[One Shot] 忍者 (Ninja)
Oct. 11th, 2018 04:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coolohohTitle: 忍者 (Ninja)
Length: 11k words
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ohmiya, General Arashi Friendship
Summary: The Shadow Master is a menace upon the land. Is there a ninja brave enough to stop him?
Beta:duckyshimetai
Written for the Arashi exchange 2018.
A/N: I hope you like ityun_miyake! This fic took me way longer than expected, and ended up being more than twice the length I'd expected it to be. After trying out four other plots I finally settled on this one... It's probably my most expansive plot for a one shot yet... I hope you like it. It also took a bit of effort to avoid the swear words and Sakuraiba... But I hope you like the way it turned out. A shout out to my beta, you know who you are, thanks for the correcting all my silly mistakes! Lastly, to everyone else, I hope you enjoy the fic!
Length: 11k words
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ohmiya, General Arashi Friendship
Summary: The Shadow Master is a menace upon the land. Is there a ninja brave enough to stop him?
Beta:
duckyshimetai Written for the Arashi exchange 2018.
A/N: I hope you like it
yun_miyake! This fic took me way longer than expected, and ended up being more than twice the length I'd expected it to be. After trying out four other plots I finally settled on this one... It's probably my most expansive plot for a one shot yet... I hope you like it. It also took a bit of effort to avoid the swear words and Sakuraiba... But I hope you like the way it turned out. A shout out to my beta, you know who you are, thanks for the correcting all my silly mistakes! Lastly, to everyone else, I hope you enjoy the fic!Nino swore as Sakurai-sensei set his bones. He cursed his bad luck for getting his hand stuck under the bridge as it got demolished by the explosives. Those accursed bandits!
“Say, have you thought about getting a partner?” Sho asked as he sewed up Nino’s wound, causing the man to stomp his legs against the bed in pain with every stitch.
“I know you’re a magnificent ninja, but if you find yourself a partner, you can take on bigger missions and earn more, right?” Sho smiled, knowing Nino’s affection for money. But Nino wasn’t paying attention - he was using every ounce of energy to stop himself from passing out.
“Say, have you thought about getting a partner?” Sho asked as he sewed up Nino’s wound, causing the man to stomp his legs against the bed in pain with every stitch.
“I know you’re a magnificent ninja, but if you find yourself a partner, you can take on bigger missions and earn more, right?” Sho smiled, knowing Nino’s affection for money. But Nino wasn’t paying attention - he was using every ounce of energy to stop himself from passing out.
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Nino woke up to find a bowl of medicine pressed against his lips. He took a sip of the medicine and nearly gagged. It was so bitter!
“Drink it down, it’s good for you,” A voice came from the other side of the room. Nino gulped down the medicine as quickly as he could, trying not to throw it up, then he drifted off to sleep.
“Good morning,” the man greeted Nino.
“I heard that you’re looking for a partner?” The man continued.
“Wait… Who are you? And who told you that?” Nino croaked, his throat was dry and raw.
“I would fetch some water for you from the kitchen if I could walk, but alas…” The man sighed as he pointed to his wrapped knee.
“Never mind about the water,” Nino said as he licked his dry lips. “Who are you?”
“Do you really not know me?” The man retorted.
Nino rubbed his eyes and took a closer look at the ninja. The clothes the man was wearing was not black, but rather, dark blue. Then his eyes laid upon the katana with the blue grip by his side. Nino’s eyes widened.
“You’re the famed Ohno Satoshi of the village of the mist!” Nino gasped. “And is that the Akatsuki…”
“That used to belong to General Kagura.” Ohno finished his sentence for him.
“And what a sad state it is for an inheritor of to Akatsuki to be in…” Ohno continued, sighing. “And what brought you here? Oh famed Ninomiya Kazunari of the hidden village of the sand.”
Nino frowned. “How do you know me?”
“Well, unless you killed the real Ninomiya and stole his Konseki, in which case, no, I wouldn’t know who you are.” Ohno continued.
Nino followed Ohno’s gaze to see his trusty pair of sai beside him. Nino grimaced as he thought of his injured hand.
“Looks like you won’t be using them for a while now.” Ohno remarked.
Nino gave Ohno a wary look. “Neither yours,” he spat back tersely as gripped his weapon tightly in his good hand.
Historically, the village of the mist and the sand had good relationships, but they were in tumultuous times now and a friend one day might turn into a foe the next.
“Relax,” Ohno chuckled. “I can’t even walk to the bathroom now, much less kill you. I heard Sakurai-sensei said you were looking for a partner though, I thought I might apply… If you don’t mind waiting for my leg to heal that is.”
Nino scoffed.
“Just something Sakurai-sensei made up on his own accord. I don’t work with others.” Nino grunted, just as the healer entered the room to check on his patients.
Ohno never brought up the topic of a partnership again, and Nino left the healer’s house 4 days later.
That was how Nino found himself blowing a poison dart into the sleeping chambers of Lord Nishikido while Ohno was off distracting the guards and leading them out into the courtyard.
The mission turned out easier than Nino had expected, mostly thanks to Ohno’s diversion. He hadn’t even need to take out his sai at all.
Nino considered changing his stance on working solo as he counted his gold. 250 gold coins weighed heavily in his hands, and elsewhere he'd the other 250 already safely stashed. He had just started walking away from Ohno, with a wave of goodbye when the latter called out to him.
“Say, Nino, do you really hate working with people so much?” Ohno asked as he fumbled around in his pockets.
“Are you sure you can fight the shadows alone?” Ohno yelled as Nino continued walking off.
The last few words stopped Nino in his tracks. He turned around to see Ohno holding a bronze plate in his hands, with the kanji “shadow” engraved on it.
“Where did you get that from?!” Nino gasped as he subconsciously started fumbling in his pockets. It was there. His bronze plate, safe and sound.
“Got your interest yet?” Ohno chuckled.
“How did you get that?” Nino repeated his question.
“Why, the same way you got yours, I suppose. My father gave it to me,” Ohno spat as he spoke of his dad.
Nino drew a sharp breath. Ohno? His half brother?
“I know that after the Shadow Master left the mist village he raided the village of the sand.” Ohno commented.
“I think it'll benefit both of us if we stick around together a little longer, what say you?” Ohno asked as he pointed towards the forest. The sun was high in the sky and it was getting hot standing out in the open field.
Nino cocked his head in agreement.
“How did you know about me?” Nino demanded to know as they settled down on a shady patch in the forest.
“Surely you still remember how we met at Sakurai’s house two years ago?” Ohno replied.
“What? You looked through my belongings?!” Nino gasped.
“Don't get so riled up, geez.” Ohno chided. “I heard that you got your hand injured by the bandits, so I got curious and investigated further. It helped me pass the time, you know.” Ohno pointed to his knee as he spoke.
“What happened to your knee? I don't see how an incredible ninja like yourself could have gotten so badly injured…” Nino commented truthfully. He had seen Ohno single handedly lure away an entire platoon of Nishikido’s guards and come back without so much as a single scratch. It was a feat no ordinary ninja could have accomplished.
“Wait… Don't tell me… It was the bandits, wasn't it?” Nino continued.
Ohno shrugged.
“I tried to infiltrate their hideout. And failed.”
“Wait! You're the one who caused the explosion at the Osaka castle?” Nino asked in awe. He was looking at his partner in a different light now.
“Stupid Aiba!” Ohno cursed. “The explosives he prepared went off too early! I nearly died!”
“How…? I thought you were caught and tortured to death!” Nino asked, recalling the rumors that were floating around on the streets then.
“The first blast went off too early, and the corridor collapsed and trapped my leg. The rest of the explosives went off soon after because of the fire… But the first blast gave Dad ample time to run away. Thankfully that idiot Aiba was hanging around the castle to admire his handiwork, and came to rescue me before I was burned to death. Caught? The bandits were too busy running for their lives to bother looking for the culprit!” Ohno spat.
“The Shadow Master…” Nino muttered. “How can you just call him ‘Dad’ so casually?” Nino accused.
Ohno shrugged. “Because it's too troublesome to say Shadow Master. Or Oda Hiroshiki. He's the dad that I want to kill with my own hands.” Ohno's voice trembled as he unpleasant memories surfaced.
“Have you met him?” Nino asked cautiously.
“I was five when he came back.” Ohno whispered.
“He looked for my mother, only to find that she had killed herself after I was born. So he took my sister and raped her at my mother's grave. They found her dead by the tombstone later….”
“I'm so sorry…” Nino whispered. Compared to Ohno, he was lucky. His mother was also emotionally destroyed by her ordeal, but she had pulled through and was still alive. And so were his siblings.
“Oda Hiroshiki?” Nino pipped, remembering Ohno's words.
“Yes. That's his given name. Looks like I'm further ahead in my investigations, eh?” Ohno mused.
Nino huffed.
“So now what?” Nino asked. It was great that he found a partner to help in his mission to eliminate the scumbag and leader of the bandits that was his father. But he had to check out Ohno's story first.
“I'm sure you have things to do.” Ohno replied as if reading his mind. Nino nodded.
“I'm getting closer to discovering his new lair too.” Ohno continued.”Why don't we each continue our own investigations and meet up at The Wild Boar tavern in two months’ time?”
“During the summer festival.” Nino replied.
“Yes, during the summer festival,” Ohno confirmed.
With that, they parted ways, melting into the forest as they each went about their own business.
“Tadaima!” Nino greeted as he entered his house. He jingled his money pouch and plonked the heavy pouch on the table.
“Hmm…” Nino muttered as he looked around the empty house. His mom must be at the orphanage. Looking after the children orphaned after the village was attacked and subsequently ruled by the Shadow Master was her occupation now and kept her sane. The orphanage was filled with children whose parents were killed in the war, as well as his half brothers and sisters. Women were kidnapped and violated by the Shadow Master, and Nino was one of the results. Unwanted by their mothers and ostracised by the rest of the villagers, Nino’s mother took them into the orphanage.
It has been 5 years since they finally managed to chase the Shadow Bandits out of their village alone for good. And since then Nino had joined the Ninja academy and made a name for himself, even earning the right to wield the village’s prized possession, the Konseki. At the same time, thanks to his accomplishments, the villagers became more accepting of his half brothers and sisters.
Nino sighed as he stashed his coins away. He would use some of it later on to give the children a treat. Perhaps some shaved ice, as the weather was starting to grow hot. But for now, he had some investigation to carry out, regarding his supposed half brother and that bastard of a father. Nino shook his head as he left to find the village elder. Just how many children had that one man fathered?
Ohno hadn't been entirely truthful to Nino. He wasn't closer to discovering the Shadow Bandits lair. He'd already discovered it. Thanks to the work of his younger brother, Matsumoto. Now, he was heading towards Niigata to meet up with MatsuJun to find out more.
“It's a maze in there!” Jun confessed as he showed Ohno his rudimentary maps of the cave system.
The two had met over a decade ago. Ohno was still a street urchin then, getting by with food scraps and whatever he could steal after his sister was killed and his relatives kicked him out of the house, seeing him as nothing but a reminder of his half sister’s death. Jun was an orphan roaming the streets too, and Ohno had shared his food and survival tricks with the younger boy. Unlike Ohno, Jun wasn’t a spawn of the bastard. Instead, his parents and extended family had been wiped out by the Shadow Bandits. It was then when the two made a pact. Ohno had better physical prowess, and had a higher chance of getting into the Ninja academy. On the other hand, Jun would join the bandits and rise amongst the ranks. Together, they would take down the man who ruined their lives.
Ohno studied the maps for a while before leaning back, deep in thought.
“Nii-chan?” Jun interrupted after he grew wary of the silence.
“What’s the plan this time, will we go with explosives?” Jun asked.
“Explosives?” Ohno snorted. “After Aiba’s massive failure last time?”
“He did warn you it was an experimental product…” Jun shrugged.
“Geez, did you know how much I suffered while I was injured?” Ohno retorted.
“He did save you…” Jun offered.
“Shut up, you baka. No, I’m hoping to rely on something else this time. Poisons.” Ohno replied.
“Oh, since when did Nii-chan learn about poisons?” Jun asked, curious.
Ohno shook his head. “Not me, but I found a poison master, probably the best in the world.”
Jun raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Why would he help us?” Jun asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, now… It’s getting late, I think it’s better if you head back before anyone finds out you’re here.” Ohno said as he pocketed the maps and stood up to leave.
“Alright, I’ll wait for the usual then?” Jun asked.
“Yes, the usual.” Ohno confirmed.
Ohno sat in a corner of The Wild Boar, sipping his sake slowly as the scanned the faces in the tavern. He was almost certain that Nino would show up. Almost. His gut instincts told him that Nino wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity for revenge, but considering how it was the second last day of the week-long summer festival, Ohno wasn’t sure if his instincts could still be trusted anymore.
He was about to give up and down the rest of his sake when he spotted a familiar figure ducking in through the door.
“You sure kept me waiting,” Ohno smiled. “Care for some sake?”
“Save the sake for another day,” Nino said as he stopped Ohno from calling the bartender.
“What proposal do you have for me?” Nino asked.
“Right to the point, eh? Very well, let’s find a place to talk.” Ohno replied.
“So, what did you find out about me?” Ohno casually asked. The question threw Nino off guard.
“What? Of course I would expect you to check me up. That was what the two months was for, after all.”
Seeing Nino’s reluctance to talk, Ohno continued. “Look, I need to know if you’re in on this before I share my information with you.”
“I think this is not such a good idea after all, two strangers trusting each other like this.” Nino huffed.
“Geez, what’s the matter with you?” Ohno asked as he grabbed Nino’s wrist to prevent him from leaving.
“We’re not strangers. We’re half brothers.” Ohno corrected as he stared into Nino’s eyes.
“That much I’m sure you would have ascertained.”
Nino took a deep breath before replying. “I’d very much rather not be reminded of that bastard, thank you.”
Ohno laughed bitterly. “How ironic isn’t it? That the man who fathered us is also our most hated enemy.”
“But you know something? I’ve come to accept it now, over the years. If I wasn’t who I am, I’d just be a farmer now, toiling in the fields, saving up gold to open a bread shop. I would not have entered the Ninja academy. And even if I did, I wouldn’t have worked hard to succeed. Even though he was never around, he has still shaped me into who I am. It hasn’t been an easy life, but I like the way things turned out.” Ohno confessed.
“We never had a choice, Nino, no one ever gets to choose who their parents are. But how we live our lives - that is something we can choose. I have a dream, you know. That one day we’d get rid of the black menace lurking these lands. In the absence of the Shadow Master and the Shadow Bandits, there will be a power vacuum, and to combat that, I want to set up a new village. A ninja academy. Not the usual ones that we have currently. Something bigger, larger, more holistic. We’ll train a ninja army, to police the lands and keep the peace. I want to change the world, Nino. Will you change it with me?”
“It’s not going to be easy. But we’ll take it one step at a time. And the first step is to work towards demolishing the Shadow Bandits. I have information about their lair. I need your help, your knowledge of poisons to help take them down.” Ohno pleaded.
“And why must I help you?” Nino asked. Ohno’s speech was convincing, but he’d been working alone since the beginning. He needed more than just words to convince him.
“Do you really think you can kill the Shadow Master alone? All by yourself? Do you have any idea what you’re up against? There’s nearly 500 men in his headquarters. Do you think you stand a chance against them?” Ohno quizzed.
“I have my poison.” Nino shrugged, dangling the skill Ohno wanted him for like a carrot.
“You do, but could you poison the entire mountain alone?” Ohno asked, offering Nino a hint of the location of the Shadow Bandit lair.
Nino shrugged.
“In my Ninja academy we had a simple rule.” Nino said as he drew out two parallel lines roughly a meter apart in the dirt with his feet.
Ohno narrowed his eyes as soon as he saw what Nino was doing.
“The loser listens to the winner. If you win, I’ll follow your plans and if you lose, I’ll go on my way.”
“And what would we fight with?” Ohno looked in amusement at the ‘kawa’ lines Nino had drawn. It was ninja tradition that had long since been abandoned. And wisely so. In the original incarnation, the two participating ninjas would have a fight to the death within the confines of those two lines. The loser would end up lying dead on the floor, forming the middle stroke of the kanji for river. As ninjas grew less abundant though, they realised that it wasn’t a good idea to kill each other on whim and the tradition was lost. Thankfully, Ohno noted, it didn’t seem like Nino was looking for a fight to the death, as that would do their goal of killing the Shadow Bandit no good.
“Here, take these,” Nino said as he threw out a pair of wooden kunai to Ohno.
Instead of the sharp edges of your typical metal kunai, the edges of the wooden ones had been rounded off.
“Neat, where did you get these from?” Ohno asked as he examined the weapons.
“Standard issue school weapons.” Nino shrugged. He’d always keep two pairs with him ever since he entered the ninja academy. Winning in a kawa match was the quickest way to shut his enemies up. And as a child of the bastard, Nino had a lot of enemies.
“Just so you know, I’ve never lost a match before,” Nino warned.
Ohno shrugged as he took off the katana on his back and place it aside.
“Just so you know, I’ve never fought in a kawa before,” Ohno replied with a smile.
Nino laughed. “You lose if you step out of the line or if any part of your body, besides your feet touches the ground.” Nino clarified.
“Oh, now that’s interesting.” Ohno muttered as he stepped into the battleground, lowering his stance as he got ready to battle. The kunai was much lighter than the typical iron kunai, meaning that while he’d be able to move faster, his strikes would also be much weaker. He was sure it would be impossible to push Nino out of the line. Instead, he’d have to rely on overpowering his opponent and making him surrender on his own, or push him onto the ground. Neither of which seemed likely to happen… Unless… Ohno narrowed his eyes. He did have one advantage over Nino. One big advantage.
They struck at the same time, the wooden kunais making dull thuds as they connected. A fury of blows were exchanged. Initially, they each dodged or block all the blows, but as the battle got more and more heated and the speed of the blows grew faster and faster, there was no time to dodge or block anything but the critical blows. Still, Ohno kept to his strategy of block as many blows dealt by Nino’s left hand as possible, and he even tried to one up Nino’s blow with his powerful blocks. All the while, he made sure to keep his left knee out of Nino’s reach.
As the battle continued, Ohno felt it. Slowly but surely, Nino’s left hand was weakening. With each blow he returned, Nino was wincing more and even occasionally grunting in pain. Finally, his grip on the kunai loosen completely and the kunai flew out of his hand with Ohno’s horizontal strike.
Nino let out a yelp of pain as he dropped his other kunai to the floor and clutched his injured hand.
“I guess this ends in a draw.” Ohno said warily as he dropped his kunai to the floor and went off to pick up his katana.
“Wait, what is the meaning of this!” Nino demanded, still clutching his hand in agony.
“As I said, it’s a draw.” Ohno shrugged as he dust the dirt off this scabbard.
“I get it, I get it, you win, I’ll follow you,” Nino muttered.
Ohno picked up the wooden kunais and returned it to Nino. “I’m saying it for the last time. It’s a draw. I want you to work with me, but I want it to be on your own free will.”
“I don’t know what you have planned next, but I was planning to head to Sakurai-sensei’s place anyway. I think you should come along.” Ohno said, looking at Nino’s hand.
They journeyed in silence. Finally, it was Nino who spoke.
“You’re the first person I lost to.”
“How many times…” Ohno started saying, but Nino interrupted him with a sigh.
“Look, it was clearly my loss. And don’t worry, I am working with you because I want to.” Nino replied.
“As you say. It’s getting late and there’s a stream up ahead. Perhaps we should stop to rest?” Ohno asked.
“No, we should be reaching in a few hours, let’s continue on.” Nino grunted.
Ohno frowned. “Wait, let me see your hand!” Ohno demanded as he reached out to take Nino’s hand. Ohno carefully unwrapped the cloth Nino had wrapped around the injury. He gasped when he saw how red and swollen Nino’s hand had become.
“My gosh! I’m so sorry!” Ohno exclaimed.
Nino shook his head. “Don’t me. It was a fight I wanted anyway. The blame is all mine.”
“Either way… Let’s make haste,” Ohno replied worriedly as they continued in the direction of the healer’s house.
“Why does it feel like we’ve been here before?” Nino groaned as he pushed himself out of his futon. Ohno had picked the spot across the room, in the same location as when he’d met Nino for the first time.
“Because we have?” Ohno chuckled.
“Water? I can walk this time.” Ohno offered.
“I can walk too,” Nino replied, slightly insulted.
“Maybe, but you really should stay in bed. You were running such a high fever… Sho was getting really worried.”
Nino tried to recall how he ended up in Sakurai’s house, but his mind drew a blank.
“Lay back down, I’ll fetch Sho and some water.” Ohno continued as he pulled the blanket over Nino once more.
“Wait, how long have I been here?” Nino suddenly asked.
Ohno’s face darkened at the question. “Three days, Nino. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”
The first sign of something wrong came when Nino stumbled on the tree roots in the dense forest floor.
“Nino, are you alright?” Ohno asked as he hurried to Nino’s side, concerned. He was really regretting his decision to fight that kawa match with Nino now. In his defence, he hadn’t expected the top ninja of the wind village to be this weak.
“I can still walk, don’t worry about me…” Nino slurred.
“Yeah, right.” Ohno muttered as he placed Nino on his back. The younger man was clearly running a fever. Ohno took a deep breath and braced himself before he started running. He wasn’t sure how an injured hand could have led Nino to his current state, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good, and he had better hurry to Sho’s before things got worse. Ohno could only hope that Nino could hang on till then.
“So, what did you want me for?” Sho asked Ohno.
They were sitting by the backyard, having lunch. Nino’s health was much improved, though his left hand still needed a long time to heal. Sakurai-sensei had forbidden him from using his left hand at all to allow it to recover.
“The time has come, Sho, I need your help.” Ohno sighed.
“Oh, how could a medicine man like me be of service?” Sho replied innocently.
“Stop playing dumb.” Ohno replied, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
“You know very well what I want, and you know very well the reason why I have sought for Nino’s help.”
“Poisons.” Nino offered.
“So what are we to do with the poisons, you said you wanted to poison a whole mountain?” Nino continued, remembering what Ohno had told him several days ago.
“That’s right,” Ohno nodded.
“My sworn brother has infiltrated into the ranks of the Shadow Bandits. He recently got promoted to work in the homebase. The head quarters. Where the Shadow Master is. They are using the network of caves in Niigata as their lair.” Ohno said as he took out the maps Jun had drawn for him.
“He’s still a rookie there, and he hasn’t had time to explore the place thoroughly enough… But he did observe that they drilled a network of shafts in the side of the mountain so that fresh air could enter the tunnels. If we could develop a gas, maybe something poisonous, or weakening… We’d be able to take out a lot of their forces at once!” Ohno exclaimed.
“Do you have anything that might work?” Ohno asked.
Nino and Sho looked at each other.
“Moon root with white fungus!” They exclaimed in unison.
“What’s that?” Ohno asked. It sounded familiar, but that was all he could make of it.
“Well it’s a slow acting poison,” Sho explained.
“But there are problems. It’s actually the moon root that is poisonous. The white fungus growing on the moon root absorbs the poison from the root, and it causes the fungal spores released to be poisonous as well. However, moon root is hard to find, and the white fungus can take very long to grow. Finally, the effect depends on how the wind carries the spores, and how many spores a person breathes in… So it’s an unreliable method at best. If we are planning an attack, we need to be certain of how many bandits our method can take out. Plus… I presume the Shadow Master has a huge lair, you’ll need to grow enough white fungus for years to fill his lair with the white fungus. No, we’ll need to find an alternative.” Nino expounded.
“As expected of the poison master!” Sho exclaimed, applauding. “You know all about the application of poisons, whereas a scholar like myself has just the knowledge.”
Nino shook his head. “Nah, it’s because of scholars like you that ninjas like myself know what poisons are available.”
“Fantastic! Looks like I found the right people to join the team,” Ohno replied, his face lighting up with excitement as he spoke. “With the two of you working together, I’m sure you’ll find something effective to carry out our plans!”
“I guess. We need more information about the lair, though.” Nino replied.
Ohno nodded. “We can try to make contact with him during next month's full moon.”
“In the meantime, you should rest up and get your strength back. Poison and tricks may work against his underlings, but we'll need to kill the Shadow Master with brute strength.”
Nino sighed dejectedly as he looked at his left hand. Sure he'd gotten much more ambidextrous since he'd gotten his hand crushed, but losing the use of one hand was still a huge loss. Even eating lunch with chopsticks while being unable to pick up his bowl was a chore.
“I'll leave the two of you to do your research,” Ohno announced. “I'll be back in a few days. Maybe a week at most.”
“Where to?” Nino asked quizzingly.
“To find Aiba.” Sho replied for Ohno. He shuddered thinking about the cheery man. Aiba had wondered why his explosives did not work as planned, and proceeded the blow a hole up the beautiful mountain side before Sho could throw him out of his valley. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd just saved Ohno and carried him all the way to his house, Sho was sure he'd have murdered the younger man.
Ohno looked at Sho with wary eyes.
“I know you don't like Aiba.” Ohno replied.
“That's an understatement.” Sho huffed.
“But with so many cave entrances… I don't think we have a choice.” Ohno shrugged.
“As much as I distrust his explosives… We need to blow up some entrances, or tunnels even, so that we can force them to be where we want them to be… Unless you know of someone else who'd help our cause?” Ohno asked, clocking his head to the side.
“I guess not.” Sho sighed. Explosive masters were far and few between, and Aiba was the only one that Sho had had contact with.
Nino shook his head as well. He'd not dabbled in explosives before and didn't have any contacts.
“I guess that settles it. I'll see you two in a few days.” Ohno said as he picked up his beloved katana.
“I'll make sure he doesn't blow up your valley.” Ohno assured Sho as he left.
Sho nodded in appreciation. The valley wasn't technically his, but he'd been living there for nearly two decades now, learning the art of healing from his former master. The valley was beautiful and sustained him. The stream brought fresh water from the mountains, the lake the stream fed into provided fishes and shrimp to supplement his diet. The ground was fertile and his vegetables grew without needing much tending. And in the forest, a variety of herbs and plants grew. It was paradise on earth, Sho would admit, and he wanted to protect that paradise.
Nino was sitting by the lake when he was surprised to see not two, but three man coming down into the valley. One of them was Ohno alright, he'd recognise that figure from anywhere now. But why were there two men with Ohno?
Nino made his way back to Sho's hut where he'd left his sai. He may not be able to best Ohno in a fight, but he'd rather not be caught off guard.
“This is Aiba, and this is Kazama” Ohno introduced.
“Kaza-pon is my disciple!” Aiba excitedly announced.
“We're childhood friends.” Kazama clarified.
“He's my assistant!” Aiba continued.
“I make sure he doesn't blow himself up.” Kazama said with a nod.
Sho chuckled at the interaction between the two men. It seemed like he needn't worry so much about Aiba destroying everything after all.
The days passed by quickly. Ohno had found a barren, rocky mountain side several kilometers away, and with Sho's approval, the Aiba-Kazama pair had set up camp there to test their explosives.
Meanwhile, Nino joined Ohno on his morning runs, before leaving with Sho to search the mountains for herbs they might use.
Ohno would then practice sparring until it was dusk, when he'd catch some fish and meet with the rest of the gang in a forest clearing, midway between Aiba's camp and the valley. That was also when the two demolition experts would fill up their water skins.
Then, they would soak in the stream together, washing away their sweat and updating each other on their progress.
It was on one such occasion that Ohno announced it was time for them to meet his contact.
“I have sent out word to Jun.” Ohno stated.
“He should be able to meet us within a week of the full moon.”
After much discussion, it was decided that Ohno, Nino and Sho would go along to the rendezvous. The more the people, the higher the chance that they would be discovered.
“I have good news and bad news.” Jun announced as soon as introductions were made.
“So what's the good news?” Ohno asked.
“I'm getting promoted!” Jun beamed.
“Oh?” Ohno raised an eyebrow. “What to?”
“Squad leader.” Jun sighed.
“Which means you won't be at the HQ anymore…” Ohno summarised.
“Yes. That's the bad news… But that means we can meet up more often. And I have more information now!” Jun whispered.
“Oda is planning a campaign in Okinawa next winter.”
“They will begin recon missions next spring, and in summer Oda intends to visit Okinawa himself.” Jun continued.
“And maybe raid a few villages and father a few more children as warm up.” Ohno muttered.
Jun gave Ohno a look of disgust. “Yes maybe. But that matters not. What matters is that the HQ will be empty! Empty! Think about it! Minimum troops! I'm trying to get myself assigned to HQ guard duty. If I succeed, that means you have the whole summer to rig up the caves and destroy him when he returns!” Jun exclaimed excitedly.
“And if you fail?” Nino asked.
“It's still easier to sneak in when there's so few troops in the summer! And when Oda returns, he'll find that nothing is waiting for him but death!” Jun beamed.
“But wait a minute. The timing is strange. He'd head to Okinawa in the summer. Return for the autumn, then start a war in winter?” Ohno asked. “What makes you think he'll return in winter? And after taking over a land he'd always stay there for some time, maybe even years before he moves out.”
“Or get chased out,” Nino interjected.
“I'm worried about that as well.” Jun admitted.”I don't understand his rationale for splitting the campaign into two… But i do know that he's planning to take over Okinawa and make that his new HQ.”
“Rumors in the caves are that the winter is really harsh there. Even deep within the tunnels, the frigid winter air seeps into your bones and chills your soul. I heard last winter a few dozen men died. The Shadow himself is suffering from arthritis and wanted to in relocate his lair to a warmer place.” Jun concluded.
“Oh yes, before I forget. The maps.” Jun added as he took out a cloth bundle from his tunic. Compared to his previous draft, the maps were much more detailed this time. Jun even included the number of steps he took to walk through each tunnel or area, giving them a concrete idea of how large each area was.
“Thanks, Jun.” Ohno replied gratefully as he kept the maps. “Keep safe, we are counting on you.”
Jun nodded and melted back into the shadows.
“Do you think,” Sakurai finally spoke. “That if we spread that word that I have an effective cure for arthritis, that they'll take the bait?”
Ohno shrugged. “They might. But what do you plan to do?”
“And before you begin, just let it be known that I want you back alive and well. I want everyone back alive and well. What use is there to building a new world, if none of us can live to see it?”
“Plus, we need people to build it.” Ohno added.
“Don't worry. I don't plan on dying just yet.” Sho replied.
“But I do have this new drug called opium. It doesn't treat arthritis but it numbs all pain and is highly addictive.” Sho mused.
“I'm not sure if it'll work… We'll have to think more carefully through this.” Sho concluded.
“Indeed we must,” Nino agreed as he stood up and prepared to head home.
“You know, it would be good if you could win the Shadow Master’s trust.” Ohno said after they recounted the events of the night to Aiba and Kazama.
“That the drug is highly addictive is the key. We could smuggle explosives with the drugs. Or maybe mix in some slow acting poison…” Ohno explained.
“Or both.” Nino offered.
“And do you think they'd let you take an assistant with you?” Nino asked. “Then we could have Aiba… Or maybe Kazama go with you to check out the caves themselves.” Nino offered, remembering Sho's love, or lack thereof, for Aiba.
“Wait wait wait, I'm not even sure they will bite yet!” Sho protested. The conversation had progressed too fast for his liking.
But Ohno ignored him. “You know… If you could whisper into his ears and convince him to put some opium into everyone's food… Wouldn't that be good?”
Sho's eyes bulged at the suggestion.
“Geez, how much of this opium do you think I have?! And what good would feeding opium to the common soldiers do?” Sho protested.
“I don't know?” Ohno shrugged. “What does opium even do anyway?” Ohno asked as he looked at Sho innocently.
“Yeah, what's the treatment plan for Mister Shadow?” Aiba chimed.
“Woah. Hold your horses, everyone. There's a lot more details I need to work out. And I need to get my hands on more opium first. I think a trip to Kyoto is in order.” Sho said as he looked around.
“Then you'd better hurry, winter will be upon us soon, if we miss this opportunity, we'd have to wait till summer. And by then, more innocent lives would have been lost and ruined.” Ohno said as he nodded his head.
“Erm, I can go with you if you like?” Aiba helpfully offered.
That made Sho change his mind in an instant. “No thanks, that wouldn't be necessary.” He replied curtly.
“If you say so… I think me and Kaza-pon will need to buy more explosives before doing more testing with the new maps Jun-kun has brought us.” Aiba replied.
“I think we should check out the Niigata mountains too before we get the explosives.” Kazama offered.
“Yes yes, we need to see the soil and rock composition ne? You're learning fast, Kaza-pon!” Aiba cooed, while Kazama merely rolled his eyes and sighed.
“I'll train with Ohno for a bit then,” Nino commented off handedly.
Ohno raised his eyebrows. Nino had hardly talked with him one on one ever since their duel. Even went they did their morning routines together, it had always been in silence. Ohno had always felt that Nino was jogging with him because the alternative was even more awkward, so he was pleasantly surprised that Nino wanted to train with him. “Erm… Sure. Just not more kawa matches.” Ohno teased.
“That's a given!” Nino grinned.
“Say, Nino, have you ever considered changing weapons? To something that you could wield single handedly and with more reach?” Ohno asked as the two of them took turns throwing shurikens at the target boars Ohno had fashioned out of logs.
“Yeah… I did, but the ninjatos are slow!” Nino complained. “The balance is just off and… I don't know. It just doesn't feel right.”
“Have you tried a katana then?” Ohno asked.
“Katana?” Nino balked. “Katanas are expensive! They are thousands of gold at minimum… Where am I to get so much money from?” Nino protested.
“Well… Have you tried a katana before?” Ohno asked again.
“No.” Nino admitted.
Ohno removed his katana from his back and threw the sword to Nino.
“Try Akatsuki.” He commanded.
“Wait, what…” Nino started to protest.
“I said, try it.” Ohno insisted.
Nino tied the sword around is waist and drew out the katana gingerly.
He sliced the air experimentally as Ohno watched from the side.
Slowly, the moves came back to him. He was a left hander, but at the academy, his instructors had forced him to wield his ninjato with his right hand. As a result, he came to despise sword lessons and instead did better at two handed weapons like the sai that he eventually inherited, as he was able to employ the use of his better, left hand. But the thing he had despised was actually a good thing now that his left hand was out of commission.
Nino's moves became more fluid as he practiced his drills, adding more movement and speed as he went. By the time he was finished, he'd worked up a huge sweat.
Ohno applauded as Nino bent down to catch his breath.
“Looks like I was right after all. The katana suits you well “ Ohno nodded in approval.
Nino undid the katana straps and held the katana awkwardly. As magnificent as the sword had been, it wasn't his.
“Erm so now what…” Nino muttered awkward.
“I guess now I'll lend you the Akatsuki.” Ohno shrugged.
“But.. You..?” Nino asked.
Ohno looked up and down Nino.
“I'm not too bad with the sai… If I can say so myself,” Ohno grinned.
Nino blushed. “Why, of course!” He exclaimed as he fumbled around his sweaty tunic for his Konseki.
“Then I'll lend you this in return I guess.” Nino declared.
Nino watched in awe as Ohno wielded his sai with ease. For a moment Nino forgot that the weapon was actually his. It felt as if Ohno had been using the Konseki all his life.
“I practiced a lot of dual wield weapons before I got the katana.” Ohno explained. “Well actually even now. I always think it's a good thing to train both hands, you know.”
“That's why you could wield the katana with such ease, isn't it?” Ohno asked.
Nino thought back on his sword lessons in the academy. He was awkward, almost pathetic then. Heck, even when he was using his sai, he was mainly fighting with his left hand while his right rested. His instructors had often scolded him for that, but he hadn't paid much heed to their advice. He was always winning anyway. Perhaps partly because his right handed counterparts were not used to fighting a southpaw like him. His right hand did improve after he graduated from the academy though. Little by little,with every fight he won, his skills also grew a little. Until two years ago when he'd crushed his left hand. That was when he'd put in a lot more effort into making sure his right hand was up to par with his left.
“Indeed… I might well have cut myself already, if not for all the effort I put in with the sai after my injury.” Nino agreed as he tightened his grip on the katana.
“Only till we kill the Shadow Master yeah? Promise me you take good care of Akatsuki till then, after which you'll have to get your own katana!” Ohno commented as he saw Nino's death grip on his sword.
“Of course, and you take you good care of my Konseki. Someday my left hand will be able to wield it again, I'll show you.” Nino smiled.
“It's a promise!” Ohno nodded approvingly.
It happened all too suddenly.
Sho was travelling in the carriage driven by Kazama when the bandits found them.
They lay tied up and blindfolded in the carriage as the horse changed course for the mountains of Niigata. Everything had been going according to plan, but Sho was still scared. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he took deep breaths in bid to calm himself down.
He rehearsed the plans over and over in his mind to pass the time.
On the other hand, Nino and Ohno were panting as they hauled the last bit of explosives up the mountain. Over the past week, they had hauled up over a hundred crates of explosives up the mountain. Now their hands and feet were sore and blistering from the hard labour.
“These are the goods that you ordered!” Aiba announced as he pointed to the crates of explosives piled in the clearing.
Jun gave the goods a casual glance before ordering his men to bring them into the cave.
“Remember to split them up properly into the different storage areas!” Jun ordered.
“30 boxes each! Go go go!” Jun yelled, hands behind his back as he stood and watched. Being a squad leader had its advantages. Sure, he'd soon be questioned for storing weaponry in the food cellar. But it didn't matter, the end was near and all Jun needed to do was ensure he could live to see the next sunrise.
Sho blinked as his blindfold was taken off. He was in a dimly lit cave. He heaved a sigh of relief as he spotted Kazama with his medicine box by the side.
“Kaza-pon! Are you alright?” Sho asked as he rushed to the younger man, adopting the nickname Aiba used for Kazama.
Kazama blinked and adjusted his eyes to the light. He too, was nervous. He didn't trust his voice yet, so he merely nodded.
The room was spartan. A shelf adorned the wall, and two futons were laid out to the side.
“These are your living quarters.” The bandit huffed.
“Master will be ready to see you in a while, make yourself comfortable till then.” The other bandit continued, before locking them in the room.
They stood there unmoving, listening to the footsteps of the bandits fade away into the corridor. Sho took a deep breath as he gingerly made his way to the wall and placed his ears against it.
“Sound travels well through the cave walls and floor. You can listen for enemies approaching by placing your ear against the walls.” Jun had advised.
Satisfied that they were alone, Sho went to check out the futons. He was elated to find a coin from Jun inside. Their informant had done a great job.
Sho gave Kazama a nod. Kazama carefully removed a bag of white powder and placed it as flat as possible in the futon. They had carefully wrapped the sleeping powder in layers of cloth so that the powder would not leak out.
Then, they sat on the remaining futon and waited.
“Our Master will see you now.” The bandit announced as the door was thrown open. Again, Aiba and Kaza-pon were blindfolded before being marched off into the maze of tunnels.
Sho gasped in spite of himself when he saw the state of the Shadow Master's joints. They were swollen to at least twice their original size. Sho's mind raced. In this situation, it was probably better if he kept the opium in his bag. The pain would hinder his movements and make it easier for Ohno and Nino to take him down.
But alas, the bandits were having none of it.
“I suggest acupuncture, it is highly effective and…”
Oda slammed his hands in the table.
“Do you take me for an idiot? You promised my man a wonder drug that takes the pain away. I want that now!” The Shadow Master demanded.
A clanging of metal resounded around the room as the bandit guards drew their sword.
“Of course, of course, it is as you wish.” Sho replied, his voice trembling as sweat dropped from his forehead.
The Shadow Master laughed at Sho's predicament.
“I get whatever I want, every time, anytime. Don't worry. Just give me the medicine and everything will be fine.”
“Of course master,” Sho replied meekly.
“I will need some hot water to prepare the medicine.” Sho said as he regained his composure. Kazama lifted the medicine box onto the table and opened it.
The Shadow Master motioned for his underlings to bring the requested hot water.
Sho made a big show of the drug preparation. He took his time crushing some herbs, measured various powders carefully with different implements, and he even had a cup to measure the amount of water needed. The result was a fragrant brown liquid, which Sho placed on the table and indicated to the Shadow Master was done. In reality, all Sho needed to add was the opium laced with sleeping powder… But he had learned from experience that creating the expectation of healing was as important as the actual cure itself.
The bandit guard picked up the bowl and sniffed it experimentally.
“Hurry and bring it here, you nitwit!” Oda bellowed.
The guard hurriedly brought the bowl over, and Oda drunk it in one gulp before his guards could protest.
Sho cursed silently in his mind. It seemed like they'd over thought things after all. They were afraid that the Shadow Master would make him or Kazama drink the medicine instead to make sure that there was no poison. If only he'd added more sleeping powder…
“What! What are you staring at me for! Send our guests to their rooms!” Oda yelled as he lumbered to his bed and dismissed the visitors.
“Yokatta!” Kazama heaved a sigh of relief as soon as they were alone in their room.
“Shh,” Sho motioned as he placed a finger to his lips.
Kazama whispered an apology as he felt around the futon.
“It's gone!” He whispered. In place of the bag of sleeping powder, there was a bronze key.
The two men looked at each other and nodded as a smile slowly spread across their faces. The first part of their job had been a success!
Jun scurried to the kitchen cellar to find out what the fuss was about.
“What is this! Why are your things here in my cellar?! This is my space! Mine! Who allowed you to use it!” The chef bellowed.
Jun lowered his head and apologized. “I'm so sorry! I'll get it removed immediately!”
As Jun watched his men carry the crates of explosives out, he discreetly poured the bag of white powder into the barrels of fermented rice wine sitting out in the kitchen.
The show would begin at dinner time.
There was a knock and then the door swung open.
“Wait, what…”
Before the bandit could even finish his sentence, Sho had stabbed him in the neck with his poisoned needle. Sho caught the dinner tray before it hit the floor and made a ruckus. Task successful, Sho let out an evil smirk that sent chills down Kazama’s spine. He was glad he wasn't the healer’s enemy.
“Let's go!” Sho nodded to Kazama as he checked the corridor. The coast was clear, and they had changed into the bandits’ uniform.
Kazama took a deep breath and steeled himself for the task ahead.
“Unn. Let's go.”
They hurried along the corridors, following the route Jun had drawn out for them in the maps. There were five major exits to the cave system, three of which conveniently had storage areas along the way. Jun’s underlining would have filled those storage areas with the explosives, and Kazama’s job was to rearrange the explosives, lay the timed fuses, light them, and get the heck of there. It was a challenging job, but Kazama was up for it. Ideally, all three storage areas would blow up at roughly the same time, but without sufficient manpower and the lack of a reliable time keeping device, Kazama would settle for anything that allowed him and Sho to get out alive. It was a race against time, and Kazama was determined not to lose.
On the other side of the caves, Jun slipped out of the banquet hall. It was the Shadow Master’s birthday, and the festivities had just began. Oda had made his grand entrance into the mess hall with his gigantic axe, his weapon of choice. The chefs had prepared a ton of meat, and the tainted rice wine was flowing freely from the barrels. Sho and Nino had carefully adjusted the strength of the sleeping powder. The merrymakers would only start feeling a little drowsy after a few cups, and even then they’d probably think that it was because the drink was too strong.
Jun met up with Aiba, Nino and Ohno along the corridor. The trio had changed into bandit outfits - if anyone stopped them, they would pretend that they were members of Jun’s squad. They worked quickly and quietly, sticking the explosive charges to the tunnel walls every meter. The ideal distance to place the charges was something Aiba and Kazama had worked out. Too far apart and the chain of explosions would end. Too near and you would end up wasting the charges. They were nearing the last of their stock of charges when the first explosion went off.
“Oh no! We’re out of time! Just dump the rest and go!” Ohno commanded as the emptied their packs and hightailed out of the tunnel.
“Go! All of you go!” Aiba urged as he connected the fuse with the outermost charges. He would wait for the other two blasts to go off before lighting up the fuse.
“Be careful!” Ohno yelled as he made his way to the clearing below the only remaining exit.
They had chosen to leave that exit untouched due to the inaccessibility of the exit. It opened out to the face of a cliff, only collected to the clearing below by a narrow ledge where one misstep would send you falling to certain death.
Nino and Ohno had chosen the clearing for their final clash with their father, if Oda Hiroshiki survived that long at all. They had took great pains to wet the ledge the night before - the frigid winter air would soon turn the water into ice - and they’d hammered in spikes into the clearing to kill the unfortunate bandits. Those who survived would then face the fury of either of the three men. They took their positions at the opposite ends of the clearing and waited for the first wave of bandits to rush out of the cave. Ohno adjusted his sai, well technically Nino’s sai, in his hands. They would leave no bandit alive today.
The screams came before they saw the bodies.
It was a frightening scene, even more so as the sunset and the sky grew dark. Bodies were raining from the sky, and wherever they landed, Ohno, Jun or Nino would rush over to deliver the final blow. Ohno was starting to grow disillusioned that they’d get to ascertain the death of the Shadow Master when the sky suddenly turned dark. A large figure had blocked out the moonlight.
“Useless scum!” A large voice bellowed.
The owner of the voice needed no introduction. The Shadow Master was here.
“What on earth!” Nino swore as the Shadow Master leapt from the cave exit directly out onto the clearing. With a huge swing of his axe, he knocked away his fallen comrades, clearing out a space for him to battle.
Jun attempted to make the first move but Ohno stopped him.
“Stay back, Jun, this isn’t your fight.” Ohno hissed as he lunged at Oda, launching a quick strike at his thick chest.
They would have to win with quick strikes and multiple attacks. It was a battle of attrition, one that required the ninjas to be at the top of their game at all times. One hit from the axe could behead them.
Nino jumped back in a hurry as the Shadow Master suddenly turned his attention onto him. Poison! The word screamed in his mind. But to deploy his poisonous throwing knives, Nino needed to put distance between himself and the giant Oda. Ohno seemed to understand his intentions as well, because he came swinging his sais wildly at Oda.
“Leave him to me!” Ohno yelled as he landed a hit on the Shadow’s back. But Oda merely shrugged it off like it was nothing as he continued to hack the ground around Nino.
“Get behind me! And leave the sword” Ohno yelled.
By some miracle, Nino managed to toss Akatsuki and have it land safely in its rightful owner’s hands.
Ohno felt like a different ninja the moment he laid his hands around his sword. He’d thought he could battle with the sai, but it turned out that the reach was just too short against this behemoth of a two handed axe swinging monster.
He took a second to quickly take stock of his surroundings. They were on the edge of the clearing now. Ohno made a split second decision to lure Oda into the forest. That enraged Oda, and he swung his axe in greater angles than before, cutting down trees wherever he swung. It slowed down his speed considerably, allowing Nino plenty of time to deploy his poison weapons.
Nino watched in amazement as Oda continued swinging his axe wildly. Over a dozen poisoned throwing knives were sticking out is back, but the man seemed like he felt no pain.
Ohno gritted his teeth as he waited for an opening. He wished he had the scabbard with him as well. Drawing the sword out from the scabbard greatly increases his speed. Then suddenly, Oda’s movement stopped - his axe had caught in one of the tree trunks for a split second. Ohno’s body reacted on instinct. He leaped up and made a diagonal slash at the large man’s neck. Blood splattered all over Ohno’s tunic as Oda went limp and fell on his back, finally dead.
“That seems to be the last of them.” Jun panted as made his way to Oda’s corpse.
“No more?” Ohno asked as he pointed towards the cliff.
“No more coming out at least.” Jun replied. “You know, I still feel that we should have demolished this entrance.” Jun said, he was feeling uneasy about the possible survivors.
“Just let them be, Jun,” Ohno chided. “Or are you afraid that your former comrades would come after you?”
Jun nodded.
“Then you have more than just those survivors to worry about,” Nino quipped. “You said there were three squads not in the HQ, right wasn’t there?”
Jun sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got your backs,” Ohno offered as he gave Jun a shaky smile.
“Anyone seen Aiba, Sho or Kazama yet?” Ohno asked.
“No, but they are probably at the rendezvous point already.” Nino offered.
“Yeah… Let’s go.” Jun replied.
The three of them leaned against each other for support as they slowly made their way down the mountain.
Sho was awoken by Aiba’s excited cries.
“They are back! They are all back, everyone is safe,” Aiba yelled as he started sobbing uncontrollably.
Sho left Kazama to deal with the teary Aiba as he rushed to check on the fighters.
“Aiba, stop crying and help them into the bedding!” Sho ordered, annoyed at Aiba’s sobs.
They had chosen to make camp in open ground. The night was cold so they’d decided to throw caution to the wind and start a campfire. Sho was grateful for the light as he peeled off Ohno’s bloody tunic and washed the cuts. Ohno winced as Sho touched his wounds.
“Ah… Kaza-pon, please fetch the opium, would you?” Sho ordered. It was time to put the new drug to good use.
Jun was already sound asleep by the time Sho had finished dressing up his wound. In the distant, the sun was starting to raise. Sho yawned as he stood up to stretch his legs. The campsite was peaceful… Aiba had fallen asleep beside Kazama, and Sho was amused to see Nino snuggled up against Ohno.
Sho threw a few logs into the campfire before he too settled into his bedding.
“If I had told you that this valley would one day become a thriving village when we first met, would you have believed me?” Ohno asked as he massaged a copious amount of oil onto Nino’s back.
“Why, of course not!” Nino laughed. “I still can’t believe it now!”
Ohno laughed as he shook his head. “Neither can I!”
Nino let out a yelp as Ohno’s finger strayed into his butt hole.
“Oh-chan!” Nino protested.
“Relax, we’ll go slow ok? I promise I’ll make your first time the most memorable one of your life,” Ohno whispered into Nino’s ear as he slowly eased his fingers into his lover.
Nino woke up to find a bowl of medicine pressed against his lips. He took a sip of the medicine and nearly gagged. It was so bitter!
“Drink it down, it’s good for you,” A voice came from the other side of the room. Nino gulped down the medicine as quickly as he could, trying not to throw it up, then he drifted off to sleep.
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Nino awoke to see a man in dark ninja robes staring at him from across the room. He slowly got up from his futon, wincing as he moved his left hand.
“Good morning,” the man greeted Nino.
“I heard that you’re looking for a partner?” The man continued.
“Wait… Who are you? And who told you that?” Nino croaked, his throat was dry and raw.
“I would fetch some water for you from the kitchen if I could walk, but alas…” The man sighed as he pointed to his wrapped knee.
“Never mind about the water,” Nino said as he licked his dry lips. “Who are you?”
“Do you really not know me?” The man retorted.
Nino rubbed his eyes and took a closer look at the ninja. The clothes the man was wearing was not black, but rather, dark blue. Then his eyes laid upon the katana with the blue grip by his side. Nino’s eyes widened.
“You’re the famed Ohno Satoshi of the village of the mist!” Nino gasped. “And is that the Akatsuki…”
“That used to belong to General Kagura.” Ohno finished his sentence for him.
“And what a sad state it is for an inheritor of to Akatsuki to be in…” Ohno continued, sighing. “And what brought you here? Oh famed Ninomiya Kazunari of the hidden village of the sand.”
Nino frowned. “How do you know me?”
“Well, unless you killed the real Ninomiya and stole his Konseki, in which case, no, I wouldn’t know who you are.” Ohno continued.
Nino followed Ohno’s gaze to see his trusty pair of sai beside him. Nino grimaced as he thought of his injured hand.
“Looks like you won’t be using them for a while now.” Ohno remarked.
Nino gave Ohno a wary look. “Neither yours,” he spat back tersely as gripped his weapon tightly in his good hand.
Historically, the village of the mist and the sand had good relationships, but they were in tumultuous times now and a friend one day might turn into a foe the next.
“Relax,” Ohno chuckled. “I can’t even walk to the bathroom now, much less kill you. I heard Sakurai-sensei said you were looking for a partner though, I thought I might apply… If you don’t mind waiting for my leg to heal that is.”
Nino scoffed.
“Just something Sakurai-sensei made up on his own accord. I don’t work with others.” Nino grunted, just as the healer entered the room to check on his patients.
Ohno never brought up the topic of a partnership again, and Nino left the healer’s house 4 days later.
-----------------------------------------
Almost two years passed before they met again.
It was Ohno who approached Nino. Nino was drinking alone in a tavern when he was surprised by a tap on his shoulder.
“Oh! Akatsuki!” Nino slurred.
Ohno clicked his tongue in annoyance and motioned Nino to follow him out of the tavern.
“Have you see the notice in the adventurer’s guild?” Ohno asked as soon as they were out of the tavern.
“No, what notice? A new mission?” Nino asked, his eyes widened as Ohno nodded. Even the faintest scent of money was enough to sober him up.
“I knew you’d be interested,” Ohno smirked. “Lord Yoshimoto is hiring, he wants two ninjas.”
The mention of Lord Yoshimoto sent a rush of adrenaline through Nino’s body. The Lord was known for his large treasury.
“He asked specifically for two ninjas?” Nino asked.
“He asked for a pair, I presume it means the same thing.” Ohno shrugged nonchalantly.
Gaining no response from the other after a minute, Ohno pressed on. “Care to check out the mission with me if you’ve changed your mind about working solo?”
Nino took a deep breath and asked, “Why me?”
“Surely you can find someone from your village to partner up with, so why me?”
“Why not?” Ohno shrugged. “I’m the top ninja from my village. You’re the top ninja of your village. If we work together, we’ll be the top ninja team. Why not?”
Nino nodded and agreed to meet Ohno at the guild the next morning. He was sure there was more to things than Ohno was letting on and he was intrigued, but he sensed no hostility from the older man… And besides, there was money to be made. Nino could always break things off with Ohno later, but first he had to see what the mission and Lord Yoshimoto had to offer.
“Just this one time.” Nino said, wagging his finger at Ohno as he read the mission notice.
“Sure, just this once.” Ohno calmly replied.
500 gold for a single mission was hard for Nino to turn down.
“I want Lord Nishikido assassinated!”
“And the price?” Nino asked.
“500 gold.” Lord Yoshimoto replied.
“500 gold each? Sounds like a good deal to me.” Nino smirked.
“Wait I meant…” Lord Yoshimoto started protesting.
“I think 500 gold each should be a good sum to ensure that you’re not the one dying in your sleep, don’t you think so? Oh-chan.” Nino added, turning towards his partner.
Ohno smirked as he followed Nino’s lead. “Indeed, the cost of good poison these days has gone up so much… We don’t want Nishikido to wake up from his slumber do we?” Ohno cocked his head innocently at the Lord.
Lord Yoshimoto let out a huff. “Fine, I will pay you 500 gold now, and another 500 if the deed is done within 7 days. I will have my men confirm this.”
Nino sighed. He would have very much preferred the full payment upfront, but it seemed like there was no way to get the Lord to budge any further.
“You drive a hard deal, my Lord, but it shall be as you said.”
The Lord let out a visible sigh as Nino finally agreed. Somehow, he'd let Nino drive him to pay double his initial offer.
It was Ohno who approached Nino. Nino was drinking alone in a tavern when he was surprised by a tap on his shoulder.
“Oh! Akatsuki!” Nino slurred.
Ohno clicked his tongue in annoyance and motioned Nino to follow him out of the tavern.
“Have you see the notice in the adventurer’s guild?” Ohno asked as soon as they were out of the tavern.
“No, what notice? A new mission?” Nino asked, his eyes widened as Ohno nodded. Even the faintest scent of money was enough to sober him up.
“I knew you’d be interested,” Ohno smirked. “Lord Yoshimoto is hiring, he wants two ninjas.”
The mention of Lord Yoshimoto sent a rush of adrenaline through Nino’s body. The Lord was known for his large treasury.
“He asked specifically for two ninjas?” Nino asked.
“He asked for a pair, I presume it means the same thing.” Ohno shrugged nonchalantly.
Gaining no response from the other after a minute, Ohno pressed on. “Care to check out the mission with me if you’ve changed your mind about working solo?”
Nino took a deep breath and asked, “Why me?”
“Surely you can find someone from your village to partner up with, so why me?”
“Why not?” Ohno shrugged. “I’m the top ninja from my village. You’re the top ninja of your village. If we work together, we’ll be the top ninja team. Why not?”
Nino nodded and agreed to meet Ohno at the guild the next morning. He was sure there was more to things than Ohno was letting on and he was intrigued, but he sensed no hostility from the older man… And besides, there was money to be made. Nino could always break things off with Ohno later, but first he had to see what the mission and Lord Yoshimoto had to offer.
“Just this one time.” Nino said, wagging his finger at Ohno as he read the mission notice.
“Sure, just this once.” Ohno calmly replied.
500 gold for a single mission was hard for Nino to turn down.
“I want Lord Nishikido assassinated!”
“And the price?” Nino asked.
“500 gold.” Lord Yoshimoto replied.
“500 gold each? Sounds like a good deal to me.” Nino smirked.
“Wait I meant…” Lord Yoshimoto started protesting.
“I think 500 gold each should be a good sum to ensure that you’re not the one dying in your sleep, don’t you think so? Oh-chan.” Nino added, turning towards his partner.
Ohno smirked as he followed Nino’s lead. “Indeed, the cost of good poison these days has gone up so much… We don’t want Nishikido to wake up from his slumber do we?” Ohno cocked his head innocently at the Lord.
Lord Yoshimoto let out a huff. “Fine, I will pay you 500 gold now, and another 500 if the deed is done within 7 days. I will have my men confirm this.”
Nino sighed. He would have very much preferred the full payment upfront, but it seemed like there was no way to get the Lord to budge any further.
“You drive a hard deal, my Lord, but it shall be as you said.”
The Lord let out a visible sigh as Nino finally agreed. Somehow, he'd let Nino drive him to pay double his initial offer.
-----------------------------------------
That was how Nino found himself blowing a poison dart into the sleeping chambers of Lord Nishikido while Ohno was off distracting the guards and leading them out into the courtyard.
The mission turned out easier than Nino had expected, mostly thanks to Ohno’s diversion. He hadn’t even need to take out his sai at all.
Nino considered changing his stance on working solo as he counted his gold. 250 gold coins weighed heavily in his hands, and elsewhere he'd the other 250 already safely stashed. He had just started walking away from Ohno, with a wave of goodbye when the latter called out to him.
“Say, Nino, do you really hate working with people so much?” Ohno asked as he fumbled around in his pockets.
“Are you sure you can fight the shadows alone?” Ohno yelled as Nino continued walking off.
The last few words stopped Nino in his tracks. He turned around to see Ohno holding a bronze plate in his hands, with the kanji “shadow” engraved on it.
“Where did you get that from?!” Nino gasped as he subconsciously started fumbling in his pockets. It was there. His bronze plate, safe and sound.
“Got your interest yet?” Ohno chuckled.
“How did you get that?” Nino repeated his question.
“Why, the same way you got yours, I suppose. My father gave it to me,” Ohno spat as he spoke of his dad.
Nino drew a sharp breath. Ohno? His half brother?
“I know that after the Shadow Master left the mist village he raided the village of the sand.” Ohno commented.
“I think it'll benefit both of us if we stick around together a little longer, what say you?” Ohno asked as he pointed towards the forest. The sun was high in the sky and it was getting hot standing out in the open field.
Nino cocked his head in agreement.
“How did you know about me?” Nino demanded to know as they settled down on a shady patch in the forest.
“Surely you still remember how we met at Sakurai’s house two years ago?” Ohno replied.
“What? You looked through my belongings?!” Nino gasped.
“Don't get so riled up, geez.” Ohno chided. “I heard that you got your hand injured by the bandits, so I got curious and investigated further. It helped me pass the time, you know.” Ohno pointed to his knee as he spoke.
“What happened to your knee? I don't see how an incredible ninja like yourself could have gotten so badly injured…” Nino commented truthfully. He had seen Ohno single handedly lure away an entire platoon of Nishikido’s guards and come back without so much as a single scratch. It was a feat no ordinary ninja could have accomplished.
“Wait… Don't tell me… It was the bandits, wasn't it?” Nino continued.
Ohno shrugged.
“I tried to infiltrate their hideout. And failed.”
“Wait! You're the one who caused the explosion at the Osaka castle?” Nino asked in awe. He was looking at his partner in a different light now.
“Stupid Aiba!” Ohno cursed. “The explosives he prepared went off too early! I nearly died!”
“How…? I thought you were caught and tortured to death!” Nino asked, recalling the rumors that were floating around on the streets then.
“The first blast went off too early, and the corridor collapsed and trapped my leg. The rest of the explosives went off soon after because of the fire… But the first blast gave Dad ample time to run away. Thankfully that idiot Aiba was hanging around the castle to admire his handiwork, and came to rescue me before I was burned to death. Caught? The bandits were too busy running for their lives to bother looking for the culprit!” Ohno spat.
“The Shadow Master…” Nino muttered. “How can you just call him ‘Dad’ so casually?” Nino accused.
Ohno shrugged. “Because it's too troublesome to say Shadow Master. Or Oda Hiroshiki. He's the dad that I want to kill with my own hands.” Ohno's voice trembled as he unpleasant memories surfaced.
“Have you met him?” Nino asked cautiously.
“I was five when he came back.” Ohno whispered.
“He looked for my mother, only to find that she had killed herself after I was born. So he took my sister and raped her at my mother's grave. They found her dead by the tombstone later….”
“I'm so sorry…” Nino whispered. Compared to Ohno, he was lucky. His mother was also emotionally destroyed by her ordeal, but she had pulled through and was still alive. And so were his siblings.
“Oda Hiroshiki?” Nino pipped, remembering Ohno's words.
“Yes. That's his given name. Looks like I'm further ahead in my investigations, eh?” Ohno mused.
Nino huffed.
“So now what?” Nino asked. It was great that he found a partner to help in his mission to eliminate the scumbag and leader of the bandits that was his father. But he had to check out Ohno's story first.
“I'm sure you have things to do.” Ohno replied as if reading his mind. Nino nodded.
“I'm getting closer to discovering his new lair too.” Ohno continued.”Why don't we each continue our own investigations and meet up at The Wild Boar tavern in two months’ time?”
“During the summer festival.” Nino replied.
“Yes, during the summer festival,” Ohno confirmed.
With that, they parted ways, melting into the forest as they each went about their own business.
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“Tadaima!” Nino greeted as he entered his house. He jingled his money pouch and plonked the heavy pouch on the table.
“Hmm…” Nino muttered as he looked around the empty house. His mom must be at the orphanage. Looking after the children orphaned after the village was attacked and subsequently ruled by the Shadow Master was her occupation now and kept her sane. The orphanage was filled with children whose parents were killed in the war, as well as his half brothers and sisters. Women were kidnapped and violated by the Shadow Master, and Nino was one of the results. Unwanted by their mothers and ostracised by the rest of the villagers, Nino’s mother took them into the orphanage.
It has been 5 years since they finally managed to chase the Shadow Bandits out of their village alone for good. And since then Nino had joined the Ninja academy and made a name for himself, even earning the right to wield the village’s prized possession, the Konseki. At the same time, thanks to his accomplishments, the villagers became more accepting of his half brothers and sisters.
Nino sighed as he stashed his coins away. He would use some of it later on to give the children a treat. Perhaps some shaved ice, as the weather was starting to grow hot. But for now, he had some investigation to carry out, regarding his supposed half brother and that bastard of a father. Nino shook his head as he left to find the village elder. Just how many children had that one man fathered?
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Ohno hadn't been entirely truthful to Nino. He wasn't closer to discovering the Shadow Bandits lair. He'd already discovered it. Thanks to the work of his younger brother, Matsumoto. Now, he was heading towards Niigata to meet up with MatsuJun to find out more.
“It's a maze in there!” Jun confessed as he showed Ohno his rudimentary maps of the cave system.
The two had met over a decade ago. Ohno was still a street urchin then, getting by with food scraps and whatever he could steal after his sister was killed and his relatives kicked him out of the house, seeing him as nothing but a reminder of his half sister’s death. Jun was an orphan roaming the streets too, and Ohno had shared his food and survival tricks with the younger boy. Unlike Ohno, Jun wasn’t a spawn of the bastard. Instead, his parents and extended family had been wiped out by the Shadow Bandits. It was then when the two made a pact. Ohno had better physical prowess, and had a higher chance of getting into the Ninja academy. On the other hand, Jun would join the bandits and rise amongst the ranks. Together, they would take down the man who ruined their lives.
Ohno studied the maps for a while before leaning back, deep in thought.
“Nii-chan?” Jun interrupted after he grew wary of the silence.
“What’s the plan this time, will we go with explosives?” Jun asked.
“Explosives?” Ohno snorted. “After Aiba’s massive failure last time?”
“He did warn you it was an experimental product…” Jun shrugged.
“Geez, did you know how much I suffered while I was injured?” Ohno retorted.
“He did save you…” Jun offered.
“Shut up, you baka. No, I’m hoping to rely on something else this time. Poisons.” Ohno replied.
“Oh, since when did Nii-chan learn about poisons?” Jun asked, curious.
Ohno shook his head. “Not me, but I found a poison master, probably the best in the world.”
Jun raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Why would he help us?” Jun asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, now… It’s getting late, I think it’s better if you head back before anyone finds out you’re here.” Ohno said as he pocketed the maps and stood up to leave.
“Alright, I’ll wait for the usual then?” Jun asked.
“Yes, the usual.” Ohno confirmed.
Ohno sat in a corner of The Wild Boar, sipping his sake slowly as the scanned the faces in the tavern. He was almost certain that Nino would show up. Almost. His gut instincts told him that Nino wouldn’t pass up on this opportunity for revenge, but considering how it was the second last day of the week-long summer festival, Ohno wasn’t sure if his instincts could still be trusted anymore.
He was about to give up and down the rest of his sake when he spotted a familiar figure ducking in through the door.
“You sure kept me waiting,” Ohno smiled. “Care for some sake?”
“Save the sake for another day,” Nino said as he stopped Ohno from calling the bartender.
“What proposal do you have for me?” Nino asked.
“Right to the point, eh? Very well, let’s find a place to talk.” Ohno replied.
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“So, what did you find out about me?” Ohno casually asked. The question threw Nino off guard.
“What? Of course I would expect you to check me up. That was what the two months was for, after all.”
Seeing Nino’s reluctance to talk, Ohno continued. “Look, I need to know if you’re in on this before I share my information with you.”
“I think this is not such a good idea after all, two strangers trusting each other like this.” Nino huffed.
“Geez, what’s the matter with you?” Ohno asked as he grabbed Nino’s wrist to prevent him from leaving.
“We’re not strangers. We’re half brothers.” Ohno corrected as he stared into Nino’s eyes.
“That much I’m sure you would have ascertained.”
Nino took a deep breath before replying. “I’d very much rather not be reminded of that bastard, thank you.”
Ohno laughed bitterly. “How ironic isn’t it? That the man who fathered us is also our most hated enemy.”
“But you know something? I’ve come to accept it now, over the years. If I wasn’t who I am, I’d just be a farmer now, toiling in the fields, saving up gold to open a bread shop. I would not have entered the Ninja academy. And even if I did, I wouldn’t have worked hard to succeed. Even though he was never around, he has still shaped me into who I am. It hasn’t been an easy life, but I like the way things turned out.” Ohno confessed.
“We never had a choice, Nino, no one ever gets to choose who their parents are. But how we live our lives - that is something we can choose. I have a dream, you know. That one day we’d get rid of the black menace lurking these lands. In the absence of the Shadow Master and the Shadow Bandits, there will be a power vacuum, and to combat that, I want to set up a new village. A ninja academy. Not the usual ones that we have currently. Something bigger, larger, more holistic. We’ll train a ninja army, to police the lands and keep the peace. I want to change the world, Nino. Will you change it with me?”
“It’s not going to be easy. But we’ll take it one step at a time. And the first step is to work towards demolishing the Shadow Bandits. I have information about their lair. I need your help, your knowledge of poisons to help take them down.” Ohno pleaded.
“And why must I help you?” Nino asked. Ohno’s speech was convincing, but he’d been working alone since the beginning. He needed more than just words to convince him.
“Do you really think you can kill the Shadow Master alone? All by yourself? Do you have any idea what you’re up against? There’s nearly 500 men in his headquarters. Do you think you stand a chance against them?” Ohno quizzed.
“I have my poison.” Nino shrugged, dangling the skill Ohno wanted him for like a carrot.
“You do, but could you poison the entire mountain alone?” Ohno asked, offering Nino a hint of the location of the Shadow Bandit lair.
Nino shrugged.
“In my Ninja academy we had a simple rule.” Nino said as he drew out two parallel lines roughly a meter apart in the dirt with his feet.
Ohno narrowed his eyes as soon as he saw what Nino was doing.
“The loser listens to the winner. If you win, I’ll follow your plans and if you lose, I’ll go on my way.”
“And what would we fight with?” Ohno looked in amusement at the ‘kawa’ lines Nino had drawn. It was ninja tradition that had long since been abandoned. And wisely so. In the original incarnation, the two participating ninjas would have a fight to the death within the confines of those two lines. The loser would end up lying dead on the floor, forming the middle stroke of the kanji for river. As ninjas grew less abundant though, they realised that it wasn’t a good idea to kill each other on whim and the tradition was lost. Thankfully, Ohno noted, it didn’t seem like Nino was looking for a fight to the death, as that would do their goal of killing the Shadow Bandit no good.
“Here, take these,” Nino said as he threw out a pair of wooden kunai to Ohno.
Instead of the sharp edges of your typical metal kunai, the edges of the wooden ones had been rounded off.
“Neat, where did you get these from?” Ohno asked as he examined the weapons.
“Standard issue school weapons.” Nino shrugged. He’d always keep two pairs with him ever since he entered the ninja academy. Winning in a kawa match was the quickest way to shut his enemies up. And as a child of the bastard, Nino had a lot of enemies.
“Just so you know, I’ve never lost a match before,” Nino warned.
Ohno shrugged as he took off the katana on his back and place it aside.
“Just so you know, I’ve never fought in a kawa before,” Ohno replied with a smile.
Nino laughed. “You lose if you step out of the line or if any part of your body, besides your feet touches the ground.” Nino clarified.
“Oh, now that’s interesting.” Ohno muttered as he stepped into the battleground, lowering his stance as he got ready to battle. The kunai was much lighter than the typical iron kunai, meaning that while he’d be able to move faster, his strikes would also be much weaker. He was sure it would be impossible to push Nino out of the line. Instead, he’d have to rely on overpowering his opponent and making him surrender on his own, or push him onto the ground. Neither of which seemed likely to happen… Unless… Ohno narrowed his eyes. He did have one advantage over Nino. One big advantage.
They struck at the same time, the wooden kunais making dull thuds as they connected. A fury of blows were exchanged. Initially, they each dodged or block all the blows, but as the battle got more and more heated and the speed of the blows grew faster and faster, there was no time to dodge or block anything but the critical blows. Still, Ohno kept to his strategy of block as many blows dealt by Nino’s left hand as possible, and he even tried to one up Nino’s blow with his powerful blocks. All the while, he made sure to keep his left knee out of Nino’s reach.
As the battle continued, Ohno felt it. Slowly but surely, Nino’s left hand was weakening. With each blow he returned, Nino was wincing more and even occasionally grunting in pain. Finally, his grip on the kunai loosen completely and the kunai flew out of his hand with Ohno’s horizontal strike.
Nino let out a yelp of pain as he dropped his other kunai to the floor and clutched his injured hand.
“I guess this ends in a draw.” Ohno said warily as he dropped his kunai to the floor and went off to pick up his katana.
“Wait, what is the meaning of this!” Nino demanded, still clutching his hand in agony.
“As I said, it’s a draw.” Ohno shrugged as he dust the dirt off this scabbard.
“I get it, I get it, you win, I’ll follow you,” Nino muttered.
Ohno picked up the wooden kunais and returned it to Nino. “I’m saying it for the last time. It’s a draw. I want you to work with me, but I want it to be on your own free will.”
“I don’t know what you have planned next, but I was planning to head to Sakurai-sensei’s place anyway. I think you should come along.” Ohno said, looking at Nino’s hand.
They journeyed in silence. Finally, it was Nino who spoke.
“You’re the first person I lost to.”
“How many times…” Ohno started saying, but Nino interrupted him with a sigh.
“Look, it was clearly my loss. And don’t worry, I am working with you because I want to.” Nino replied.
“As you say. It’s getting late and there’s a stream up ahead. Perhaps we should stop to rest?” Ohno asked.
“No, we should be reaching in a few hours, let’s continue on.” Nino grunted.
Ohno frowned. “Wait, let me see your hand!” Ohno demanded as he reached out to take Nino’s hand. Ohno carefully unwrapped the cloth Nino had wrapped around the injury. He gasped when he saw how red and swollen Nino’s hand had become.
“My gosh! I’m so sorry!” Ohno exclaimed.
Nino shook his head. “Don’t me. It was a fight I wanted anyway. The blame is all mine.”
“Either way… Let’s make haste,” Ohno replied worriedly as they continued in the direction of the healer’s house.
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“Why does it feel like we’ve been here before?” Nino groaned as he pushed himself out of his futon. Ohno had picked the spot across the room, in the same location as when he’d met Nino for the first time.
“Because we have?” Ohno chuckled.
“Water? I can walk this time.” Ohno offered.
“I can walk too,” Nino replied, slightly insulted.
“Maybe, but you really should stay in bed. You were running such a high fever… Sho was getting really worried.”
Nino tried to recall how he ended up in Sakurai’s house, but his mind drew a blank.
“Lay back down, I’ll fetch Sho and some water.” Ohno continued as he pulled the blanket over Nino once more.
“Wait, how long have I been here?” Nino suddenly asked.
Ohno’s face darkened at the question. “Three days, Nino. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”
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The first sign of something wrong came when Nino stumbled on the tree roots in the dense forest floor.
“Nino, are you alright?” Ohno asked as he hurried to Nino’s side, concerned. He was really regretting his decision to fight that kawa match with Nino now. In his defence, he hadn’t expected the top ninja of the wind village to be this weak.
“I can still walk, don’t worry about me…” Nino slurred.
“Yeah, right.” Ohno muttered as he placed Nino on his back. The younger man was clearly running a fever. Ohno took a deep breath and braced himself before he started running. He wasn’t sure how an injured hand could have led Nino to his current state, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good, and he had better hurry to Sho’s before things got worse. Ohno could only hope that Nino could hang on till then.
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“So, what did you want me for?” Sho asked Ohno.
They were sitting by the backyard, having lunch. Nino’s health was much improved, though his left hand still needed a long time to heal. Sakurai-sensei had forbidden him from using his left hand at all to allow it to recover.
“The time has come, Sho, I need your help.” Ohno sighed.
“Oh, how could a medicine man like me be of service?” Sho replied innocently.
“Stop playing dumb.” Ohno replied, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
“You know very well what I want, and you know very well the reason why I have sought for Nino’s help.”
“Poisons.” Nino offered.
“So what are we to do with the poisons, you said you wanted to poison a whole mountain?” Nino continued, remembering what Ohno had told him several days ago.
“That’s right,” Ohno nodded.
“My sworn brother has infiltrated into the ranks of the Shadow Bandits. He recently got promoted to work in the homebase. The head quarters. Where the Shadow Master is. They are using the network of caves in Niigata as their lair.” Ohno said as he took out the maps Jun had drawn for him.
“He’s still a rookie there, and he hasn’t had time to explore the place thoroughly enough… But he did observe that they drilled a network of shafts in the side of the mountain so that fresh air could enter the tunnels. If we could develop a gas, maybe something poisonous, or weakening… We’d be able to take out a lot of their forces at once!” Ohno exclaimed.
“Do you have anything that might work?” Ohno asked.
Nino and Sho looked at each other.
“Moon root with white fungus!” They exclaimed in unison.
“What’s that?” Ohno asked. It sounded familiar, but that was all he could make of it.
“Well it’s a slow acting poison,” Sho explained.
“But there are problems. It’s actually the moon root that is poisonous. The white fungus growing on the moon root absorbs the poison from the root, and it causes the fungal spores released to be poisonous as well. However, moon root is hard to find, and the white fungus can take very long to grow. Finally, the effect depends on how the wind carries the spores, and how many spores a person breathes in… So it’s an unreliable method at best. If we are planning an attack, we need to be certain of how many bandits our method can take out. Plus… I presume the Shadow Master has a huge lair, you’ll need to grow enough white fungus for years to fill his lair with the white fungus. No, we’ll need to find an alternative.” Nino expounded.
“As expected of the poison master!” Sho exclaimed, applauding. “You know all about the application of poisons, whereas a scholar like myself has just the knowledge.”
Nino shook his head. “Nah, it’s because of scholars like you that ninjas like myself know what poisons are available.”
“Fantastic! Looks like I found the right people to join the team,” Ohno replied, his face lighting up with excitement as he spoke. “With the two of you working together, I’m sure you’ll find something effective to carry out our plans!”
“I guess. We need more information about the lair, though.” Nino replied.
Ohno nodded. “We can try to make contact with him during next month's full moon.”
“In the meantime, you should rest up and get your strength back. Poison and tricks may work against his underlings, but we'll need to kill the Shadow Master with brute strength.”
Nino sighed dejectedly as he looked at his left hand. Sure he'd gotten much more ambidextrous since he'd gotten his hand crushed, but losing the use of one hand was still a huge loss. Even eating lunch with chopsticks while being unable to pick up his bowl was a chore.
“I'll leave the two of you to do your research,” Ohno announced. “I'll be back in a few days. Maybe a week at most.”
“Where to?” Nino asked quizzingly.
“To find Aiba.” Sho replied for Ohno. He shuddered thinking about the cheery man. Aiba had wondered why his explosives did not work as planned, and proceeded the blow a hole up the beautiful mountain side before Sho could throw him out of his valley. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd just saved Ohno and carried him all the way to his house, Sho was sure he'd have murdered the younger man.
Ohno looked at Sho with wary eyes.
“I know you don't like Aiba.” Ohno replied.
“That's an understatement.” Sho huffed.
“But with so many cave entrances… I don't think we have a choice.” Ohno shrugged.
“As much as I distrust his explosives… We need to blow up some entrances, or tunnels even, so that we can force them to be where we want them to be… Unless you know of someone else who'd help our cause?” Ohno asked, clocking his head to the side.
“I guess not.” Sho sighed. Explosive masters were far and few between, and Aiba was the only one that Sho had had contact with.
Nino shook his head as well. He'd not dabbled in explosives before and didn't have any contacts.
“I guess that settles it. I'll see you two in a few days.” Ohno said as he picked up his beloved katana.
“I'll make sure he doesn't blow up your valley.” Ohno assured Sho as he left.
Sho nodded in appreciation. The valley wasn't technically his, but he'd been living there for nearly two decades now, learning the art of healing from his former master. The valley was beautiful and sustained him. The stream brought fresh water from the mountains, the lake the stream fed into provided fishes and shrimp to supplement his diet. The ground was fertile and his vegetables grew without needing much tending. And in the forest, a variety of herbs and plants grew. It was paradise on earth, Sho would admit, and he wanted to protect that paradise.
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Nino was sitting by the lake when he was surprised to see not two, but three man coming down into the valley. One of them was Ohno alright, he'd recognise that figure from anywhere now. But why were there two men with Ohno?
Nino made his way back to Sho's hut where he'd left his sai. He may not be able to best Ohno in a fight, but he'd rather not be caught off guard.
“This is Aiba, and this is Kazama” Ohno introduced.
“Kaza-pon is my disciple!” Aiba excitedly announced.
“We're childhood friends.” Kazama clarified.
“He's my assistant!” Aiba continued.
“I make sure he doesn't blow himself up.” Kazama said with a nod.
Sho chuckled at the interaction between the two men. It seemed like he needn't worry so much about Aiba destroying everything after all.
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The days passed by quickly. Ohno had found a barren, rocky mountain side several kilometers away, and with Sho's approval, the Aiba-Kazama pair had set up camp there to test their explosives.
Meanwhile, Nino joined Ohno on his morning runs, before leaving with Sho to search the mountains for herbs they might use.
Ohno would then practice sparring until it was dusk, when he'd catch some fish and meet with the rest of the gang in a forest clearing, midway between Aiba's camp and the valley. That was also when the two demolition experts would fill up their water skins.
Then, they would soak in the stream together, washing away their sweat and updating each other on their progress.
It was on one such occasion that Ohno announced it was time for them to meet his contact.
“I have sent out word to Jun.” Ohno stated.
“He should be able to meet us within a week of the full moon.”
After much discussion, it was decided that Ohno, Nino and Sho would go along to the rendezvous. The more the people, the higher the chance that they would be discovered.
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“I have good news and bad news.” Jun announced as soon as introductions were made.
“So what's the good news?” Ohno asked.
“I'm getting promoted!” Jun beamed.
“Oh?” Ohno raised an eyebrow. “What to?”
“Squad leader.” Jun sighed.
“Which means you won't be at the HQ anymore…” Ohno summarised.
“Yes. That's the bad news… But that means we can meet up more often. And I have more information now!” Jun whispered.
“Oda is planning a campaign in Okinawa next winter.”
“They will begin recon missions next spring, and in summer Oda intends to visit Okinawa himself.” Jun continued.
“And maybe raid a few villages and father a few more children as warm up.” Ohno muttered.
Jun gave Ohno a look of disgust. “Yes maybe. But that matters not. What matters is that the HQ will be empty! Empty! Think about it! Minimum troops! I'm trying to get myself assigned to HQ guard duty. If I succeed, that means you have the whole summer to rig up the caves and destroy him when he returns!” Jun exclaimed excitedly.
“And if you fail?” Nino asked.
“It's still easier to sneak in when there's so few troops in the summer! And when Oda returns, he'll find that nothing is waiting for him but death!” Jun beamed.
“But wait a minute. The timing is strange. He'd head to Okinawa in the summer. Return for the autumn, then start a war in winter?” Ohno asked. “What makes you think he'll return in winter? And after taking over a land he'd always stay there for some time, maybe even years before he moves out.”
“Or get chased out,” Nino interjected.
“I'm worried about that as well.” Jun admitted.”I don't understand his rationale for splitting the campaign into two… But i do know that he's planning to take over Okinawa and make that his new HQ.”
“Rumors in the caves are that the winter is really harsh there. Even deep within the tunnels, the frigid winter air seeps into your bones and chills your soul. I heard last winter a few dozen men died. The Shadow himself is suffering from arthritis and wanted to in relocate his lair to a warmer place.” Jun concluded.
“Oh yes, before I forget. The maps.” Jun added as he took out a cloth bundle from his tunic. Compared to his previous draft, the maps were much more detailed this time. Jun even included the number of steps he took to walk through each tunnel or area, giving them a concrete idea of how large each area was.
“Thanks, Jun.” Ohno replied gratefully as he kept the maps. “Keep safe, we are counting on you.”
Jun nodded and melted back into the shadows.
-----------------------------------------
“Do you think,” Sakurai finally spoke. “That if we spread that word that I have an effective cure for arthritis, that they'll take the bait?”
Ohno shrugged. “They might. But what do you plan to do?”
“And before you begin, just let it be known that I want you back alive and well. I want everyone back alive and well. What use is there to building a new world, if none of us can live to see it?”
“Plus, we need people to build it.” Ohno added.
“Don't worry. I don't plan on dying just yet.” Sho replied.
“But I do have this new drug called opium. It doesn't treat arthritis but it numbs all pain and is highly addictive.” Sho mused.
“I'm not sure if it'll work… We'll have to think more carefully through this.” Sho concluded.
“Indeed we must,” Nino agreed as he stood up and prepared to head home.
-----------------------------------------
“You know, it would be good if you could win the Shadow Master’s trust.” Ohno said after they recounted the events of the night to Aiba and Kazama.
“That the drug is highly addictive is the key. We could smuggle explosives with the drugs. Or maybe mix in some slow acting poison…” Ohno explained.
“Or both.” Nino offered.
“And do you think they'd let you take an assistant with you?” Nino asked. “Then we could have Aiba… Or maybe Kazama go with you to check out the caves themselves.” Nino offered, remembering Sho's love, or lack thereof, for Aiba.
“Wait wait wait, I'm not even sure they will bite yet!” Sho protested. The conversation had progressed too fast for his liking.
But Ohno ignored him. “You know… If you could whisper into his ears and convince him to put some opium into everyone's food… Wouldn't that be good?”
Sho's eyes bulged at the suggestion.
“Geez, how much of this opium do you think I have?! And what good would feeding opium to the common soldiers do?” Sho protested.
“I don't know?” Ohno shrugged. “What does opium even do anyway?” Ohno asked as he looked at Sho innocently.
“Yeah, what's the treatment plan for Mister Shadow?” Aiba chimed.
“Woah. Hold your horses, everyone. There's a lot more details I need to work out. And I need to get my hands on more opium first. I think a trip to Kyoto is in order.” Sho said as he looked around.
“Then you'd better hurry, winter will be upon us soon, if we miss this opportunity, we'd have to wait till summer. And by then, more innocent lives would have been lost and ruined.” Ohno said as he nodded his head.
“Erm, I can go with you if you like?” Aiba helpfully offered.
That made Sho change his mind in an instant. “No thanks, that wouldn't be necessary.” He replied curtly.
“If you say so… I think me and Kaza-pon will need to buy more explosives before doing more testing with the new maps Jun-kun has brought us.” Aiba replied.
“I think we should check out the Niigata mountains too before we get the explosives.” Kazama offered.
“Yes yes, we need to see the soil and rock composition ne? You're learning fast, Kaza-pon!” Aiba cooed, while Kazama merely rolled his eyes and sighed.
“I'll train with Ohno for a bit then,” Nino commented off handedly.
Ohno raised his eyebrows. Nino had hardly talked with him one on one ever since their duel. Even went they did their morning routines together, it had always been in silence. Ohno had always felt that Nino was jogging with him because the alternative was even more awkward, so he was pleasantly surprised that Nino wanted to train with him. “Erm… Sure. Just not more kawa matches.” Ohno teased.
“That's a given!” Nino grinned.
-----------------------------------------
“Say, Nino, have you ever considered changing weapons? To something that you could wield single handedly and with more reach?” Ohno asked as the two of them took turns throwing shurikens at the target boars Ohno had fashioned out of logs.
“Yeah… I did, but the ninjatos are slow!” Nino complained. “The balance is just off and… I don't know. It just doesn't feel right.”
“Have you tried a katana then?” Ohno asked.
“Katana?” Nino balked. “Katanas are expensive! They are thousands of gold at minimum… Where am I to get so much money from?” Nino protested.
“Well… Have you tried a katana before?” Ohno asked again.
“No.” Nino admitted.
Ohno removed his katana from his back and threw the sword to Nino.
“Try Akatsuki.” He commanded.
“Wait, what…” Nino started to protest.
“I said, try it.” Ohno insisted.
Nino tied the sword around is waist and drew out the katana gingerly.
He sliced the air experimentally as Ohno watched from the side.
Slowly, the moves came back to him. He was a left hander, but at the academy, his instructors had forced him to wield his ninjato with his right hand. As a result, he came to despise sword lessons and instead did better at two handed weapons like the sai that he eventually inherited, as he was able to employ the use of his better, left hand. But the thing he had despised was actually a good thing now that his left hand was out of commission.
Nino's moves became more fluid as he practiced his drills, adding more movement and speed as he went. By the time he was finished, he'd worked up a huge sweat.
Ohno applauded as Nino bent down to catch his breath.
“Looks like I was right after all. The katana suits you well “ Ohno nodded in approval.
Nino undid the katana straps and held the katana awkwardly. As magnificent as the sword had been, it wasn't his.
“Erm so now what…” Nino muttered awkward.
“I guess now I'll lend you the Akatsuki.” Ohno shrugged.
“But.. You..?” Nino asked.
Ohno looked up and down Nino.
“I'm not too bad with the sai… If I can say so myself,” Ohno grinned.
Nino blushed. “Why, of course!” He exclaimed as he fumbled around his sweaty tunic for his Konseki.
“Then I'll lend you this in return I guess.” Nino declared.
Nino watched in awe as Ohno wielded his sai with ease. For a moment Nino forgot that the weapon was actually his. It felt as if Ohno had been using the Konseki all his life.
“I practiced a lot of dual wield weapons before I got the katana.” Ohno explained. “Well actually even now. I always think it's a good thing to train both hands, you know.”
“That's why you could wield the katana with such ease, isn't it?” Ohno asked.
Nino thought back on his sword lessons in the academy. He was awkward, almost pathetic then. Heck, even when he was using his sai, he was mainly fighting with his left hand while his right rested. His instructors had often scolded him for that, but he hadn't paid much heed to their advice. He was always winning anyway. Perhaps partly because his right handed counterparts were not used to fighting a southpaw like him. His right hand did improve after he graduated from the academy though. Little by little,with every fight he won, his skills also grew a little. Until two years ago when he'd crushed his left hand. That was when he'd put in a lot more effort into making sure his right hand was up to par with his left.
“Indeed… I might well have cut myself already, if not for all the effort I put in with the sai after my injury.” Nino agreed as he tightened his grip on the katana.
“Only till we kill the Shadow Master yeah? Promise me you take good care of Akatsuki till then, after which you'll have to get your own katana!” Ohno commented as he saw Nino's death grip on his sword.
“Of course, and you take you good care of my Konseki. Someday my left hand will be able to wield it again, I'll show you.” Nino smiled.
“It's a promise!” Ohno nodded approvingly.
-----------------------------------------
It happened all too suddenly.
Sho was travelling in the carriage driven by Kazama when the bandits found them.
They lay tied up and blindfolded in the carriage as the horse changed course for the mountains of Niigata. Everything had been going according to plan, but Sho was still scared. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he took deep breaths in bid to calm himself down.
He rehearsed the plans over and over in his mind to pass the time.
On the other hand, Nino and Ohno were panting as they hauled the last bit of explosives up the mountain. Over the past week, they had hauled up over a hundred crates of explosives up the mountain. Now their hands and feet were sore and blistering from the hard labour.
“These are the goods that you ordered!” Aiba announced as he pointed to the crates of explosives piled in the clearing.
Jun gave the goods a casual glance before ordering his men to bring them into the cave.
“Remember to split them up properly into the different storage areas!” Jun ordered.
“30 boxes each! Go go go!” Jun yelled, hands behind his back as he stood and watched. Being a squad leader had its advantages. Sure, he'd soon be questioned for storing weaponry in the food cellar. But it didn't matter, the end was near and all Jun needed to do was ensure he could live to see the next sunrise.
Sho blinked as his blindfold was taken off. He was in a dimly lit cave. He heaved a sigh of relief as he spotted Kazama with his medicine box by the side.
“Kaza-pon! Are you alright?” Sho asked as he rushed to the younger man, adopting the nickname Aiba used for Kazama.
Kazama blinked and adjusted his eyes to the light. He too, was nervous. He didn't trust his voice yet, so he merely nodded.
The room was spartan. A shelf adorned the wall, and two futons were laid out to the side.
“These are your living quarters.” The bandit huffed.
“Master will be ready to see you in a while, make yourself comfortable till then.” The other bandit continued, before locking them in the room.
They stood there unmoving, listening to the footsteps of the bandits fade away into the corridor. Sho took a deep breath as he gingerly made his way to the wall and placed his ears against it.
“Sound travels well through the cave walls and floor. You can listen for enemies approaching by placing your ear against the walls.” Jun had advised.
Satisfied that they were alone, Sho went to check out the futons. He was elated to find a coin from Jun inside. Their informant had done a great job.
Sho gave Kazama a nod. Kazama carefully removed a bag of white powder and placed it as flat as possible in the futon. They had carefully wrapped the sleeping powder in layers of cloth so that the powder would not leak out.
Then, they sat on the remaining futon and waited.
-----------------------------------------
“Our Master will see you now.” The bandit announced as the door was thrown open. Again, Aiba and Kaza-pon were blindfolded before being marched off into the maze of tunnels.
Sho gasped in spite of himself when he saw the state of the Shadow Master's joints. They were swollen to at least twice their original size. Sho's mind raced. In this situation, it was probably better if he kept the opium in his bag. The pain would hinder his movements and make it easier for Ohno and Nino to take him down.
But alas, the bandits were having none of it.
“I suggest acupuncture, it is highly effective and…”
Oda slammed his hands in the table.
“Do you take me for an idiot? You promised my man a wonder drug that takes the pain away. I want that now!” The Shadow Master demanded.
A clanging of metal resounded around the room as the bandit guards drew their sword.
“Of course, of course, it is as you wish.” Sho replied, his voice trembling as sweat dropped from his forehead.
The Shadow Master laughed at Sho's predicament.
“I get whatever I want, every time, anytime. Don't worry. Just give me the medicine and everything will be fine.”
“Of course master,” Sho replied meekly.
“I will need some hot water to prepare the medicine.” Sho said as he regained his composure. Kazama lifted the medicine box onto the table and opened it.
The Shadow Master motioned for his underlings to bring the requested hot water.
Sho made a big show of the drug preparation. He took his time crushing some herbs, measured various powders carefully with different implements, and he even had a cup to measure the amount of water needed. The result was a fragrant brown liquid, which Sho placed on the table and indicated to the Shadow Master was done. In reality, all Sho needed to add was the opium laced with sleeping powder… But he had learned from experience that creating the expectation of healing was as important as the actual cure itself.
The bandit guard picked up the bowl and sniffed it experimentally.
“Hurry and bring it here, you nitwit!” Oda bellowed.
The guard hurriedly brought the bowl over, and Oda drunk it in one gulp before his guards could protest.
Sho cursed silently in his mind. It seemed like they'd over thought things after all. They were afraid that the Shadow Master would make him or Kazama drink the medicine instead to make sure that there was no poison. If only he'd added more sleeping powder…
“What! What are you staring at me for! Send our guests to their rooms!” Oda yelled as he lumbered to his bed and dismissed the visitors.
-----------------------------------------
“Yokatta!” Kazama heaved a sigh of relief as soon as they were alone in their room.
“Shh,” Sho motioned as he placed a finger to his lips.
Kazama whispered an apology as he felt around the futon.
“It's gone!” He whispered. In place of the bag of sleeping powder, there was a bronze key.
The two men looked at each other and nodded as a smile slowly spread across their faces. The first part of their job had been a success!
-----------------------------------------
Jun scurried to the kitchen cellar to find out what the fuss was about.
“What is this! Why are your things here in my cellar?! This is my space! Mine! Who allowed you to use it!” The chef bellowed.
Jun lowered his head and apologized. “I'm so sorry! I'll get it removed immediately!”
As Jun watched his men carry the crates of explosives out, he discreetly poured the bag of white powder into the barrels of fermented rice wine sitting out in the kitchen.
The show would begin at dinner time.
-----------------------------------------
There was a knock and then the door swung open.
“Wait, what…”
Before the bandit could even finish his sentence, Sho had stabbed him in the neck with his poisoned needle. Sho caught the dinner tray before it hit the floor and made a ruckus. Task successful, Sho let out an evil smirk that sent chills down Kazama’s spine. He was glad he wasn't the healer’s enemy.
“Let's go!” Sho nodded to Kazama as he checked the corridor. The coast was clear, and they had changed into the bandits’ uniform.
Kazama took a deep breath and steeled himself for the task ahead.
“Unn. Let's go.”
They hurried along the corridors, following the route Jun had drawn out for them in the maps. There were five major exits to the cave system, three of which conveniently had storage areas along the way. Jun’s underlining would have filled those storage areas with the explosives, and Kazama’s job was to rearrange the explosives, lay the timed fuses, light them, and get the heck of there. It was a challenging job, but Kazama was up for it. Ideally, all three storage areas would blow up at roughly the same time, but without sufficient manpower and the lack of a reliable time keeping device, Kazama would settle for anything that allowed him and Sho to get out alive. It was a race against time, and Kazama was determined not to lose.
On the other side of the caves, Jun slipped out of the banquet hall. It was the Shadow Master’s birthday, and the festivities had just began. Oda had made his grand entrance into the mess hall with his gigantic axe, his weapon of choice. The chefs had prepared a ton of meat, and the tainted rice wine was flowing freely from the barrels. Sho and Nino had carefully adjusted the strength of the sleeping powder. The merrymakers would only start feeling a little drowsy after a few cups, and even then they’d probably think that it was because the drink was too strong.
Jun met up with Aiba, Nino and Ohno along the corridor. The trio had changed into bandit outfits - if anyone stopped them, they would pretend that they were members of Jun’s squad. They worked quickly and quietly, sticking the explosive charges to the tunnel walls every meter. The ideal distance to place the charges was something Aiba and Kazama had worked out. Too far apart and the chain of explosions would end. Too near and you would end up wasting the charges. They were nearing the last of their stock of charges when the first explosion went off.
“Oh no! We’re out of time! Just dump the rest and go!” Ohno commanded as the emptied their packs and hightailed out of the tunnel.
“Go! All of you go!” Aiba urged as he connected the fuse with the outermost charges. He would wait for the other two blasts to go off before lighting up the fuse.
“Be careful!” Ohno yelled as he made his way to the clearing below the only remaining exit.
They had chosen to leave that exit untouched due to the inaccessibility of the exit. It opened out to the face of a cliff, only collected to the clearing below by a narrow ledge where one misstep would send you falling to certain death.
Nino and Ohno had chosen the clearing for their final clash with their father, if Oda Hiroshiki survived that long at all. They had took great pains to wet the ledge the night before - the frigid winter air would soon turn the water into ice - and they’d hammered in spikes into the clearing to kill the unfortunate bandits. Those who survived would then face the fury of either of the three men. They took their positions at the opposite ends of the clearing and waited for the first wave of bandits to rush out of the cave. Ohno adjusted his sai, well technically Nino’s sai, in his hands. They would leave no bandit alive today.
-----------------------------------------
Their way forward was blocked by a locked wooden door. Kazama fitted the key Jun had left for him into the lock nervously and turned. With a soft click, the door swung open and Kazama heaved a sigh of relief. He glanced around, taking in the layout of the cave and making a mental map of the area. Their motive was to cause the tunnels to collapse, and he quickly judged where to best place the explosives. Kazama pointed at the wall he’d picked and they quickly got to work, stacking the crates high up against the cave wall. It was backbreaking work, and there wasn’t much ventilation in the storeroom.
“This is it!” Kazama declared as he set up his pile of wooden planks that would act as timed fuses.
“Let’s go!” Sho agreed as he watched Kazama light the delicate set up. Then they quickly locked the storeroom door and ran off to the second storeroom, where they had to repeat the chore all over again. There were so many things that could possibly go wrong. Someone else with the storeroom key might decide to check on the weaponry and end up discovering the setup and putting out the fuse before the explosives ignited… Or it may go off too soon, or not go off at all because of some minor error Kazama had made with the fuse placement… But it was pointless to think about all that now, so Sho pushed those thoughts aside as he ran to catch up with Kazama.
“Argh… Faster,” Kazama urged as he paused for a moment to catch his breath. Beside him, Sho was sweating buckets.
“The first one should be going off anytime soon…” Kazama panted as he continued stacking the crates.
“Argh… Last one!” Sho grunted as he stacked the very last crate on top.
“I think I’ve had enough crate stacking for a lifetime.” Sho complained as Kazama placed the finishing touches on the last fuse. This one was much shorter than the previous two. Kazama was about to lit his match when an explosion knocked him to his feet.
“Hurry!” Sho urged as he helped the younger man up and picked up the matches.
They ran out of the storeroom, pausing only to slam the door behind them, having unanimously agreed not to bother locking the door anymore. The timed fuse would go off in 5 short minutes after all, and Sho would very much want to put as much ground between him and the explosives as possible.
“We made it!” Sho declared as they ran out into the cold evening night.
No sooner had he finished his sentence, a loud rumble caused the ground beneath them to vibrate, nearly knocking them off the mountain side. The two men braced against each other as they made their way to where they had stockpiled their provisions and medicines earlier. They would take a short break before they started their long trek to join the rest of the gang at the other side of the forest.
“This is it!” Kazama declared as he set up his pile of wooden planks that would act as timed fuses.
“Let’s go!” Sho agreed as he watched Kazama light the delicate set up. Then they quickly locked the storeroom door and ran off to the second storeroom, where they had to repeat the chore all over again. There were so many things that could possibly go wrong. Someone else with the storeroom key might decide to check on the weaponry and end up discovering the setup and putting out the fuse before the explosives ignited… Or it may go off too soon, or not go off at all because of some minor error Kazama had made with the fuse placement… But it was pointless to think about all that now, so Sho pushed those thoughts aside as he ran to catch up with Kazama.
“Argh… Faster,” Kazama urged as he paused for a moment to catch his breath. Beside him, Sho was sweating buckets.
“The first one should be going off anytime soon…” Kazama panted as he continued stacking the crates.
“Argh… Last one!” Sho grunted as he stacked the very last crate on top.
“I think I’ve had enough crate stacking for a lifetime.” Sho complained as Kazama placed the finishing touches on the last fuse. This one was much shorter than the previous two. Kazama was about to lit his match when an explosion knocked him to his feet.
“Hurry!” Sho urged as he helped the younger man up and picked up the matches.
They ran out of the storeroom, pausing only to slam the door behind them, having unanimously agreed not to bother locking the door anymore. The timed fuse would go off in 5 short minutes after all, and Sho would very much want to put as much ground between him and the explosives as possible.
“We made it!” Sho declared as they ran out into the cold evening night.
No sooner had he finished his sentence, a loud rumble caused the ground beneath them to vibrate, nearly knocking them off the mountain side. The two men braced against each other as they made their way to where they had stockpiled their provisions and medicines earlier. They would take a short break before they started their long trek to join the rest of the gang at the other side of the forest.
-----------------------------------------
The screams came before they saw the bodies.
It was a frightening scene, even more so as the sunset and the sky grew dark. Bodies were raining from the sky, and wherever they landed, Ohno, Jun or Nino would rush over to deliver the final blow. Ohno was starting to grow disillusioned that they’d get to ascertain the death of the Shadow Master when the sky suddenly turned dark. A large figure had blocked out the moonlight.
“Useless scum!” A large voice bellowed.
The owner of the voice needed no introduction. The Shadow Master was here.
“What on earth!” Nino swore as the Shadow Master leapt from the cave exit directly out onto the clearing. With a huge swing of his axe, he knocked away his fallen comrades, clearing out a space for him to battle.
Jun attempted to make the first move but Ohno stopped him.
“Stay back, Jun, this isn’t your fight.” Ohno hissed as he lunged at Oda, launching a quick strike at his thick chest.
They would have to win with quick strikes and multiple attacks. It was a battle of attrition, one that required the ninjas to be at the top of their game at all times. One hit from the axe could behead them.
Nino jumped back in a hurry as the Shadow Master suddenly turned his attention onto him. Poison! The word screamed in his mind. But to deploy his poisonous throwing knives, Nino needed to put distance between himself and the giant Oda. Ohno seemed to understand his intentions as well, because he came swinging his sais wildly at Oda.
“Leave him to me!” Ohno yelled as he landed a hit on the Shadow’s back. But Oda merely shrugged it off like it was nothing as he continued to hack the ground around Nino.
“Get behind me! And leave the sword” Ohno yelled.
By some miracle, Nino managed to toss Akatsuki and have it land safely in its rightful owner’s hands.
Ohno felt like a different ninja the moment he laid his hands around his sword. He’d thought he could battle with the sai, but it turned out that the reach was just too short against this behemoth of a two handed axe swinging monster.
He took a second to quickly take stock of his surroundings. They were on the edge of the clearing now. Ohno made a split second decision to lure Oda into the forest. That enraged Oda, and he swung his axe in greater angles than before, cutting down trees wherever he swung. It slowed down his speed considerably, allowing Nino plenty of time to deploy his poison weapons.
Nino watched in amazement as Oda continued swinging his axe wildly. Over a dozen poisoned throwing knives were sticking out is back, but the man seemed like he felt no pain.
Ohno gritted his teeth as he waited for an opening. He wished he had the scabbard with him as well. Drawing the sword out from the scabbard greatly increases his speed. Then suddenly, Oda’s movement stopped - his axe had caught in one of the tree trunks for a split second. Ohno’s body reacted on instinct. He leaped up and made a diagonal slash at the large man’s neck. Blood splattered all over Ohno’s tunic as Oda went limp and fell on his back, finally dead.
“That seems to be the last of them.” Jun panted as made his way to Oda’s corpse.
“No more?” Ohno asked as he pointed towards the cliff.
“No more coming out at least.” Jun replied. “You know, I still feel that we should have demolished this entrance.” Jun said, he was feeling uneasy about the possible survivors.
“Just let them be, Jun,” Ohno chided. “Or are you afraid that your former comrades would come after you?”
Jun nodded.
“Then you have more than just those survivors to worry about,” Nino quipped. “You said there were three squads not in the HQ, right wasn’t there?”
Jun sighed.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got your backs,” Ohno offered as he gave Jun a shaky smile.
“Anyone seen Aiba, Sho or Kazama yet?” Ohno asked.
“No, but they are probably at the rendezvous point already.” Nino offered.
“Yeah… Let’s go.” Jun replied.
The three of them leaned against each other for support as they slowly made their way down the mountain.
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Sho was awoken by Aiba’s excited cries.
“They are back! They are all back, everyone is safe,” Aiba yelled as he started sobbing uncontrollably.
Sho left Kazama to deal with the teary Aiba as he rushed to check on the fighters.
“Aiba, stop crying and help them into the bedding!” Sho ordered, annoyed at Aiba’s sobs.
They had chosen to make camp in open ground. The night was cold so they’d decided to throw caution to the wind and start a campfire. Sho was grateful for the light as he peeled off Ohno’s bloody tunic and washed the cuts. Ohno winced as Sho touched his wounds.
“Ah… Kaza-pon, please fetch the opium, would you?” Sho ordered. It was time to put the new drug to good use.
-----------------------------------------
Jun was already sound asleep by the time Sho had finished dressing up his wound. In the distant, the sun was starting to raise. Sho yawned as he stood up to stretch his legs. The campsite was peaceful… Aiba had fallen asleep beside Kazama, and Sho was amused to see Nino snuggled up against Ohno.
Sho threw a few logs into the campfire before he too settled into his bedding.
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“What should we call the academy?!” Aiba piped up as they stood in front of the newest addition to the valley.
The academy building was modest in size, but it had everything they needed. Word had already started to spread of the ninja academy they were opening in the valley, and they’d already started receiving applications from all over the country.
“How about Niji!” Aiba suggested, recalled the rainbow they saw the day before over the lake.
“Rainbow? Are you kidding me?” Nino asked as he rolled his eyes. “Who would want to send their kid to a ninja school by the name of Niji?”
“Let’s call it Arashi then.” Ohno commented. “Because it was only after the storm that we saw the rainbow.” Ohno reasoned.
And so it was decided. Ohno headed the combat lessons while Nino taught poisons. Sho opened up a medic ninja department, while Aiba and Kazama taught explosives.
The academy building was modest in size, but it had everything they needed. Word had already started to spread of the ninja academy they were opening in the valley, and they’d already started receiving applications from all over the country.
“How about Niji!” Aiba suggested, recalled the rainbow they saw the day before over the lake.
“Rainbow? Are you kidding me?” Nino asked as he rolled his eyes. “Who would want to send their kid to a ninja school by the name of Niji?”
“Let’s call it Arashi then.” Ohno commented. “Because it was only after the storm that we saw the rainbow.” Ohno reasoned.
And so it was decided. Ohno headed the combat lessons while Nino taught poisons. Sho opened up a medic ninja department, while Aiba and Kazama taught explosives.
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“If I had told you that this valley would one day become a thriving village when we first met, would you have believed me?” Ohno asked as he massaged a copious amount of oil onto Nino’s back.
“Why, of course not!” Nino laughed. “I still can’t believe it now!”
Ohno laughed as he shook his head. “Neither can I!”
Nino let out a yelp as Ohno’s finger strayed into his butt hole.
“Oh-chan!” Nino protested.
“Relax, we’ll go slow ok? I promise I’ll make your first time the most memorable one of your life,” Ohno whispered into Nino’s ear as he slowly eased his fingers into his lover.
