Illusions and Intentions ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Shinrin Jinja It was as usual in the Room of Fates. But Hirotsugu had more pressing business now than he usually did. For not many came to the Room of Fates. Only those for whom Hirotsugu had plans. The Honshu Koga breathed in slowly and let his head lull. His eyes were shut and his legs were folded underneath him. Behind him, on either side, were two of the Six Orochi. Namely Cat Mask and Setsuki. Hirotsugu opened his eyes slowly. They had gotten here faster than he really expected them to. Hard to believe; but both shinobi had lives outside of the Orochi and the Shinrin Jinja. Something that Hirotsugu hoped to remedy. In time. The Honshu Koga crossed his arms and looked ahead of him, not sparing a glance for his two warrior servants. But he did direct his next words at them. "You are early. Good. I did not want to wait for you. So I will be equal in kindness and speak swiftly. I have called you here today to tell you of some of my plans. Ryoko-kun is battling the Morioka girl so I will tell her... if she gets back to the Shinrin Jinja." Setsuki had been wondering what his Lord's next move would be. "...Yes, sir?" "When I went to the Diet Building... I told Fujiwara-san exactly what I think is needed for Japan. And that is the reinstallation of the Closed Country policy." Both Setsuki and Cat Mask gasped at that. A Closed Country policy? Now? They were both expecting something radical... but nothing like that. Japan hadn't seen that kind of political thinking since the Tokugawa Era. People have often talked about amending the foreign influence that had plagued Japan since the Meiji Restoration; but most people tended to see this as nothing more than the dying cry of a select few people with brutally xenophobic views. Hatred for the United States of America was not a new thing to Tokyo in 2037. But blotting out all foreign influence (including that of such neighbours as Korea, China and the Russian Federation) was rather alarming. Such a feeling of uncertainty was not lost on either Setsuki or Cat Mask. They were as much confused by this as Prime Minister Fujiwara was. "...Sir..." Cat Mask was the first to speak after an uncomfortable silence set in between the three of them in the Room of Fates, "Pardon my rudeness. But do you think... that is wise? The Prime Minister can be duped into anything; I am sure that with enough pressure we could get him to promote these views to the Kokkai (The Diet/Congress). But... the people of Japan might not respond to this well... I mean... the economic tragedies of the past were brought on by a lack of foreign trade." Hirotsugu nodded. "Yes. And because of that, the Four Koga were able to take power. I know that the people of this nation will object. They have grown corpulent and addicted to the strength of the western world. Ever since the 1800's this country has grown reliant on the fates of the outsiders. The American market crash of 1921 devastated the world with poverty and suffering. Then because of the trade blockades you mentioned; Japan was brought to its knees once more. It will keep happening again and again and again until this proud nation is nothing but a decaying corpse. I cannot allow that. What this country needs is a phase of independence. We need to reinforce ourselves. Remind ourselves of our own individual power. And the only way to bring that about is to close ourselves off from the world." "What of the other Koga?" Setsuki questioned, "What do they have to say about this?" Hirotsugu chuckled under his breath. "...They have backed it. It seems that they are aware of the same issues as I. We cannot allow the foreign superpowers to dominate us again. They know it. I know it. What matters is how the people will react to it." "They will not take lightly to it." Cat Mask answered firmly. "I am aware, Mask-kun," Hirotsugu replied, "The bulk of Japanese nationals will object. I fear that they are more politically aware than most give them credit for. But that will not stop my plans. Fujiwara-san must first propose the measure to Parliament. They are not an issue. But though we have much influence in the government... the proposal will probably be turned down if left to a referendum vote. Which is why Parliament must have a strong support of the policy. If they enforce it as a whole then the opinions of the people will not matter." Setsuki thought about that. "That's true... but Fujiwara-san still has firm opposition in Parliament right now. Though nobody is brave enough to say it; I believe there are a large number of parliamentary members who hold resistance against the Four Koga and Fujiwara-san's puppet state. What shall be done about them?" Hirotsugu didn't answer that question with words. He reached down to the ground and picked up a rolled-up scroll that had been resting before him. The Honshu Koga then tossed it over his shoulder at Setsuki. The younger one gripped the scroll as it came at him. Then spread it open to see what was inside. Cat Mask inched closer to see what this meant too. On the rolled out scroll was a list. Of names and addresses. Cat Mask looked back at the seated Hirotsugu. "What does this mean, sir?" "Those are the names and addresses of those in parliament we suspect to be part of the minute opposition to the Koga," He claimed, "They will obviously have influence over the parliamentary vote to my Closed Country policy. And I cannot afford that right now. So I want you and the other Orochi visit these people. I want you to silence their qualms. Make them aware of their mortality. If we cannot apply my methods by logic then we must use intimidation. Crude as it is; I want them brought to sense. Kill them if they deny me." Setsuki took this all on with understanding. But Cat Mask was terrified of it. Could the Honshu Koga really be serious in this aim? Was Japan going to be... closed off from the world? ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Ichijiteki Park Shiki's firm emerald eyes shot from one side of the park to the other. She could hardly see anything in all this fog. All she could really see was the grass that was around her feet in the nearby area. Everything outside twenty metres of her position was covered up in the mystic fog created by Ryoko's Meiro Kiri spell. Shiki sheathed her bamboo sword, Miyuki, then kept up the hopes of finding where Ryoko was hidden. Obviously she was not effected by the power of the fog in the same way that Shiki was. But what could she do other than wait for Ryoko to strike her? ...There was the option of using Shunhenkou. It was the same technique that Shiki had employed against Zanmaru. The one that finished him off. But the problem was that Shiki needed to have eye-to-eye contact with the target to use the skill. Unless she knew where Ryoko was and had the option of looking into her eyes; Shunhenkou was useless to Shiki now. And somehow, Ryoko's fog was blocking her Mind's Eye too. Which nullified that particular technique as a solution. So then what else could she do? It was now that Shiki realized that Ryoko was very skilled. She had come up with a powerful strategy in which she could attack from a secretive distance. Unseen and free. This must have been planned. And Ryoko must have used some form of tracking Ninjutsu to find her. All very good work. Not that Shiki was all that pleased about it. "...Damn her! This girl is pretty clever. I can't feel her presence anywhere. This fog is thick enough to almost completely blind my senses. But I can't lose here..." Shiki re-gripped the hilt of her bamboo sword. "...Especially not when I have that bastard, the Honshu Koga to kill." "So!" That loud, echoing voice of Ryoko's called out again, "I see that you have been trained in the Mizuryu Style of Ninjutsu. There aren't many masters of contemporary Ninjutsu left in Tokyo these days. I find it interesting that you would possess such knowledge... it's almost as if... you might have had previous connections with the Mizuryu Clan. So why don't you tell me a little about that...?" Shiki drew Miyuki from its sheath again and scowled behind her face mask. "You expect me to trade my secrets with yours? I don't think so! Why don't you come out here and face me! Are you a coward or what?" Ryoko giggled femininely. "Do you actually believe I'm stupid enough to fall for that? You're the one in trouble here. Not me. You can't see me... but I can see you. You've drawn your sword. And you keep looking around for me. I can see all these things. And now? You are completely at my mercy." "I don't think so!" Shiki yelled back, "I won't stop until I've killed your master!" A snort was heard through the fog. "That's enough talk, shinobi girl of Morioka. I have prior engagements to keep. I won't be late for them. It's time to die! But you shouldn't feel too bad about it! After all... you never stood a chance against the Six Orochi in the first place..." Shiki was prepared for anything that Ryoko might throw at her. But all the same; her eyes widened when she noticed something. A ring of shadows were surrounding her in the same way that the minor shinobi she killed before had done. But this time there were six. Six small pools of shadow. Two in front, two behind, one to the left and one to the right. All of them moved in a slithering way inside themselves. Shiki was curious. She had never seen this kind of Ninjutsu before. What could it have been? Regardless of the question she kept her eyes on each of the shadow pools. And each of them began to react simultaneously. From each of the shadow pools arose a dark figure made up of an unknown blackness-like texture. These figures took on more human-like shapes. Forming arms, legs, heads, feet, hands, all in a sleek and amazing synchronization. Soon they looked all like shadow female human beings. Then that darkness around them faded away like raindrops off a window. And revealed a perfectly human form beneath them. Six girl ninja; dressed in pink shinobi gear and all armed with a kunai knife in their right hands. Shiki suspected that this was what Ryoko's true form looked like. But she actually knew this technique. It was Fukusu Harada or 'Multiple Body'. A Gensou-jutsu skill that allowed the user to make spiritual replicas of themselves and attack in a synchronized assault. One of those six ninja girls was the real deal. But which one? Until she knew, Shiki could not let down her guard for a single second. Even the slightest error might cost the kunoichi her life. So she kept her eyes trained on each of the copies. They were remarkably life-like and impossible to distinguish from a real person. Each one of them drew back their right hand, the one with the kunai, and aimed at the central target of their ring. All six members of the Ryoko Ring yelled out the attack as it began. "Fukusa Harada, Roku-Kunai Gijutsu! Shi ha!" (Multiple Body, Six-Kunai Technique! Death Wave!) Each of the copies thrust out their right arms and hurled the sharp kunai straight out at their target; Shiki. The dark kunoichi grunted hard; then leapt straight up into the air. The six kunai all clattered against each other at the centre of the Ryoko Ring. Shiki looked downward as she hovered above in the momentum of her jump. She quickly went to the pouch at her leg, withdrew a shuriken and hurled it down at one of the six Ryokos. It went straight through her, as the image faded back into what it once was. Shadow. Shiki scowled from behind her mask and began landing. She didn't get the right Ryoko. That was just a another copy. And it vanished along with all the others. Aside from one. Shiki landed on the ground and looked over her shoulder. One of the ring had remained. That was the real deal. That was the real Ryoko. But before the ninja of Morioka could reply to it; Ryoko jumped backwards in a speedy blur. Reassuming herself into the mesh of thickening red fog that had infested the park. As soon as she saw this; Shiki smiled (though Ryoko could not have seen it due to the facial wrappings). Ryoko's technique had its weaknesses. The First Orochi couldn't use it without revealing herself in some way or another. Ryoko spoke again while she re-hid herself in the veils of her fog. Because of this, her voice regained its echoing properties. "Not bad! You're a tough one to kill. No wonder Zanmaru had his hands full with you. But you're still going to die. I will make sure of it..." Shiki focused herself. Ryoko had a weakness. And the attack began again. Six shadow pools appeared in a circular formation around her. From those pools of swirling darkness came forms of a misshapen nature. They all began reforming themselves into humanoid images until they were completely indistinguishable from real people. But this was not like before. This time they were armed with two kunai apiece. But that wasn't the least of it. Each of the copies did not look like Ryoko... they looked like Shiki! The real one gasped at the centre of the sight of the copies. They all looked like her! Aside from the kunai in their hands they all appeared to be exactly like her. Hair, clothing, disposition, everything. The six of the Shiki-copies spoke to her. "How do like this?! I bet it won't be so easy to attack multiple bodies that look exactly like you, will it? You've underestimated the powers of the Six Orochi, girl; and you won't live to regret that error!" Not a bad skill. It was a Compound Technique. Coalescing the Fukusa Harada Ninjutsu with Gizou Harada (Counterfeit Body). But Shiki didn't even bother retorting. She just kept her eyes on the six Shiki-copies that had surrounded her. She could not be distracted by this. At the end of the day, they were all the same thing. Five of them were Ninjutsu-created copies. The final one was Ryoko. No matter what guise she assumed; one of them had to be Ryoko. So essentially; Shiki only had to worry about the extra kunai that each of them now held. The six Shiki-doubles all pulled up their armed hands at the same time and began aiming at the real one. They then called out the calculated attack in sync with each other, screaming, "Fukusa Gizou Harada, Juu-Ni-Kunai Gijutsu! Chou shi ha!" (Multiple Counterfeit Body, Twelve-Kunai Technique! Ultimate Death Wave!) Each of the Six Shiki-copies chucked their two-each kunai at the target, the real Shiki. The girl from Morioka remained firm and performed the same action as before. He jumped straight up into the foggy night air above her. All twelve of the kunai came within seconds of hitting her. But clashed against each other at the last epoch of the attack. The Shiki clones let out similar but respective groans of anger at this. The real Shiki smiled and reached for her shuriken pouch. But this time she was gonna amp up the playing field a little bit. The girl hooked three of the shuriken in her pouch onto her left hand and drew back her whole arm. A devious grin curled from Shiki's lips behind her face scarf; but she let her actions do the talking. Those three shuriken remained stoic for a few seconds. Then burst open with small tongues of flame. The twelve eyes of the six Shiki-clones all widened at the sight. Then the airborne ninja swung her arm out around her, hurling the three flaming shuriken at three of the Shiki-copies. Though only three of the copies were at risk, all six of them gasped with fright. And Shiki was about to learn why. One of the flaming shuriken shot through a Shiki-copy. It faded away. It was one of the fakes. The second fire shuriken cut another Shiki-copy through the neck. But it was the same result as before. Another fake. Then the final one came down. It was slightly off target, so it sliced across the arm. And Shiki grinned with delight as a spurt of blood oozed from the gash. That was one was the real Ryoko. Ryoko scowled, gripped her wounded arm while the her remaining three copies faded into the murky shadows from whence they came. "Dammit! You bitch!" That was it. The opportunity that Shiki had been waiting for. The young kunoichi jumped straight down to the grassy ground, then charged ahead at Ryoko. She was too stunned at the failure of her technique to do something about it. Shiki ran forwards, jumped, and then extended her long lithe leg ahead of her. Ryoko let off a frustrated cry when Shiki violently kicked her across the cheek of her face. The 'Imageless Kunoichi' tumbled to the ground and skidded back; while Shiki crouched down and put her arm around her back. Her nimble and eager fingers danced on the exotic wooden hilt of Miyuki. Ryoko coughed, her eyes downcast, her cheek bruised, and her arm gashed. And it had just occurred to her now that she had run out of kunai to attack with. Not to mention the fact that her Chi was beginning to run low. If she didn't act soon the fog (which was being maintained by a constant flow of Ryoko's Chi) would fade and she would have nothing to hide in. Shiki chuckled with a bloodlust that frightened even Ryoko. "Not so confident now that I've been able to see through all your illusions, eh? You know... you Orochi all talk big; but none of you limp-wristed bastards can get the job done, can you?" "Gonna kill me?" Ryoko cracked with a nervous smile, "Not much of a heroine if you do..." Again, Shiki just chuckled at that. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm no heroine. I doubt you could even call me a good person. That doesn't change your fate though. You said that I've been underestimating the Six Orochi, Ryoko-san? Well you're wrong. It's you Six Orochi that have been underestimating me." "Damn you!" Ryoko scoffed, then quickly put her hand in one of the pockets of her pink ninja outfit. She withdrew something and clutched it inside her fist, "I won't forget this! I'll come for you with the others and make you regret the second you met me!" Ryoko then threw down what she had been holding. Shiki covered her face when she realized what Ryoko had taken out of her pocket. A smoke bomb. It shattered on the ground and spread a cloud of smoke into the near area, mixing oddly with the colour-different fog. But it didn't much matter. By the time Shiki waved the smoke out of her eyes and face; Ryoko was gone. Leaving behind only her wasted kunai and a few drips of her blood on the grass. The bratty little girl had escaped with her life. Shiki eased upright from her crouched position. She released a breath and then looked around her. The fog was beginning to lift. Once Ryoko left her fog was bound to fade away. Which meant that Shiki could continue her journey home. The cunning girl from Morioka walked over to her book bag, jumped acrobatically into the park skies and dashed away. One thing was certain. The Six Orochi were definitely targeting her. Maybe it was time to take the fight to Hirotsugu rather than waiting for his lackeys to bring to fight to her. But that begged another question... ...Where in all Tokyo was he?
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