Imageless Kunoichi ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It was getting late. Yui looked upwards into the starry night sky. It was such a beautiful night tonight. Not a cloud in the sky. All the lights from the surrounding houses had been shut off; so nothing out there could blot out the images of the twinkling jewel stars that adorned the night. Yui didn't take much time out to appreciate them these days. She always had more important things to think about and obsess over. But today; she was just feeling... good about things. Aside from the battle with Zanmaru at Kimagure Gakuen, school had been really good for her first day. And she had already made a new friend. Someone that Yui really liked. Someone that Yui really, *really* liked. Uchida Haruko. It was about 8.15 right now. School finished more than five hours ago. But rather than go straight to newly-furnished by lonely apartment; Yui had been invited to the Uchida House by Haruko herself. Yui had cheerfully agreed to this and left with her. They stopped at a local arcade first however. Just to lounge around and get something to drink before they ventured to Haruko's house. Once they left the arcade and actually got to Haruko's house; she was introduced to the rest of Haruko's Family. Mother Uchida and Father Uchida. Hibuki (who was out at the time) she had already met, back in school. They were all very nice people, and in a way, much like Haruko. They had deep interests in Politics and were staunchly opposed to the leadership of Japan's current Prime Minister, Fujiwara. Yui was astounded by this. Not many people noticed how incompetent he truly was. It showed that the Uchida household was clearly modern in their approach to Japanese political life. And was probably one of the reasons why Haruko was so determined to work her way into parliament. The four of them sat down to an evening meal; just a little sukiyaki. It was getting colder and colder these days, so Mother Uchida had been cooking more Winter Foods for her family. Which was a pleasant surprise for Yui herself. She had loved home cooked meals back home in Morioka. Her parents (old as they were) did a lot for her in the kitchen when it came to that. And Yui couldn't help but ask Mother Uchida how she cooked it. Yui's cooking skills were below her own acceptable standards but she was always willing to learn. Besides. The modern Tokyo-girl must apparently know how to steer a way between both home-skills and a professional career. In some ways Yui was lacking in both. By the time that Yui was aware of the falling darkness; a few hours had rolled by. It was time to be getting home; and Yui didn't want to impose on the gracious Uchida Family (even though Haruko had assured her that she was doing no such thing). Right now Yui strolled out of the Uchida Household, looking up into the night sky briefly. She fixed her winter jacket on, and then secured her grip on her school bag. Haruko walked up behind her as they went to the front of the doorway. Yui turned around and faced her new friend, her head tilting to one side of her shoulders, smiling. "Thanks for everything, Haruko-san," Yui offered, "I really enjoyed spending the day with you and meeting your family. Your folks are very nice." Haruko waved her off. "Oh, you don't have to say that. They have their moments. Besides, I was glad to do it. I am class rep after all. Plus, it's not easy going to a new school and meeting new people. Especially when they all know each other." "Yeah," Yui nodded, "... So... um... do you wanna... walk to school together tomorrow...?" The youngest member of the Uchida Family nodded with a small and uncharacteristically shy little smile. "Sure. I'd like that a lot." That was nice. Yui was glad for that. It meant that today meant more to Haruko than just her duties to welcome newcomers. Which was worth a lot, considering the fact that Yui really saw Haruko as her friend now. The bashful girl strode from the Uchida doorway and walked out into the smooth stone of the pavement. She then waved her goodbyes to Haruko. Haruko waved back and went inside, seeing Yui off. Then Yui began her walk home. Her apartment wasn't too far from here but it would be a lot quicker by bus. Unfortunately, the last bus of the day had left about half and hour ago. So all Yui really could do was walk home this way. Of course, there was one way to get home quicker... ...As Shiki. Yui really didn't like using the magnificent shinobi powers of Shiki unless there was some kind of threat to her life. But it was pitch black out here and Yui didn't want to risk running into anyone here unguarded. She wasn't afraid of any thug, thief or rapist; just the threat of the Six Orochi she had been thinking about since this morning. If they were willing to send Zanmaru after her at a public school; they were more than likely to come after her again. And Yui still didn't know exactly where Hirotsugu was. So she couldn't quite kill the bastard yet. That meant coping with the Orochi until she found a route to the Honshu Koga himself. Still, Yui wanted to get home fast anyways. If she went to bed late then she would wake up late. And she really didn't want to upset Haruko by being late for the second time in two days. So it was time to unleash the hidden kunoichi of Morioka. Yui looked around herself for a second. Just to check if there was anyone nearby. There was no one. Yui then dashed around the corner of the chain of semi-detached buildings on the road. She went into a secluded corner and began re-assuming herself in the appropriate persona. For her fight with Zanmaru she had not worn her ninja clothing. Tonight would be no exception, those clothes had mostly been left at home. Besides, the Six Orochi seemed to know that she was attending Kimagure Gakuen anyway. It would have made very little difference if they did manage to spot her like this. Yui pulled the facial wrappings from her book bag. She spread it out evenly between both of her hands, and then brought it back around her face. The girl wrapped the elongated scarf-mask around the lower half of her face, tying it firmly to her head via a tight knot at the back of her upper neck. Once this had been done, the expression on Yui's face changed (even though only the upper half of her face could be seen). Almost by reflex, the shy and sensitive visage of Hazumaru Yui changed into the twisted, amused and virtually devious face of Shiki. Shiki chuckled to herself; then grabbed the book bag. She withdrew a few items from it this time. Things she didn't need against Zanmaru but took anyway. The first was her short sword, Miyuki. It was a bamboo sword; in that it appeared to be nothing more that a relatively short and thin length of bamboo. But within it was a keen steel that had been sharpened with knives and acids by Shiki herself. Sharp enough to cut through the heavens. Shiki attached Miyuki to the back of her schoolgirl skirt and went back into the book bag. The second thing she pulled out was as small pocket of fabric. Containing a healthy stock of shuriken. The fight with Zanmaru had shown that she was not the only one to have mastered use of them. Not by a long-shot. So it would be better to be fully armed while as Shiki from now on. The girl attached the pocket of small shuriken (20 in number) at one side of her leg. Better to stay on top of things while she travelled like this. Shiki then stood upright and gripped her bag firmly. Right before leaping aggressively into the night sky. She jumped into the air like a raven taking flight; sailing over the concrete streets beneath her until she landed on the other side of the road. From there she began a steady dash home; darting through the shadows and back routes of this area. This took about twenty minutes. It went to show that Shiki had a longer way to go than she first realized. But there was one shortcut, through a place called Ichijiteki Park. It was a large park full of lush greenery and towering trees. Open to the public during the mornings and afternoons; closed to the public at night. That applied to today just as it would to any other day. But Shiki didn't much care. She had to get home and she wasn't the type to hang around (at least not in this form). The dark kunoichi walked up to the tall painted-black gates that cut off Ichijiteki Park from the outside. Not much of an obstacle to her. Shiki grinned behind her face mask and jumped upwards. Her lithe and trained body went straight over that two-metre tall metal fence. And she collided with the dry green grass of the park as she came back down. Easy enough. Then she began her dashing pace. Shiki ran straight through the parks many pathways; marked off by trees and stone paths. Thankfully she researched this area before she moved here, so she had a rough idea of how everything was laid out in this district. She had made a particularly thorough study of Ichijiteki Park because she had a feeling she would be using it often. And that trouble would come her way at least once while walking through it. Shiki had no idea how right she was. After running through the vastness of the park for about ten minutes; Shiki began to realize that this shouldn't be taking so long. She should have made it to the other side of the park by this point in time. It was dark but there was no way she could have gotten lost. Then she began to notice that there was a bleak fog hanging in the air. But it was no ordinary fog. It was misty but thick; and it was surrounding this field of the park very quickly. So quickly that Shiki had failed to notice it. Before she did something wrong; Shiki slowed down and soon stopped. Something wasn't right here. This fog (which was actually turning a sort of light reddish colour) was too thick to have sprung up so quickly. Then it hit her. "Damn!" She breathed heavily, "...It must a shinobi conjuration!" Though Shiki could have had no way of knowing who or where it came from; a second and equally feminine voice called out to her. It echoed in the vastness of the park and hung in the now thickening air that surrounded her. "Correct!" The voice yelled, harshly, "A skill of Gensou-jutsu (Art of Illusion) that I like to call Meiro Kiri (Maze Fog). The more you run, the deeper you'll fall into it. You'll just keep marching around and around in circles until you starve to death. So I truly suggest that you stay put. There is absolutely no way to escape from me..." Shiki scowled, letting her hand fall behind her back, gripping the hilt of Miyuki. Her eyes stayed searching from side to side. The voice was well hidden. She couldn't even tell which way that it was coming from. "Who are you?" Shiki yelled out, "Are you one of the Six Orochi?" The young female voice chuckled in the air. "Heh, heh, heh! Zanmaru-san and Setsuki-kun have big mouths! But no matter. You were bound to learn of us eventually. I am Ryoko. The very First of the Six Orochi. Apparently you are quite the thorn in Hirotsugu-sama's side. So I have come to compensate for Zanmaru-san's failures and kill you. Once I've finished with you; I'll toss your bones into the winds... no one kills a member of the Six Orochi and lives to tell that tale. Prepare to die!" Shiki gripped Miyuki's hilt in a tight grip. "Loudmouthed bitch. You seem pretty confident about yourself. But what makes you think that you won't fall to me in the same way that Zanmaru-san did?" "I am not alone, my dear Kunoichi," The hidden Ryoko replied, "Let me introduce you to the lesser ninja of the Mizuryu Clan. I'm sure they'll give you some ripe sport before you die!" Just as Ryoko finished that statement, a loud whooshing sound filled the air at five different points around Shiki. Five lesser shinobi then jumped downwards into attacking positions from the nothingness of that thick foggy air. Five of them, all armed and all out for blood, surrounding Shiki to prepare to attack. They were not elite ninja. So all Shiki could do was laugh. Dark chuckles escaped her soft fabric-enswathed lips. She knew that Ryoko couldn't possibly be relying on such amateurs right now. All she had to do was take them all out. The first one came swiftly. He ran straight out at Shiki, pulling a small knife/short sword from his back. Shiki focused on him and slowly eased Miyuki from its sheath. When they reached within striking distance of each other; Shiki drew her sword and sliced through the abdomen of the lesser ninja. He skidded behind her with a gasp. While Shiki ran forwards and launched an attack on someone else. The cut ninja coughed up a guzzle of blood; that spurted from the gaps in his facial wrapping. Then he released a mournful wail of a death cry as his thin body slid from his waist in haze of blood. The body of the ninja, that had been sliced in two, collapsed into a pile on the cold, cry grass. Shiki ignored the death of that guy and focused on the one she was charging. This second ninja withdrew his own sword and tried to slice at her in the same way. Shiki crouched under the attack, mid-run, then came up again and slashed with Miyuki in a sort of uppercut motion. The shinobi screamed as his ribcage was ripped open in a flash of steel and blood. Bone, skin, blood and putrid, ruptured guts were exposed as that ninja dropped dead. Shiki stopped for a second as the remaining shinobi encircled her. One at back, one at the front, and one to the left. The one at the back threw something at Shiki. She knew exactly what it was. The dark kunoichi jumped straight up into the air and backflipped over the shuriken. It then struck the front ninja straight in the neck. He gargled on his own blood and dropped choking to the grass. As Shiki rotated mid-air; she quickly pulled out a shuriken of her own from the pocket attached to her leg. She flung it at the left shinobi; straight at the neck. The lesser ninja coughed and gasped as it went straight through the nape of his neck and cut through the back in a smooth motion. More of that crimson red blood spurted into the air. And the throat-busted warrior collapsed dead in that instant. The last one was now terrified of this woman. But stood his ground. Something that Hazumaru Yui might have respected. But not Shiki. The kunoichi gripped Miyuki and then flipped back behind the remaining lesser ninja in a blur of movement. She thrust Miyuki's blade right into his back. The man gasped violently, breathlessly. He looked down at the sword as it stuck out of his stomach in a crude but cunning angle. His few remaining seconds of life vanished. And the lesser shinobi crumpled into a heap like the other four. Shiki pulled Miyuki away as the dead man slid off it. It was completely soiled with the blood of her kills. But before she even had the time to admire what she had done, those bodies soon reacted. The five dead shinobi laid lifelessly on the ground until a substantial black smoke surrounded their corpses. They were all enclosed by it and by the time it faded away; all those cleaved torsos were gone. Shiki was confused for a second; but then thought about it. It was another spell. One that carried away those dead bodies before someone could find out about them. Regardless, they were dead and were no match for Shiki in any case. The woman slashed with Miyuki in the air, to clean it of the blood. Then Shiki sensed danger again. Something was coming at her from behind. She speedily rotated her body and slashed with Miyuki again. There was a clash of metal. The attacking object span away from Shiki and her sword. Then staked the soil ground with a thump. It was a kunai. Then Shiki remembered that it was not over. Ryoko was still out there. Somewhere. "Very good!" The brash Ryoko offered from the distance, "Your power is akin to that of the dragon and your movements are as elegant and as swift as those of the crane. But those fools were just minor lackeys. You will fight me now! And you will fall..."
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