Aimai no Shourai (An Ambiguous Future)
"The existence of a shinobi demands nothing other than skill and offers
nothing more than servitude and death. Outside of this, who you are
means nothing. But as a person; I can't forsake my humanity by burying
my free will and expressing myself only through bloodshed. We are
powerful; we are deadly. But we possess one weakness. We are human."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"If you need someone to hate... then hate me."
A chill wind slipped in from the east. The cold, dank waters below
rolled over in new waves from the force of this new wind. A reflection
upon the icy heart of a woman so casual about the throws of her own
death. That woman was the ultimate Kunoichi of the Shinobi Agency known
only as 'Hibana'. The ninja clad in red sheathed her beautiful long
sword Utsushiyo, and turned her back on the one who she had just
defeated.
Hisui.
She had tracked Hibana all the way to this god-forsaken bridge across
the river. Destroying any such Hellspawn that dared to cross her path.
She was as a woman possessed. Because she had a score to settle. With
the woman whose sole actions about brought about the end to her group.
Her partners. Her leader. All were lost. Kazaguruma was gone. His
amazing Wind Slash technique was no match for Hibana. Especially inside
the confines of the freshly abandoned city. Onibi fared no better.
Though Hisui had felt no love for such a devious, perverted man, his
skill and great vitality had fallen to the hauntingly honed powers of
Hibana. And worst of all was the defeat and elimination of Jimushi. The
nexus of the fates of so many. The one who Hisui had dedicated her life
and her talent to. The one who had been the master to train Hibana
herself.
The betrayer of the Oboro Clan and former master of the so-called
Mercenary Shinobi Clan of the Nakatomi Conglomerate.
Though Hibana had not been the one to strike the killing blow upon him,
she may as well have for all the hatred that Hisui was holding towards
her. Though Kazaguruma and Onibi were losses that mattered to Hisui...
nothing could have quelled her rage at the death of him. It was intended
for her to destroy Hibana and then move on towards the destruction of
the murderer himself, the cyborg ninja Kuro-hagane. But she did not
foresee her loss. Hisui had felt ready to win. Finally ready to step out
of Hibana's shadow and begin her own legacy. But it was not to be.
The wind grew colder as Hibana began walking away. She had sustained
damage from their fight too. But not nearly as much as Hisui. Such a
factor prevented her from making a move to stop her rival. Even now,
Hisui cast longing glances at her parasol. She had depleted far too much
of her Chakra to launch another assault upon Hibana in her current
state. But if she could at least get to her weapon... Hisui grit her
teeth and reached for the parasol. Once her hand clasped around the
shaft of the umbrella; Hibana was gone. One leap away and she was on
course for the Golden Palace. Most likely in pursuit of Kuro-hagane and
the shards of Akujiki that he had acquired. The reformation of the
ruthless, soul-sucking hell sword was at hand. But Hisui paid no
attention to that fact. Once Hibana left she slumped downwards and just
dropped her parasol.
"I've lost... everything..." The dark-haired woman muttered to herself,
"...Nothing is left for me... no one to lead me... no one to live for.
All I have... is my hate... my hatred for you..."
Hisui stared up into the dark, wet skies above and screamed, "HIBANA!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The path towards the Golden Palace was dark. It was a long stretch of
tarmac road that had been cut off from the city. After all, the Golden
Palace was not exactly the kind of place that a parent would have wanted
their kids to play in. It was the sight of the legendary Hotsuma's
victory. His premature victory. Now the shards of that cursed Akujiki
were active in the world. The forsaken souls inside its steel were
slowly manifesting into great new levels of power that the elders of the
Oboro Clan would have scarcely been able to predict. And the one with
full control of that power was that bastard Kuro-hagane.
As Hibana dashed over the cold path towards the mutated Golden Palace,
she recalled her many thoughts of him. What was that creature after?
Ever since the weakening and the eventual destruction of the Ariake
Seal; Hibana had been coming across that thing. First time was at the
wings of the combat jet that had flown across the streets of Tokyo. The
next time was in the halls of the Nakatomi Warehouse she had to search
out. And now, most glaring of all, was the point where he had
interrupted the battle between Hibana and Jimushi. Bringing about his
untimely death.
Now... Hibana didn't know how she felt.
Jimushi was a traitor. He had forsaken her trust for him all that time
ago. And Hibana had believed that she hated him bitterly. After all, he
was the man who had trained her and blessed her with the great dual
weapons of Futaba. The one who taught her the finest of the shinobi
arts. But in the end... Hibana was confused as to how she really felt
about his death. Did she welcome the fact? Or resent it? Upon seeing his
death all she could really think of were his words to stop both the
government and Nakatomi from getting their hands upon the unholy powers
of Akujiki. Now she was going to the Golden Palace to retrieve that very
same weapon. Was she doing this in memory of him? Or because of the
orders given to her by the Shinobi Agency?
It was time to find out.
While Hibana dashed over the long stretch of road that would take her to
the Golden Palace, she cast a look over the bay towards Tokyo. Most of
the people had cleared out all thanks to the return of the Hellspawn.
But she was about to meet with another one. The ground ahead of her
instantly surged upwards and broke apart. Hibana stopped running when
she saw this and looked on, with the sound of a bestial howl in the
night air. One part metallic, part organic leg reared upwards from the
damage done to the ground. The monster's screaming continued as the it
rose from the rubble of the road.
"If it isn't one damn thing, it's another." Hibana barked out irritably,
reaching behind her back and withdrawing her sword Utsushiyo. Once the
creature had slowly scuttled out of the hole in the road under the power
of its four legs, it screeched out once more. Rather than be intimidated
by such a being, Hibana charged forwards with her sword at the ready.
Using all of her shinobi training she leapt upwards and towards its
head, moving in a swift blur. She kicked its face brutally and then
pulled up Utsushiyo to attack. With one quick motion she brought the
sword down to slice through the skull of beast. She landed to the ground
a few seconds later on. But when she looked up, the monster was still
roaring. Hibana's eyes narrowed when she realized that she hadn't so
much as scratched that thing's hide. It was an armoured-type Hellspawn.
The monster cried out again into the night sky and thrust one of its
meaty, slimy arms at Hibana. This one was quicker to attack than it was
to move. The red kunoichi was nailed in the stomach and thrown backwards
across the foggy street. Her body rolled until it came to a rough stop.
The Hellspawn creature breathed out menacingly and its stinking breath
was quite visible thanks to the chilled conditions around them. Hibana
shook her head to shake off the effects of the fall. Then gripped at her
waist. That was a hard blow. She had been sloppy in handling that. But
for the most part, she just had to kill this thing.
The red kunoichi stood up from the ground she had been lying on.
Although the majority of her Chakra had been depleted in her battle with
Hisui, she had more than enough left to take out this thing. Hibana
brought hands together and made a series of hand gestures as the
Hellspawn began lumbering towards her. Once the momentum for her attack
had been gathered to its fullest, the horrible sound of
Ninjutsu-conjured fire hung in the air. And its glow brightened the
street path. When Hibana unleashed the power of her Ka'en technique, a
ring of blazing, purifying fire awoke around her and spread outwards
with increasing speed. The Hellspawn released a deafening scream of
agony as it was burned by Hibana's flame. The creature stumbled
backwards until it was ignited. The ruthless explosion made its body
parts splatter all over the road and across the worn material covering
most of Hibana's face.
The Japanese woman stepped backwards as the broken, burnt corpse of the
Hellspawn rained down over the street with its nasty green blood. Then
pressed her body against a lamp post. She was more tired than she first
believed. Even unleashing Ka'en was becoming a struggle for her. She
needed to rest before she moved on. The Golden Palace was the sight of
the great Hotsuma's triumph... but it was no pleasure garden. To succeed
here, Hibana would need to put up her A-game. And in her current state,
that was quite impossible. But she had to report to the taskmaster
before she went anywhere.
Hibana pressed a button on the side of her headrest. The one that gave
her contact with others via a communications link. "...I'm heading back
to Tokyo for the night."
The Agent soon spoke back. "What?! You have your orders, Hibana! You are
to follow after that machine shinobi and bring back the shards of
Akujiki!"
"Unless you want me to die gracelessly and blow your only shot at
getting the damned thing, I need rest. Now stop nattering out orders and
just accept it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Life in Tokyo was just one big panic for all those still left inside.
Once the Hellspawn invaded this town, most people had fled. Those
creatures were killers, all of them. And though Hibana had been
successful in crushing most of the current attackers, those who had fled
would have had no idea about it. And those who stayed had to deal with
the remaining ones. Some people fought for their lives. Most of them
became Hellspawn food in attempting it. The only people that could stand
against those creatures were those who had shinobi training. Them, and
of course the army. But no high-powered officials would waste valuable
resources on fights that they didn't believe they could win. Even if
that meant condemning the people that remained in the city.
While those people deliberated their fate, Hisui had retreated to her
apartment. It was not a flashy place to live in. Even though she was a
member of Jimushi's minute personal shinobi clan, it didn't provide her
with much in the way of wealth. Just esteem. And on a far more personal
level. The door to her apartment opened up swiftly. She closed it a
second later and then strode for her bathroom. On the way there she
began stripping off her shinobi clothing bit by bit. She needed to take
a shower in the worst way. Once she had stripped herself of all her
clothing, including her underwear, she walked into her bathroom and
towards the shower strip at the far side of that room. Her soft hand
gripped the small four-pointed tap upon the tiled wall and a stream of
hot water came pouring downwards. Hisui undid her hair in that instance
and let it flow freely down her back; while she was washed pure by the
water. But though she was happy to be feeling a little more refreshed,
the expression on her face spoke a different story.
Her face was like stone.
All was lost.
Kazaguruma was dead, Onibi was dead, Jimushi was dead. Hibana, Nakatomi,
the Shinobi Agency, the remnants of the Oboro. They were all her enemies
now. And she was so alone in her vendetta against each of them. Once she
had spent another twenty minutes in the shower, Hisui's small bare feet
stepped out of the shower panel. There was a towel on the hook next to
her sink. She took it and wrapped it around herself. Then marched out
into her connected living room. The kitchen was attached to the living
room in the same way. She walked into it and towards the counter. There
was a bottle of wine there. Most shinobi didn't drink. But the way she
was feeling right now, Hisui just didn't care. The woman poured some of
the white wine into a nearby glass and then gulped it down in one go.
She then marched out of the kitchen and back into the living room with
the glass in hand. Once she got there she cast a look at herself in the
mirror overhanging her coffee table. And then her eyes widened as she
got a completely different reflection. She didn't see a damp, tired
version of her normal self. She saw Hibana. Free of her normal ninja
head dressings, smirking deviously at a confused Hisui.
"You were always the REAL worthless one, Hisui," The reflection spoke,
"Just a second place runner. You were never the first choice... you were
never what Jimushi really wanted..."
Hisui scowled and hurled her glass at the mirror. "Damn you!"
The sound of glass shattering against more glass was heard. The
fractured mirror and the shards of the glass both fell to the coffee
table. The reflection was gone. But the words of Hisui's hallucination
struck home. The repeat of notions she had thrown at herself again and
again in some odd form of unintentional self-torture. Hisui pressed her
hand into her face and struggled to hold back sobs. She slumped to the
ground and willed herself to regain control. But it was not to be. Her
life had been ruined. The foundations of a world she had struggled to
create for herself had been broken. Jimushi was gone. Nothing more than
a memory. Thanks to this; she would never have any answers to her
questions.
'Why was Hibana selected to train under Jimushi instead of me?'
'Why did Jimushi favour Hibana over me?'
'Why did I lose everything so quickly?'
'Why could I not defeat Hibana?'
'Why... I can't I get Hibana out of my head...?!'
It seemed that there was nothing that Hisui could do to free herself of
this sadness. This deep sense of worthlessness and this dank lack of
hope. The most she could think of was to sit here and wallow in her own
misery. But then more thoughts of Hibana came. More images of her. And
things became more clear at that. Hisui knew what she had to do. The
dark-eyed beauty cast her eyes towards her clothing and her parasol. Her
Chakra had had more than enough time to regenerate. The only thing that
could support this fractured life of hers...
...was revenge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A wisp of a blur darted between the tall, towering buildings. Avoiding
all of the destruction that had taken place in the streets thanks to the
re-emergence of the Hellspawn. That pinkish-red blur of movement was
Hibana. The cynical kunoichi dashed across from one building to the
other, crossing the gaps of the street so high above. Once she reached a
certain one; she stopped and took a moment to plan her descent. She
released herself from the wall and began falling downwards. Then she saw
what she wanted. An open window into an apartment. Hibana dove straight
through it, mid-fall, and hurled herself into that apartment window. It
was a place she rented out herself. But only stayed in while she was on
missions that tended to drag out overnight. This was not her main home
of residence. Which was fine. This wasn't the nicest district of Tokyo
to be shackled to.
Hibana sighed and removed the headset over her head. It fell to the
ground lightly, upon the soft cream carpet of the floor. It had been...
a tough day today. More than a few events had happened that had shaken
her. The death of Jimushi being the most glaring of all. Even now,
Hibana still could not figure out how that made her feel. And would
probably take some time to figure out just what she truly felt for him.
What value he had to her. But Hibana had additionally pressing concerns
right now. And though the securing of Akujiki was one of them... the
more urgent problem was hanging upon the banister shortly below the
ceiling of this apartment.
Hibana pulled a tired frown. "...You were never very good at cloaking
your presence, Hisui."
The shadowed figure above scowled with a perturbed breath and then
thrust her parasol straight down at Hibana. The Red Kunoichi ghost
dashed around that attack and flung herself toward the rafters of the
ceiling. Hisui scowled again and swiftly jumped from her current one to
another. Hibana withdrew her blade, Utsushiyo, mid-stride, and slashed
violently at that particular rafter. The image of Hisui that was there
was just another ghost residual effect. It vanished as Hibana sliced
through it and the real Hisui lunged into Hibana with a double leg kick.
The student of Jimushi grit her teeth and was thrown backwards, plucked
out of the air. Hibana then slapped against the wall and lowered
downwards. Hisui wasted no time in coming for her. She landed to the
ground again and without any arms, charged Hibana. A reckless move for
someone with so much talent to make. Hibana saw this coming and sheathed
Utsushiyo. Something told her that using it or either of the Futaba was
not called for in this situation. Once Hisui came at her with another
kick, Hibana danced around the strike and positioned herself behind
Hisui. When her foot kicked through one of Hibana's ghost images; Hisui
knew that Hibana was behind her. In a position to kill.
But no killing blow came.
Instead, Hisui's body jerked when she felt a hand grab at her wrist and
it was yanked behind her back to restrain her. Not the most elegant of
tactics but it had Hisui well restrained and unable to make a
counter-movement. She was out of kunai and shuriken. Not to mention the
fact that she was nowhere near her parasol. Hisui was at the mercy of
Hibana. Again.
"...Dammit..." Hisui cursed resentfully, "...Damn you!"
Hibana's face didn't shirk its normally reticent glare when she spoke.
"...You're quick on the uptake. I don't know how you found me here...
but I'm not in the mood right now."
"Mood?!" Hisui repeated angrily, "You think this amounts to something as
petty as that?! Do you have any idea of what you've done to me?! Jimushi
is... dead... because of you! Because of you!"
Hibana tiredly sighed, but said nothing. "..."
"Don't you have anything to say?!" Hisui yelled whilst struggling in
Hibana's hold, "Why in the hell does everything have to revolve around
someone like you?! I worked like a dog to get where I am and yet I have
nothing! Nothing! Why the hell were YOU allowed to train with him!? Why
was I the one who had to settle for second best!?"
It wasn't like Hibana had an answer for that. She wasn't the one who
played Hisui as second fiddle to her. She had no real control over the
situation. The woman red released yet another sigh and span Hisui around
to face her, letting go of her hand. The watery kunoichi pressed her
back into the wall as Hibana stood before her. With a remorseless yet
still expression upon her face.
"...I'm not gonna make any excuses," Hibana offered, "And I am not gonna
justify myself to you. If you want answers... you're going to have to
look somewhere else. But if its death you want... then just say the
word."
"...Damn you," Hisui repeated, a tear slipping from her eye, "...Damn
you..."
It was all hopeless. Hisui could see that much now. She was without
weapons, without allies and without spirit. Even in coming here... it
was nothing more than a mistake. And here she was again; at a loss to
Hibana. Nothing could overturn it. Was this always going to be the way
that things panned out between the two of them? Would Hisui ALWAYS be a
second to her rival Hibana? Would she always be living her life in
Hibana's tremendous shadow? Suddenly the thought of that was weighing
heavily on Hisui. And it got worse as she looked into that dispassionate
face of her nemesis. Looking upon her pale milky flesh, pink under
turned lips and cold, almost-emotionless eyes. Just like Jimushi. Even
now there were so many similarities between the two of them. Though
Hibana was soft and sleek in comparison to the smouldering and staunch
Jimushi, the way they fought and acted... was all too similar. And Hisui
could afford not to avoid it. Or even understand it. The more she looked
into Hibana's face the more she saw Jimushi. And the more she saw him...
the more frightened she felt.
...And yet...
...Secure at the same time.
As if being with him/her would make things better. Or return things to
the way they were before. When Hisui believed that Jimushi was grooming
her as his true woman. When she, Jimushi, Kazaguruma and Onibi set out
to acquire the shards of Akujiki before they fell into the hands of the
Shinobi Agency... and thus the government. Hibana could see the change
in emotion that was taking place inside the mindset of her rival. From
angry and furious to despondent and isolated. Perhaps what Hisui did
next was an after-effect of her sadness. Or maybe just a burst of the
pent-up lust, fear and anger she felt for the closest thing she had to
Jimushi right now.
The last member of Jimushi's mercenary clan roughly clasped the other
woman by her bare cheeks and thrust her lips up against Hibana's.
It was a sudden action. One without flair or glitz. Just the surge of
emotion and negative sentiment that one conjures in times of extreme
desperation and disorientation. Both women breathed heavily as their
moist lips locked against each other. Hibana's eyes widened with
surprise at this. This kiss... this feeling... and this lack of a will
to stop it. So much had happened to Hibana at this point. Fighting,
killing, hunting, tracking, scaling, jumping. All for obtaining Akujiki
and for revenge against the one who had betrayed her. Jimushi. And
throughout all of that... she felt no joy. No happiness. No love. Just
the emptiness that had been a part of her since her parents abandoned
her. In that one instant; Hibana simply forgot her misgivings and
returned that kiss with equal passion. Simply as a reflex reply to the
language that all humans knew how to speak. That of sheer blind and
hopeless desire.
It was nothing more than two people, who didn't even like each other,
licking their wounds and seeking desperately for comfort. In most
respects; people might have regarded it as... pathetic. And the two
kunoichi would have agreed. But at that point in time...
...Neither of them could have cared less.
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