery because he was urged to continue down a cobbled path all the way to a temple. There they all kneeled and forced him to do the same, then waited until an old man stepped out, followed by a young man in an armour similar to that of the woman who lead the ninja, and a few monks.
"What is this you bring us, Miyu?" the old man asked.
"We found this one while on patrol, sensei. He was carrying this," she added and took the statue out of her bag.
"Buddha be praised!" the old man exclaimed and rushed to the woman and started inspecting the statue closely.
"And how did the statue end up in your possession?" the young man in armour asked stepping forward.
"For the last time, some weird bald guy gave it to me last night. He told me to bring it here and if I couldn't find anyone to yell for a guy Yasarane."
"That's Yasarane-sensei! You will show respect, whelp!" the one in armour snapped at him.
"Now, now Takeshi, there is no need for hostilities," the old man said smiling. "Plus we have graver matters to worry about than simple protocol. The chi is not within the statue."
Everyone gasped when they heard what the old man said but the one who seemed most shocked by the news was Takeshi who also looked angry. The old man, however, looked calm and even smiled as he walked towards him.
"What is your name, boy?"
"Yoroshi Kai."
"And did anything happen last night when you encountered the one who gave you the statue?"
"Well he pushed it in my arms then he was about to leave but he suddenly ducked back in and as I tried to give it back to him, he grabbed my hand, turned me around and… everything went black."
"As I expected…" the old man said with a sigh.
"He couldn't have… he had no right to give it to him!" Takeshi shouted looking insulted.
"Give what…? What the hell did that guy do to me?" Kai asked starting to worry.

[Crow]

Chapter 3 – Burdened

The ninja that escorted were dismissed, except for the woman who was leading them, and Kai followed the old man and the others inside the temple. They went inside a large room. The old man sat down at a table at one end of the room, Takeshi sat on his left and the monks on his right while the woman sat in the middle of the room, next to the wall with her legs crossed under her.
Kai sat down at the other end of the room, opposite to the old man and waited. He realised there was a lot going on but decided on letting them speak first. As he waited he couldn’t help examining the room. They were covered with all sorts of paintings of ninja fighting enemies both human and beast. After closer inspection, he realised it was actually the same man in every painting, wearing the same kind of armour as Takeshi. He also wore a forehead protector in the shape of a trident with two blades stretching from the forehead to the temples and a third from between the two blades, half way to the back of his head.
Kai found himself mesmerised by the look in his eyes. Cold and fierce at the same time, like a caged storm ready to be unleashed at any give moment and then retreat back in its shelter. A sudden rush of feelings came over him and the images of the nightmare he had had the previous night came back to him.
"I feel I should introduce myself first," the old man spoke, waking Kai from his trance. "I am Tsumikido Yasarane. The monk who entrusted you with the statue was Arisugawa Sorata. This young man is Mitsuhide Takeshi and I believe you have met his younger sister, Miyu."
As soon as she was introduced, the young woman took off her mask to reveal short black hair and a face Kai could only describe as angelic. He was gazing at her, lost in her beauty and while the look in her eyes was cold she could not hide that she was as confused as he was by everything.
"What I am about to say may be difficult for you to understand and believe but I assure you it is the truth. We are the descendants of an ancient group of shinobi that was trained by the great Hattori Hanzo, whose portrait you see around you."
"You mean you're… ninja?" Kai asked raising an eyebrow.
"Indeed," Yasarane confirmed. "The statue you see here was a treasure, passed down through generations. It held the very essence of the great Hanzo, his wisdom, his power, his legacy, basically… his chi."
"Right… I'll be going now," Kai said standing. "But I'll be sure to tell some nice people in white coats about you when I get home."
"Do you mock us?" Takeshi roared and stood up in a flash.
For a few minutes, the two remained fixed to the spot, glaring at each other. Kai couldn't explain it but for some reason he didn’t like that guy. He was arrogant, self-absorbed and snobby, not to mention annoying. It didn’t occur to him that Takeshi was probably able to kill him with one move.
"As I said, it is hard for someone who has never had contact with our community to believe we exist," the old man continued, ignoring the tension that had settled in the room.
His words seemed to have calmed down the young man on his left because he sat back down, with a frown and folding his arms over his chest. Kai also let his anger fade away but did not sit down and remained standing.
"Let's assume I'm buying all this bullshit, 'the hell does it have to do with me?" Kai asked starting to lose his patience.
"Well, everything," Yasarane replied. "You see, when Sorata knocked you out last night he performed the ritual of transition and transferred the chi from the statue into you."
"Come again?"
"You now hold all the power of the great shinobi Hattori Hanzo."