Tales of Okame {TheDragonMoon x Sepulchritude}

[TheDragonMoon]

@Sepulchritude


Lightning struck, illuminating for a moment the stone pathway that twisted through the bamboo grove. At the edge of the grove in the shadows stood her. Her dark hair drooped and dripped due to the torrential rainfall. Even with the loose and light white clothing that she wore, her training didn’t permit her to shiver. She was strong. She was the rising Shin Zhao monk who swore that one day the name Akegata would be known to the whole world. Be known as the one who burned the Shotodan rule to ashes.


But tonight there was only a simple and unexciting mission for her to accomplish. There had been news that a messenger would be coming this way, traveling to the capital with updates of their territories far out east. All she had to do was strike sudden and certain. In the shadows, she waited for the man to come. Although not a ninja, Akegata understood the great benefits that having the element of surprise and stealth on your side brought. She was not one who obsessed over the silly and limiting concept of a “fair fight”. Delicious and delightful thoughts of seeing the warrior being struck down filled her mind for a moment, but she stopped and continued to remain aware of her surroundings.


Akegata enjoyed every Shotodan she struck down greatly; her only complaint for tonight was that it was such a basic mission. She reminded herself that not every mission could be epic. The small tasks could just be as important in the long run.


Another lightning bolt flashed in the distance, and she heard a rustle only a meter or so away. She perked her ears, but she did not hear the familiar roar of one of their motorcycles. Instead, she heard more rustling and a low, deep, growl. Akegata tensed her body, preparing for what was to come out of the heavy bamboo. What she saw, she knew she would never forget as long as she lived.


A heavily furred creature that stood on its hind legs came onto the pathway, carrying what was left of the messenger. It towered twice her height, had pits of darkness for its eyes, and huge red horns coming out of the tops of its head. Akegata steeled her spirit, having heard from others that the beast could smell fear itself. Even with her strength, a sliver of fear escaped into her heart and she covered her mouth when she saw its soulless eyes turn her way. It gave her a smile, revealing its razor sharp teeth that were as long as her arm.


She knew that she should probably run. Yet, recently an oni had almost destroyed half the city where she lived. Akegata would not it rest on her soul that she would be the one who let it happen again. Before stepping out to meet the beast, she muttered a prayer to the gods. Let me live to see another day and I will make all of you proud, I swear it.


The beast spat out the body of the messenger onto the ground, letting Akegate observe the mauled body in greater detail - organs spiraling out of its mouth, hands and feet torn off. A most painful way to die, she thought, finally resting her gaze on the horrified expression on the poor man’s face. For Akegata, this sight only fueled the determination to win the fight even more.


She raised her fists in a guarded stance. An ear splitting shriek came out of the beast’s mouth. Then, without any more time to prepare, it leap at her. She deftly rolled out of its way, and started to move her fists in a fluid circular motion to channel the kuji within her. The beast repeatedly tried to leap and grab at her with its huge scaly hands, so she had to jump out of the way every time.


Although rainy, Akegata’s fire techniques were strong enough to far outmatch the weather. She felt the jubilant energy run around her fists and she knew it was time. Just as the beast was going to try a new tactic, she dashed to it this time with her fists in front of her. At the moment of impact, she let all the energy burst out of her fists, bathing them in an intense blue fire and knocking the beast far backwards. A crash echoed throughout the entire forest as the beast fell.  


Not celebrating for a moment, she rushed to where it had fallen. Where she had punched, a chunk of flesh in the middle of its chest had been scorched off. The oni did not seem bothered and was already starting to stand up. But instead of trying to attack her again, it sniffed the air, gave her another smile, turned its back, and started to move rapidly towards the direction of where the city lay.


“No!” she screamed out. “Come back here and fight me!’


A lightning bolt struck, and the monster was already gone. Akegata futility sent out a blast of fire in its direction, where it only hit empty space. The rain poured and poured, continuing to drench her skin. It felt like it was taking all of her energy away with every drop.



She shook her head, disappointed in her useless thoughts. As fast as she possibly could, she ran back to the city, desperately trying to warn them before the oni came. She could not bear seeing more destruction and innocent lives lost again.

 

[Sepulchritude]

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~
​

Wind lashed through the thicket, hurling bamboo stalks every which way in a whipping cacophany. Above, the full moon pierced the clouds, fighting to poke its rays through the nigh-impenetrable shroud that sought to pour an ocean over the land below.

Amidst the endless maze of drenched stalks and biting gales, five cloaked shadow warriors huddled beneath a flailing tarp, fighting against the elements to keep their campfire alight.
A particularly loud peal of thunder accompanied a brilliant lightning strike tearing across the sky and one of the ninja raised his cowed head to glare at the tumultuous heavens.

Kuro hated the rainy season.

It had rained yesterday, it had rained the day before that and it was almost certainly bound to rain well into the next week, at the rate it was coming down. At first he had welcomed the refreshing gales, especially after weeks of travel in the blistering heat. The heavy showers wore out said welcome around the point they churned the ground into bottomless slop.
Another lightning strike. In the split second before the light faded, Kuro caught a glimpse of his companions. Sullenly gazing into the dying embers of the fire, silent as ever. Kuro hadn't spoken to any one of them since the beginning of their trip, nor had they spoken to him. Or even each-other. Loose lips sink ships, he reckoned. Then again their ship was probably going to be sunk anyway, at the rate they were being drenched.

Inwardly sighing, Kuro resigned himself to yet another miserable, cold, wet night.

And then he heard it.

A chorus of snaps and crashes, dim over the sound of the wind but unmistakable to his trained ears. Had the others picked it up? No, they were still inert, far too focused on keeping warm to pay attention to any outside distraction. Were he not conditioned to silence, he would have scolded them for their carelessness.
But now was not the time to muse on such things. Something was not right in the world, and Kuro simply could not pass up a chance to investigate abnormalities.
Yet another crash of thunder and he was gone from the fire circle and dashing through the woods, slipping over and between the thrashing strands, leaving his companions oblivious to his departure.

Several kilometers in and already Kuro was feeling lost. The wind was making the sounds of destruction almost impossible to locate, and the flailing bamboo was doing an excellent job at obstructing any real sense of direction; He was navigating on intuition alone.
Kuro picked up speed as he entered a small clearing, finding his intuition proving correct, as the destructive thrashes were getting easier to distinguish. But they were on the move, and fast. Very fast.

He dashed left, hoping to head the noise off, and nearly ran directly into a sizable gulch. There was no time to slow down, and even if there was, the mud was far too slippery to gain any slowing traction.
Instead, the ninja immediately coiled his legs and performed a tremendous vault, snatching an overhanging bamboo strand and speedily pulling himself up, orientating himself so that he landed upright on the straining limb.
That had been far too close. But there wasn't any time to dwell on close calls. Digging his boots into the stalk, Kuro began running along its length, rising towards the forest canopy. Another leap, this time onto the heads of some far sturdier stalks, and then he was virtually skimming across the forest roof like a leaf in the wind.
The rain pelted his skin and bit his eyes, but at long last the cause of the noise was visible. Or at least, the actual result of the entity making the racket in the first place.
The sea of swaying trees was being parted, torn apart by some unrelenting force. Kuro had a feeling this was not the result of any storm. There were forces much greater at play here.

For a second, Kuro considered turning back. Briefly, he remembered the cautioning words and stories of his teachers, always saying the same thing: A curious ninja was a dead ninja.
He spent the next second completely disregarding those teachings and sprinting forwards to head off the ever-growing wave of destroyed forest.
As he neared the the disturbance, the treetops swayed even more, as the ground began to slightly shake under the might of whatever was coming.

Kuro finally found an opportune spot to observe the entity, and dropped down into the branches, trusting that inbetween his dark clothing and the torrential rainfall, he would be virtually impervious to detection.

Kuro held his breath in anticipation. The tremors were getting worse.

And as the ground shook like a miniature earthquake, a gigantic monstrosity erupted out of the thicket, two blood-red horns tearing through trees as if they were paper, scaled arms splintering the remainder of the undergrowth.
Its eyes, like two terrible voids, scanned its surroundings as if searching for more things to consume in their depths, as Kuro's own widened in disbelief. This wasn't any ordinary beast of the land. He had found an Oni, a creature that should only ever have existed in legend. Or perhaps the Oni had found him.


The beast suddenly dug its claws into the ground, coming to a roaring, skidding halt, loose bamboo sent flying. It paused for a moment, sniffing the air. Kuro offered up a small prayer that he had not been seen.
Thunder rumbled, and the entire area was lit by the worst timed lightning strike of all time.

Those terrible voids focused directly on him. The game was up.

But it was anything but over. Immediately Kuro's hands flew into his jacket, frantically rummaging for a second before coming up victorious with a vial of crimson liquid.
Just as quickly, the Oni screamed and its massive form sprung at him, terrible jaws lunged open, hopelessly eager to rend their victim in two... But the victim was not there. Instead, the small glass container sailed into its maw, which yanked closed, shattering it.
There was a moment of silence.​

And then the beast's jaws were rended apart by an incendiary blast, teeth sent flying and tendons flayed open.

Even upon its ruined visage, the beast looked almost shocked. Frozen in place, Kuro dared to hope the rest of the battle would be as easy.
It began giggling. Slowly, the creature raised itself back onto its hind legs, almost matching the height of the trees. That awful, gurgling laughter continued. Its lower jaw hung at an ugly angle, still attached by a few muscles, but its hollow eye sockets were now alight, shining forth a terrible arcane glow.

He had only made it angry.

Run.

The abomination watched him go, chuckling for a little longer. After all, there was no sport to be had in running down such slow prey. A head start was only fair.

Kuro's heart pounded in his ears as he tore through the forest. Mud covered his pants and bamboo whipped his torso but he had to keep going, had to throw that thing off his trail. He knew he was being toyed with. The usual cacophany of destruction that had accompanied the Oni at first was surprisingly absent, but there was little chance of it staying that way. And even without its sense of smell, a blind cripple could follow the trail Kuro was blazing.
For a moment, Kuro paused, temporarily winded. Ah, there was that terrible crashing in the distance once again. Funny how he had once been so eager to find its source and now all he wanted was to get away, hide away forever. But there was no time to feel sorry for himself, now was a time of action.
His head had had time to clear, and now a light of opportunity was beginning to present itself. A dim one, but Kuro had faith he could turn its light into that of a small sun.

Beneath the cloak obstructing his face, the young ninja allowed himself a small, sly grin, and made a headlong dash back towards the gorge he had seen earlier, the forest behind him turning to rubble with the Oni still hot on his heels.​

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Darting through the stalks of bamboo, rain pelting her face, her heart pounding, all she had on her mind was the need to catch the oni. Memories of the last attack tugged at her, tickling her memories and summoning feelings of pure despair. Memories of children with their throats slashed laying besides their weeping mothers. The town in ruins. She took a deep breath, shuddering at the memories. Great evil existed in this world and it was the monk’s duty to make sure that the good would always have a voice.


A crash louder than its usual bumbling through the forest sounded from up ahead. It seemed that something had disturbed it. Akegata dared not stop to hear better, but she did listen carefully as she continued to pursue it. She heard a scream from the beast and then she could have sworn that she heard it giggle. Had it found a new prey to terrorize?


Its movements had been slowed and interrupted, so Akegata found herself easily catching up to it. There was another loud crash, much closer this time, as it continued at its previous quick pace. Yet, she was able to see its bloody red horns just up ahead, standing out from the calm green colors of the bamboo forest. With her goal just in sight, her pace nearly doubled. But she had no need, for it had stopped once again and she found herself with only a couple meters from it. It did not notice her; it seemed to be distracted with something else in front of it.


This was too easy. She took a moment to catch her breath before her next move. Then, with all her strength behind it, she started in a mad sprint towards the back of the oni. Everything turned to a blur around her. Just as she jumped, the monster moved slightly to try to snatch something, making her land lower on the back then she had hoped. Akegata held onto the fur, smelling its stench of blood, mud, and decay. On its back, she saw what the beast was now terrorizing: a foolish looking boy dressed in dark clothing.


At least the boy seemed slightly less helpless than the messenger had been. From what she could see, it looked like there was a weapon at his side. All the same, it did look like he needed some help. It was tricky channeling kuji when hanging on for her life, but not impossible by any means. And Akegata was a master at achieving near impossible things.


The oni bucked its back repeatedly to throw her off. She hung on. To start channeling, she took a hand off and started to move her fingers, feeling the kuji flow into it in a matter of moments. She gave a grim smiled as she summoned sparks of fire in her fingertips, and then started to move them rapidly to hit a sensitive spot on its spine. As it was about to hit, her smile grew-


And her breath was knocked out of her as she hit the cold, wet, ground. Akegata almost couldn’t believe it for a moment; how could she have been thrown off? She was plenty strong enough.



Nonetheless, she was on the ground and the oni towered over her, close enough for her to see the bits of flesh that it had between its teeth. She had just gotten her breath back. She started to scramble backwards, trying to regain herself, but it was on top of her, and she could feel its hot, stinky breath as it drew even closer.

 

[Sepulchritude]

 
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~
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Kuro gaped up at the Oni as it towered over him, a hair's length away from cleaving him in two. It wasn't supposed to go this way.


Originally, he had planned to lure the deadly but no doubt clumsy creature back to the gorge, whereupon he would leap right back across the expanse as the latter abomination stumbled into its depths. It certainly would not kill, or even remotely come close to injuring the Oni, but securing the high ground was a time-tested and invaluable battle strategy in almost any situation.


Yes, it all should have gone like clockwork, had not a factor outside of his control thwarted his plan. Alas, the rain had yet another curse to bestow upon its victims, and had turned the gorge's overhang into the consistency of thick soup. The ledge crumbled beneath his feet as soon as he touched it, and the hapless ninja was sent tumbling into the crevice. Digging his heels into the avalanching walls, Kuro managed to halt what could have been a particularly embarrassing tumble and slid to a gradual halt.


He was unhurt, but the Oni was still coming and he was not in possession of the high ground he so desperately needed. He had to think of a plan, had to get out of this death-trap...


But as the bloodied creature mindlessly charged into the gorge, he knew it was too late.


He tried to retrieve something to level the fight from the depths of his jacket, but the abomination was having none of that. Not the least dazed from its clumsy descent, the Oni let out a choked shriek and sprang upon the ninja, savagely slashing the air.


For once, Kuro was almost completely caught off guard and it was all he could do to haphazardly fling himself out of the way. But he simply was not fast nor coordinated enough, and an impossibly sharp claw grazed a bloody streak up his left side. Reeling, Kuro had next to no time to even register the blow before the Oni was charging again, ready with the killing strike.


Time itself seemed to slow down. He was on the ground, already sinking into the mud. Even if he were not all but paralyzed from the shock of the hit, there would be no time to free himself from the mire. The Oni almost seemed to be grinning in animalistic triumph, relishing the death of such an annoyance in its hunt. Those terrible, glowing sockets were burning brighter than ever, seeming to stare into his very soul. Kuro could only stare back.


This was how he was going to die. There simply wasn't anything more to the matter. But he didn't have to die with his dignity wholly shattered. Gracefully, Kuro closed his eyes and prepared to drift off into the infinite-


Who in the hell was that?


From out of the corner of his eye, he registered a figure pouncing upon the Oni. The creature's glowing pupils narrowed in surprise as it jerked its limbs away just as they were about to neatly tear him in two. The ambushed creature began going wild, bucking and thrashing, trying to get the thing that had attacked it off its back.


The thing in question being a tall, very angry looking and evidently insane woman.


The frenzied dance continued for a few more seconds, Kuro looking on in shock while slowly rising to his feet.


Briefly, his hazy mind tried to wrap around the fact that no, he was not dead, and yes, a crazy person was trying to ride an Oni. Then he noticed her hand was apparently on fire despite the torrential rain and realized he was in the presence of an actual kuji user, and at the same time, realized the mystical artist was being flung from their mount and that it was probably time to stop half-coherently blabbering to himself and start getting back into the fight.


Once again, the Oni paused and rose back onto its hindquarters, no doubt in another one of its grandiose shows of intimidation towards downed prey. Kuro was beginning to figure this Oni was pretty full of itself. Yes, the ninja reckoned it was high time to put this prideful brute in its place and grimly putting his hands to his hips, withdrew two razor sharp blades of his own.
 


Later, Kuro would wonder what he had been thinking as he sprang for the back of the beast, yelling like a frenzied animal himself. He would wonder what he had been doing, trying to defend a complete stranger when he should have been running for his life, back to the safety of the campfire.


And he would always ponder why, after he dug his knives into the Oni's eyes, he actually put his trust in an outsider for help as he screamed into the night air;


“FINISH IT ALREADY!”

 

[TheDragonMoon]

So this was how things ended? Killed by an oni when she got too cocky. She flinched and closed her eyes as the oni’s mouth started to come and envelop her, waiting for the teeth to sink, only to find they never did. She opened her eyes to see that boy had leapt on top of the oni and stabbed its two eyes with his daggers. Blood spurted all over as he dug them deeper, and a few droplets got into her eyes. Akegata wiped the blood off with a swift movement and jumped to her feet right away. The oni thrashed and roared in agony. The boy would soon be bucked off, and from the height of the head, he may very well break a bone or worse if the oni’s claws were to get him.


“Finish it already!”


She was on it. This time, she simply channeled the kuji to add extra power in her fists, and as the beast was continuing to thrash wildly, she ran towards it, gaining more and more strength into her fists with every step. Akegata hit the very base of its spine with a monumental amount of strength behind it, feeling the spine shattering. The oni uttered a final earth-shattering roar, as its entire body froze, then crashed to the ground. The earth trembled underneath their feet. She backed off, mud, blood, and sweat dripping down her body, and checked to see if the man was alright.



“Thank you for saving my life,” she said to him. “Without you, I wouldn't be standing here right now."


Akegata stared at the body laying on the ground, wondering if they had actually killed it. It was said to be near impossible to ever really kill an oni. Perhaps it was just playing with them for now, and would wreak havoc as soon as they had their backs turned. And who was this man? He was very talented for such a young age. Even though he had saved her life, it would probably be best for them to go on their way after she made sure he was alright and he had said whatever he wanted to say.  She had never seen him before and she sensed an odd aura radiating from him. 

 

[Sepulchritude]

The glowing eyes of the Oni faded to embers, and then they were gone. The beast was gone, the nightmare was over.


But now Kuro had a new problem on his hands, one that could prove even more nightmarish. He'd been seen by an outsider. No, he'd helped an outsider, actually spoke to them. He didn't even want to think about how many of his clan's creeds he had just broken. He had to get away, had to run away again. He couldn't risk screwing things up even more than he already had.


But now the woman was walking over to him. Now she was addressing him.


“Thank you for saving my life. Without you, I wouldn't be standing here right now."


Kuro barely heard her thanks. Wincing as the shock began to wear off and the pain from his wound began to wear in, the ninja scrambled to his feet and started trying to make a desperate getaway.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Without even saying a word to her, the stranger got to his feet at once and started to climb his way out of the pit. For a split second, she just stared at him in shock, wondering what he was doing. Akegata narrowed her eyes and called back to him, “What are you doing? Are you okay? Why are you running away?”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]But he didn’t turn around. He didn’t look at her. There was no hesitation at all as he made his way out of the muddy valley. She was going to leave him alone before, but with such suspicious behavior it was necessary for her to investigate more. Also, she despised being ignored more than anything else. Although he was quick, she was quick too, and she followed him as he made his way up. The mud sucked at her feet, threatening to slow her down, but she didn’t allow it. The strength of her curiosity was much stronger. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]It was an awkward chase, since they both couldn’t move that well in the mud. They both slogged through it, him always staying a little ways ahead. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]She called out to him once again, “If you don’t stop, I can’t promise that I won’t hurt you. I need to protect my city, which includes investigating suspicious characters dressed in all black and carrying daggers. Your silence is deafening: did you hit your head when you fell?”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Abruptly, a tremendous crash that shook the earth stopped her. Akegata looked behind her to where the oni had fell, to see that there was a red aura emitting from the body. She swore to herself silently. She should have known that it wouldn’t be that easy. She watched it carefully, but the monster didn’t move a muscle. A few moments passed with nothing but the beast glowing eerily. Then, a two loud crashes closer towards the city sounded in the distance. It hit her: the oni had been nothing more than a mere distraction. Now, it sounded like there might be three to five approaching on her city. If one could cause such a great amount of destruction, what could a large group do?[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Remembering her training, she stilled herself and took a few deep breath for continuing. Be with the environment, do your duty, and don’t get lost in the tornado of emotions. After calming herself, she acted. [/SIZE]



[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]“Okay boy, if you don’t want me and the rest of my dojo to track you down for the rest of eternity, you are coming with me to help save the city. Plus, if you are honorable at all, which I am assuming that you are since you saved me, then you will try to prevent the innocent lives that will be lost,” she shouted at him. “Now come or may the Gods forever dam you!”[/SIZE]

 

[Sepulchritude]

~


The task of freeing himself from the gorge was excruciating, but the inquisitive call of the woman behind was even more so. It was bad enough that he had been seen by, much less helped, someone who could very well have been an enemy, but now said someone was curious. A curious ninja may mean a dead ninja, but a curious enemy meant a dead ninja as well.
 


Groping at his wound in a feeble attempt to stem the bleeding, Kuro picked up pace. He wasn't in much condition to make any elaborate getaways, tempting as the treetops were looking. Perhaps the ground would offer up an abandoned animal den he just might be able to squeeze into, but that was a real stretch, especially considering the terrible visibility. And to add insult to injury, his precious smoke bombs were next to useless in this blasted weather. But there was hope. Perhaps the kuji lady wasn't all that curious. Perhaps she had better things to do than pursue strangers through miserable weather. He was praying she had better things to do than pursue strangers through miserable weather.
 


Said prayer went unanswered.
 


“If you don’t stop, I can’t promise that I won’t hurt you.”


His heart nearly stopped, before it started pounding like never before.


“I need to protect my city, which includes investigating suspicious characters dressed in all black and carrying daggers.”
 


Run. Have to run.
 


“Your silence is deafening: did you hit your head when you fell?”
 


The streak up his side wasn't having any of that, but he kept pressing on, determined to not fall into enemy hands.
 


Then, without warning, from the distance erupted an explosion louder than any thunderclap. Kuro's wide eyes immediately flew to the heavens, looking to confirm that what had reverberated across the earth was no cause of nature. A short delay, and sure enough, two more earth-trembling booms set the bamboo leaves quivering. Kuro was never one for gambling, but he was willing to bet his right hand that the disturbances had something to do with the recently slain Oni. He forced himself to jog a little faster. He had had enough of near-death experiences with supernatural monsters for the night.


“Okay boy, if you don’t want me and the rest of my dojo to track you down for the rest of eternity, you are coming with me to help save the city.” came that same voice out of the night.


That made Kuro stop. A real threat. An actual threat against himself, possibly his entire clan if she intended to deliver on her words. And something about people who ride Oni and kill them with flaming fists told him she would never think twice about doing just that.


“Plus, if you are honorable at all, which I am assuming that you are since you saved me, then you will try to prevent the innocent lives that will be lost.”


The situation may have been grim, but the latter remark nearly made him cackle. Had she somehow mistaken him for a samurai? A decorated warrior, highly reverent of the disciplines of virtue and honor, a fair fighter who would sooner disembowel himself from shame than ever resort to underhanded tricks? What a joke.


And yet... He suddenly was again seeing the ruin the one Oni caused, how it cleaved apart forests as if they were silk, how it was not the least bit fazed by the loss of its muzzle, how it so obviously loved the hunt to the point of sadism.


And two of these creatures were being loosed among an entire city of helpless, easy kills. He could see the blood painting the streets, hear the cries of the imminently deceased, the...


No, he couldn't compromise his mission any more than he already had. The city could defend itself, surely. They had an entire dojo of kuji users, at least from what this woman had said; and with her as part of their number they could surely make mincemeat of the Oni.


But... What if they couldn't? What if none of them were as talented as she, what if the Oni were simply entirely resilient to their powers? Would he be to blame for not being there to help save them all?


He couldn't even do that much, though. Not in his condition. Really, he could just keep running.


But the woman wouldn't forget, would she? She'd track him down, she'd make him suffer. He'd heard it in her voice. And there was no telling what she might do to the rest of his comrades...


The situation was almost entirely hopeless. It seemed he was doomed either way.


Wait.


No.


Maybe. Just... Maybe, he could make something work.
 


“Now come,” that powerful voice boomed again. “Or may the Gods forever damn you!”


He had made his decision. The somewhat clumsy pursuit through the forest came to a squelching halt.


Grimly, Kuro turned to face his seeker. She looked frustrated, glaring at him as if just daring him to test her will. He had no such plan, however.


Slowly and deliberately, he skulked towards the irritated kuji artist in a way that plainly showed he had no love for her or any of her plans. He would bend to her will, but never grovel at her feet.


He halted a fair distance from her. And raising his cowled head, he looked her directly in the eyes and, speaking in a voice laced with a false reverent tone,
 


“What would you have me do, my lord?”

 

[TheDragonMoon]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]She stared at him with her lips pursued, hating the sarcastic tone. Nevermind that. They had to go. She should just be relieved that he had stopped. It would have been a pain if she had to worry about hunting him down in the future. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Akegata took a deep breath, focusing her mind on her task ahead of her, and quickly told him, “Just come with me to the city and fight the oni. Follow my lead. I hope that’s not too complicated for you, [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]my squire[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]. Now, come on!”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]With that last sentence, she started to jog towards Hoshiji, praying that they weren’t already too late. They had spent quite a bit of time just mucking around in the mud. Hopefully the time that had been spent had been worth it, and he wouldn’t disappoint her in the future. He seemed like quite an adequate fighter. Where had he learned his skills? She glanced at him thoughtfully, wondering who he was and where had come from. What had he been doing here on the outskirts of her city?[/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The rain slowed down to a slight drizzle, but thunder could still be heard in the distance. A change in the currents of the wind brought the smells of the city: smooky food, fantastical animals, and the exotic smell of spices. The wind also faintly carried people's trivial conversations about their life and the weather. They had no idea what was coming to them. But had she and the boy actually been able to outrun the oni? Her spirits lifted when she saw the towering green and black buildings of the city just up ahead, but then sank once again as she heard the familiar shriek of the beast just a moment after that. Her fists tightened and she quickened her pace.  [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]“Come on! We have to get there now!” she roared. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]She brushed her soaked and muddy bangs behind her ears, watching carefully to see what was about to unfold. From where they were entering, the oni couldn’t be seen, but it could be heard. They came to a road straight into the city, with many people running about, realizing the chaos that was to come. It was excruciatingly difficult to even move with the narrow streets and the hundreds of people who were trying to run away from the source of danger. The buildings and towers around them made the entire situation even more claustrophobic. Staring up at the small cloudy patch of sky amongst the buildings, she prayed to the Seta, the god of air and journeys, to clear a pathway for them. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]From the thick blanket of clouds, a lightning bolt flashed through the sky. The next moment, a clear pathway away from the crazed crowds appeared. She smiled, closed her eyes and nodded her thanks to the divine before continuing. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]They made good use of their clear path and arrived at the scene only a few minutes later. She first observed the scene, peering out from behind a building, before rushing into the chaos Fire, debris, and blood filled the area. Akegata realized in pure horror as continued not just a few oni, but a dozen. They spread their destruction in every direction. Their claw and teeth glistened in the light. People tried to run, but they were quicker. Every second, another person was slaughtered. The City Guard had come, evident by their torn apart gold clothing and body parts on the ground. She trembled slightly as she stayed low and hugged the building. There was no way that they could save the day now. [/SIZE]


[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Close to tears, she muttered to him, “What should we do? Is there anything we can do to help? What is one supposed to do in such a situation?”[/SIZE]



[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Akegata felt an intense heat as fire spread to a building close to them. They would have to move soon. [/SIZE]

 

[Sepulchritude]

~


The entire city was going to hell.


Citizens slaughtered, guards, useless. Fire was consuming everything not churned to rubble under the beastial rage of the Oni. A building nearby let out a dangerous groan, heralding its imminent collapse. The distant screams of confused crowds intensified as one of the monsters ripped apart a barricade and tore into the new slaughter.


“What should we do? Is there anything we can do to help? What is one supposed to do in such a situation?”


His escort, seeming so confident and powerful just five minutes ago, was now reduced to begging him for advice. She could hardly know he was feeling just as lost.


The chaos was simply going every which way, the monsters destroying something new every second in a frenzied whirlwind of desperate destruction. He couldn't think straight, his head just wouldn't stop spinning as it fruitlessly tried to grasp the gravity of the situation and actually make sense of what was happening.


His gaping wound certainly was not helping matters. He had tried to bandage it up on the run using one of his wraps, but he had lost too much blood already. Really, it was a wonder he could still stand.


And yet a city's fate was still partially resting in his hands. He may have not been able to care less about the kuji lady's motives, but these people all needed help and he couldn't just leave them.


He had to do something and he would do something.


The ninja turned his gaze to the rampaging Oni.


During his training, he had been drilled near-constantly on what a ninja was and wasn't. A ninja was not a confrontational warrior, a ninja did not charge into open battle unless he wished to be cut down immediately. A ninja was not meant to be strong, yet they would always be facing stronger opponents. A ninja should rely on his wit to solve problems his blades cannot.


The blades had helped to solve one problem, but they simply could not solve this one. Now was the time for creative thinking.


Kuro redirected his gaze to a circular grate resting in the street. When he had worked in the big cities, he had made himself quite familiar with their workings. It seemed just about everything required power, and in order to create power you needed steam, lots of it. But the machinery required to move all that steam was delicate, and the smallest unattended valve at the wrong time could spell disaster. He'd seen first-hand the results of an overloaded boiler and it was by no means a pretty sight.


An idea was beginning to play upon his fancy. A very volatile, unstable idea.


Kuro turned back to his guide, still ogling the escalating apocalypse. Briefly, he almost considered imagining himself in her shoes. All that power, all that responsibility and yet she could not think of any way to stop this atrocity. It must be awful being her.


...Not that he cared, of course.


He shrugged off the thought. “Hey.” he whispered, trying to grab her attention. Nothing.


“Hey.” he said again, a little louder, and punctuated by a shoulder tap. Now her eyes were on him.


“Get as many of these people to safety as you can, or something. And do it quick. Have them clear of the next two intersections up the street by thirty seconds or they're toast, literally.”


And with the hasty warning, he coiled up his legs and sprang into the street, clearing a charging Oni and ducking under a second before ripping the grate off and vanishing into the subterranean area in a heartbeat.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

All Akegata could do was stare as the man left to crawl in the sewers. The next moment, she snapped herself out of her state of inaction. A brief flush of embarrassment came over as she realized how desperate she had sounded a moment ago. She shook it all off, and returned to a quiet, peaceful, state. She did not know if he actually knew what he was doing, but there was no time to debate such thoughts. This was her only hope to see the people saved. With her energy reinvigorated, she moved as fast she possibly could to get the people to safety.


The heat of the flames teased at the edges of her skin, as she rolled and jumped through the city, getting away from the center of the cataclysm. She would need to prioritize, and those people were already gone or close to gone. Once at an intersection close by, she scrambled to grab onto the edge of a window to get a better view. There were no oni here, but the situation was still as chaotic. Akegata peered carefully to see through the clouds of dust formed by the crowds. People ran this way and that, trampling each other if one didn’t move fast enough. Shouting, crying, and screaming drowned her own thoughts. How in the world would one woman get the attention of thousands of panicked people?


She had an idea. She vaulted off the wall and onto a semi-sane spot of the intersection. She rolled as she landed, then darted her way through her people, careful to not trample the fallen. With an excellent knowledge of her city, she made her way to one of its easiest exits. It was a wide and straight street that could hold many people with ease.


Once she was at the edge of the street, Akegata knew what to do next. She had studied many things about her city and the world, but what she always remembered most were religious ideas, beliefs, and myths. The people of Hoshiji had a diverse religious population, but there was one tale that prevailed throughout. The city had been founded by nearly starved travelers who found its fertile, flat land, and fresh water when they had followed a dazzling rainbow that shone brighter than the sun.


With only a little bit of kuji in her fingertips and then out into the air, she was able to summon a massive, gleaming rainbow that could be seen for miles around. She could fill the silence and awe the filled the city for a moment, even in the midst of the panic, as they witnessed a the most gorgeous rainbow they had ever seen. 


She knew they would soon make their way to the street, but she still called out as loud as she could, “Come over here! Here is safe passage out of the city. Please hurry!”


Hundreds of people with teared stained, but now hopeful expressions, started to pour into the street. She waved her arms at them, encouraging them along. She winced as she heard a crash of a building in the direction where she had seen the man last. She had done her part; she could only hope that he could fulfill his.

 

[Sepulchritude]

A massive expanse of intricate machinery towered above the ninja. Thick pipes, valves and gages wound every which way like a giant metal cobweb, each part with its own special function and each part just as essential as the next. Yes, steam transport was a deeply involved process, and the machinations necessary to carry it out were no less than giant artistic masterpieces in of themselves.


What a shame it would be if something were to happen to such a magnificent creation.


How awful it would be if some unscrupulous fellow somehow happened to know the exact combination of pressure release valves needed to back up the boiler. Wouldn't it be absolutely terrible if the steam engines were turned up to their highest setting, forced to strain and buckle under the weight of the load they could not push out? And exhaust pipes being shoved into one another? Why, it would be nothing but disaster. A disaster of highly volatile and extremely destructive proportions.


Pipes were beginning to crack and split, spitting steam and cinders into the air. Pressure gages were beginning to climb into the darker crimson zones. The entire machine was beginning to let loose a highly ominous groaning, as if heralding an imminent apocalypse. And in a way, it was.


The fuse was lit. Kuro was beginning to figure it was a good time to take his leave.


Above ground, things were still as chaotic as before. It appeared one Oni had greedily stolen a friend's kill, and the two were locked in a standoff, butting heads and flailing claws. The others, unfortunately, were beginning to migrate out of the ruined square, no doubt in pursuit of the evacuating crowds. And if they got far enough, the ninja's plan would be for naught. He had to grab their attention somehow.


Fortunately, the sewer grate was still lying in the street where he had left it. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the hefty metal disk and wound up, flinging it in the general direction of an Oni head. Nothing like a good concussion to seize someone's attention, reckoned Kuro.


Unfortunately, the grate made it about five feet before it came down with a resounding crash, cracking the street.


Everything stopped. For a brief, eerie second, everything was silent, save the reverberating clang of the fallen disk echoing off the buildings.


The Oni were all looking directly at him.


Time to start running again.


Turning on his heel, Kuro made a mad dash for the nearest structure, a multi-level tea house, preparing his knives. Behind him, every last one of the abominations let loose their war cry in a terrible cacophany of roars, shrieks and otherworldly sounds, and the ground began to quake as they charged for their newfound prey.


But the ground was not merely quaking under the might of the creatures; Beneath the ruined streets, the steam transport mechanisms were finally beginning to fully give way. The road was cracking open, red-hot pipes jutting out of the ground and spitting steam. The air was permeated by the distant, muffled, but certainly noticeable groans of a metal giant in its death throes.


The fuse was almost to the gunpowder.


Reaching the wall, the agile ninja sprung onto its surface, digging his boots into the mortar and sinking his knives into convenient cracks, rapidly hauling himself up hand over hand.


The Oni who had been first to his location slowed, seemingly taken aback for a moment; None of their previous victims had been so nimble. Still, this minor setback would only add more flavor to the hunt.


The creatures with the sharpest claws and strongest legs mounted the building, scraping their way up after their quarry, whilst those not so equipped roared in beastly applause; They could not know what was coming for them.


The boilers finally gave way.


And with the sound of ten thousand thunderclaps, the cityscape erupted into a fireball, brick, glass and metal thrown in every direction as the streets burst open under the pressure of the pent-up vapors below. The Oni on the ground hardly had time to voice surprise before they were rent limb from limb and promptly incinerated, their gibs joining the cataclysmic hail of debris.


Buildings split along their seams, collapsing like towering ragdolls as the pipes within them burst, dealing the final blow to their already perilous integrity. Not even the tea-house was spared, and its hardy timbers caught alight and began to cave in upon themselves. The monsters climbing its facade had been spared the initial blast by virtue of their height above, but their combined weight and the weakness of the failing construct quickly flung the screaming beasts off, where they too met their comrade's fate.


All but one.


Oni are chaotic, unpredictable and take no greater offense to anything in the world than being told what to do, but even they must have their own leaders of sorts, someone to dole out punishments to reckless or inexperienced members, someone to find the best place of hunt. And this quasi-leader certainly does not attain their position by being weak, or unintelligent.


Even through its hazy, blood-crazed mind, the skeletal leader of the pack had understood the importance of heading prey off from multiple directions. Whilst its comrades had been happy to mindlessly pursue their target in a straight line, he had been far more analytical and was currently taking a less direct upwards by way of a neighboring skyscraper.


It quickly caught sight of the prey once again.


The prey in question had gotten off his dangerously unstable high ground and was currently making his escape by way of the rooftops, heart pounding in his ears. That had been the most impressive firework display he had ever had the privilege of seeing and he could only hope that all his work was not in vain, for he was anything but in the mood for setting something like that off again.


Skidding to a halt on an overhanging ledge, Kuro paused to catch his breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire, after all the running he had been doing lately. Surely a short break couldn't hurt.


Gasping as quietly as he could, the crouching ninja gazed out over the remains of the city, surveying his handiwork.


Admittedly, he had overdone things. Infernos were breaking out in almost every direction, at least a few dozen buildings were nothing but dust and the steam mains were in shambles. Another few block's worth of pipes erupted in the distance, prompting a wince from the ninja.


Even if he had managed to help save these people, he had done far more damage to their homes than any Oni could ever do.


He was beginning to feel like he had messed up in a very large way.


Sighing softly, he pulled himself to his feet. In any case, none of this was his problem anymore. He had finally gotten out of that kuji artist's sight. Now was the time to slip away, back to the camp, back to his team. She could certainly take care of herself.


The morning sun was beginning to come up. The gails of rain had long since faded to a drizzle, and now they were nothing but a mist. A massive, perfect rainbow suddenly appeared in the sky, framing the hazy dawn.


It had been a very long night. The ninja was looking forward to his hard-earned rest.


A rumbling, groaning growl came from right behind him.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

For a little while longer, there was nothing. The people kept coming and the oni continued to tear up the city behind them. Akegata noticed that one about fifty feet back had noticed the trail of people and was making its way closer to them. She observed in horror before pushing her way through the masses of people that flooded the streets, prepared to fight for her life once more. Just as she was about to make it to where the monster was, the entire city shook and erupted in flames, forcing her back a few feet. She stood in awe as she watched the destruction unfold with the flames engulfing everything in sight, and destroying the oni and any poor souls that were left in the city. Was this his solution to the problem?


The heat of the flames stung at her eyes. She could hear some screams behind her as the people hurried their pace to get out of the city. This is what the oni had done to her world. They had torn everything to chaos and anarchy. And what were their rulers doing? The high and mighty Shotodan sat on their thrones while their kingdom burned to ashes. Disgraceful.


She turned away from the flames and let out a sigh, watching the people pour out of the city. How long would it take for them to rebuild the city this time? At least they hadn’t had as many deaths at last time. Akegata still couldn’t believe that the man would go for such a risky and destructive plan. At that moment, the thought suddenly hit her: was he even alive? The blast had had a huge radius; had he actually made it out of harm's way in time? He seemed like a speedy individual, but it would have been a challenge for any warrior. She shouldn't have any attachment to him, and it was actually less trouble for her if he was dead. Yet, Akegata couldn’t help but feel a pull at her heart at the thought of his death.


So, as the last of the people made their way out of the city, she climbed a building once again to get a better view of the area. Once up high, she could see that there were still a couple oni left around in the ruins, the ones that were smart enough to take cover during the blast. She cursed. Even with that amount of destruction, the problem hadn’t been solved. Akegata scouted the area for a man dressed in all black, and she soon spotted him just twenty feet away, with an oni ready to devour him.


That fool. First, blow up the city and then get himself killed. She wished they had just run away instead of trying setting the whole city on fire. But they had saved a considerable amount of lives, so she guessed she should be pleased with that. Akegata jumped from roof to roof, towards where the man was.


She arrived there in a matter of moments, close enough to smell the oni’s foul breath once more. It looked like the fool wanted to fight once more, but she knew that more may very well be coming, and there best chances of survival would to be to get out of this city along with everybody else. The oni approached on him, but Akegata swiftly stuck her fingers in a pressure point on its neck, stunning it for a moment.



“Come on, let’s get out of here! There are still more oni about and we won’t survive the fight. It’s time to run and survive to see another day!” she hollered at him, starting to run away from the oni and the city.

 

[Sepulchritude]

~


Kuro was running for his life, as per the norm. On his tail was an exceedingly enraged Oni, also per the norm.
The hulking beast and tiny ninja dashed across rooftops, sliding up and over walls and through buildings in a deadly dance, the ninja always just out of reach, but the Oni always just behind him. Kuro's heart was pounding a frantic beat in his ears; He could hardly think straight. Already he was beginning to forget the last time he hadn't feared for his life, as he tore up a circular stairway, the Oni below smashing stairs to bits as it plowed straight upwards.
Finding the exit, Kuro burst out into the opening again and jumped off a ledge, landing on the sloping facade of an adjacent building. Sliding down its surface, he quickly took his bearings.
When he had first registered the creature behind him, his instinctive response was to run for the nearest landmark of interest; In this case, the massive rainbow that appeared with the end of the downpour.

He had always been told that rainbows could never be reached, for they were only an illusion; Yet bafflingly, this one actually seemed to be getting larger the closer he got to it. He probably should have suspected greater forces at play, but as his ride down to earth came to a halt, the only thing he could think of was escape.

Kuro hit the ground running, heading directly for one end of the rainbow. In the distance, over the thundering in his ears, he could make out a din of screams and yells, no doubt from the crowds that kuji lady had been evacuating. And if that was indeed who they were, then it meant the lunatic herself couldn't be far behind.
Humiliating as it was, he was desperately hoping she was.
All of a sudden, a hideous form blocked the end of the street. A stray Oni, a lucky escapee of the blast. Kuro would have kicked himself were he not too exhausted to even throw a punch.

The skeletal monster, still behind him, let out a triumphant cackle and ground to a halt. It knew it had its prey completely corralled. Nothing better after a long, frustrating chase than playing around with a helpless morsel.
The Oni in front shook its head, casually flinging off a few cinders before lazily plodding towards him. The kill was the leader's by right, but that didn't mean it couldn't join in the game either.
Kuro held his ground, frozen in place. He reached for his knives, but he knew fighting back would be a futile effort. He was completely out of energy, and his wound had re-opened, once again staining his uniform in blood. An Oni eyed the bright fluid, licking its chops.
Tiredly, Kuro eyed the thing right back. He had had so many near-death experiences that night that looking oblivion in the face seemed more like routine than anything else by this point.
It was very odd. Though he still felt terror, it was laced in some other, peculiar emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on. And then, as the skeletal leader sauntered right into his face, he finally placed it.
Annoyance.
“Get out of my face.” he angrily whispered. The Oni suddenly paused as if in surprise, almost seeming to comprehend the challenge

And then the kuji user leaped from out of the air directly into their midst and sent the beast flying with a well-placed strike.
“Come on, let’s get out of here! There are still more oni about and we won’t survive the fight. It’s time to run and survive to see another day!”
She didn't need to tell him twice. Throwing a loose brick in the general direction of an Oni skull for good measure, the ninja sprinted after the insane person, fleeing the scene.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Together they ran as fast as humanly possible, away from the ruined city and away from the certain death that nipped on their heels. Akegata felt lighting bolts of fear flash through her as she ran for her life, but she also felt waves of comforting relief since they did not have to face the beasts head on once more. Running was tiring, yes. But fighting much more so. Even after having the questionable idea of blowing the entire city to pieces, the man still had the common sense to know when it was time to run.


She scrambled from rooftop to rooftop, barely keeping up with the man who was surprisingly agile. At a point, she simply found a way back to the flat streets beneath her, for she was too slow otherwise. They soon found themselves out of the city and back into the grassy plains, but Akegata’s mind flashed back to the people that she had left behind. Guilt struck at her core. At that moment, they were probably like lost lambs, milling about at the edges of the city while the stray oni hunted them down. Children and families would be slaughtered mercilessly. She couldn’t just run away when she would have to deal with that knowledge on her conscious for the rest of her life.


Yet, she didn’t really know what to do


.  


Once she had calmed her mind and breathing once more, she reminded herself not to act out of fear. She needed to do the right thing. The moral and righteous way was the path that she would take. Always. Akegata wouldn’t let any silly emotions ever get in the way of doing what’s right.


The relief that she felt earlier vanished in an instant as she acknowledged the fact that she would have to fight once again. They had still been running away from the city in the plains, but she turned back to shout at him, “We have to do something about the people. I showed them a way out of the city, but there are still a few oni left that will prey on them. We have to do something or your act will have just be in utter vain.”


It was always tempting to run when things got tough, but that’s not what Akegata stood for. She stopped suddenly and turned to face the oni that had been chasing them. It didn’t take long for it to catch up. When within a few feet, it leapt at them. She dodged, leaving it to snarl behind her. Yet, there were a few more behind that one. Not what she had expected. As the oni made a circle around them, she knew had made a mistake. She had made the smart decision before. Sometimes, you couldn’t be the hero. Sometimes, you needed to run away to ultimately be the hero another day. She clenched her fist and quietly whispered a quick prayer underneath her breath.


She turned to the man. She was planning to try and knock one out, then simply make a mad dash. Not exactly easy, but it would have to be accomplished or she would die. In the distance, the flames of the city could be seen, and faintly the crowd of the people could be seen, with dark figures around them. She could have sworn that she heard screams coming from them.


Failure. All they could do was escape, live to see another day, and not make the same mistakes again. That’s all one could ever do. But as the dark voids of the oni stared them down, ready to pounce at any instant, Akegata couldn’t help but hate herself very much right then.



Failure was never meant to be a part of her vocabulary.

 

[Sepulchritude]

~
​

Together they fled, slipping beneath the massive gate of the formerly great city, out onto the open plains, out towards freedom. Were Kuro more in possession of his mental faculties, he would have been fleeing from the woman by his side, not with her. But fate was a cruel mistress, and heavy blood loss does not exactly lend itself well to critical thought.

Nor does it lend itself to extended sprinting. The glowing morning suddenly seemed to fade, darkness setting in at the corners of his vision. For a moment, he nearly felt his legs falter. No, he firmly told himself, though it came out a bit more like a plea. Couldn't give up, had to keep running... Wherever they were running to.

It occurred to Kuro that they did not currently have an escape plan. The bamboo wastes ahead beckoned with their cool shadows and concealing leaves, yet not even the most durable material known to him could withstand the might of a single Oni. Much less an entire pack, as was now apparent to be upon their heels.

The Kuji artist had run ahead, apparently attempting to lead themselves to salvation, taking the lead as she always had. The ninja offered up his umpteenth prayer for the night that she knew what she was doing.

All of a sudden, she skid to a halt, tossing her head over her shoulder. What was it now?

“We have to do something about the people. I showed them a way out of the city, but there are still a few oni left that will prey on them. We have to do something or your act will have just be in utter vain.”

And Kuro wanted so badly for that to be a possibility. The wind was picking up, bringing with it the distant shouts of the fleeing population, but also the otherwordly howls of the creatures on the hunt. Dozens of them.

He could feel that flame of annoyance burning within him again, though it was now more akin to outright anger. He had been dragged out of nowhere to save these people and done all he could, yet it still was not enough. The Kuji artist had done just as much, if not more, yet neither of them had made any difference. The slaughter would continue regardless of whether they intervened or not; And if they chose the former, they would lie amongst the deceased.

He hated to admit it to himself, but they had entirely exhausted their options.

The Oni had caught up by now. They circled the two, sizing up their evasive prey. The woman's brow was hard, that glint was still in her eyes as she fearlessly looked death in the face. Kuro just gazed at her, as if silently asking: Did she truly still believe they could make a difference?

Impossibly, she seemed to hear him. That glint disappeared, her shoulders dropped. Kuro had his answer.

Instantly slipping his hand into his coat of tricks, he withdrew two grape-sized orbs and with as much force as he could muster, flung them directly into the ground.
The beasts charged, yet all their gaping jowls grasped at was a choking, impenetrable cloud of smoke.
Beneath the acrid barrier, Kuro found the palm of his accidental companion. Hand-in-hand, the two crawled out of the misty plains and into the refuge of the trees, cinders and screams on the wind.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Just as they were about to pounce, Akegata prepared to hit one of them and run for her life, hoping that the boy would follow behind him. To her surprise, he had something up his sleeves. A quick movement of his hand, and the next moment, the entire area was covered with a thick smoke. She felt as if the entire world had ended in a matter of seconds and all that remained was the grayness. She shook her head; they needed to move.  Now, the beasts couldn’t see them, but how would she and the man know where they were going? Her answer was answered shortly when she felt his hand grab hers, leading her out of the smoke and away from the beasts.


The ran until they couldn’t run any more. When they stopped, they were deep in the bamboo forest, and the only noise that could be heard was the soft rustling of leaves as a gust blew. She took breaths in and out, until it became easy and relaxed once more. She sighed, and sat on the soggy ground, resting her back on the shoots. It had been a while since Akegata had ran this much. Her body was still nowhere near her maximum limit, but it still felt good to take a rest and not worry about losing her life for the moment. Akegata brought her legs up to her and rested her head on them. What a shitty day it had been.


She looked closely at the boy, who was trying to recover himself. She realized that still had no knowledge at all about him. They had saved each other’s lives a few times this day, so although she normally hated the awkward first parts of getting to know somebody, they were a little past that at this point.



“So, what is your name? Thank you for helping me with the oni, but why were you out running around in the forests by yourself in the first place?” she questioned him.  

 

[Sepulchritude]

Kuro took his time answering that question, mostly because he was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. Unthinking, he made a grab for a nearby tree, trying to regain his bearings, but instead his legs just took that as an excuse to completely give out, ingloriously depositing him onto the ground.

From his lower position he glared up at the question-asker, still patiently awaiting a response. He considered inventing an elaborate cover-story, maybe something about a traveling novelty item salesman going for a stroll in the rain. Or maybe a simple tourist who liked to fight monsters in his pajamas. Those could all work, right?

And that's when he realized he was losing his mind, and that the blood loss issue had become an emergency. He needed actual medical help and there wasn't a living doctor for miles around. But... The woman... Maybe?...

Calming his breathing as much as he could, he struggled to rasp out a reply.
"As much as... I'd like to play twenty questions... I'm kinda bleeding out here. Please... I need you to sear up..."
He didn't have enough energy to finish that sentence. Weakly pointing a hand in the general direction of his extensive wound, he prayed that the kuji artist would be smart enough, or willing, to put together the rest.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

 The stranger did not give her a response, and instead sank down to the ground, looking as if he was barely hanging onto consciousness and the last bits of strength, willpower, and life were slipping away from him. If he didn’t get some care now, these would be his last breaths.  She knew from experience how quickly death came. Most men would have been gone already. She scolded herself for not recognizing it earlier.


Finally he did speak, confirming her suspicions, “As much as... I'd like to play twenty questions... I'm kinda bleeding out here. Please... I need you to sear up..."


His skin was pale and it was obvious that he had lost a lot of blood. She wish that he had said something earlier to let her know, to have them slow down the pace, but she still blamed herself for not taking in her surroundings careful enough. Although Akegata had used her kuji many times today, there was still some to spare. It had been a while since she had used it to heal, not maim, but she still remained confident in her abilities.


She went over to him, and placed her right hand lightly on his wounds. With the other hand, she did the sign with two fingers to summon the healing energy. Her hands tingled and warmed up as the kuji came into them. She focused with all her might on her right hand, visualizing the green, soft, kuji flow from her palm and to stop the bleeding. At first nothing happened but the persisting warmth in her hand. Akegata continued to focus harder, until the background had completely faded away and all that was left was the wound along with her hand. Then, ever so slowly, the bleeding stopped and mending began. Not being well suited to healing, she felt massive amounts of kuji flow away from her. She went until she was about to pass out. The wound was still in bad condition, prone to infection, but she had stopped the bleeding and sped the healing process up significantly. Exhausted, she fell backwards into the mud.


They would still need to do more about the wounds, but she hoped that she had some bandages with him to take care of it. She closed her eyes, praying that no more tragedies would pop up as she took a moment to rest.

 

[Sepulchritude]

~
​

Fever dreams danced across his plain of vision, slipping in and out of focus, bright as the sun one moment, only to fade away like mist the next. Colors erupted, clashed and reformed to the chaotic tunes of otherworldly music, whilst old memories swirled around in broken, half-eligible pieces. The dreams would never stop, they could not stop, how could they ever stop at all, this was reality now, this was the world as it was, this was reality now, this was the world as-

Kuro was flung awake, drenched in a cold sweat. Wild eyes darted around an unfamiliar landscape, desperately trying to piece together where he was. And then it all came back to him. The Oni, the burning city. Fighting, fleeing. Her. He remembered her. Where was she?

The forest gave him no answers. Its stark silence was permeated only by the occasional pit-pat of falling rainwater and his own ragged breathing. Kuro decided lying around in the mud wouldn't help anything and began to pull himself to his feet, reflexively wincing as he anticipated the sting from his wound.

And yet there was nothing. Surprised, he examined the skin below his shredded uniform. Dried blood caked the area, yet the gash had almost entirely closed. Disbelieving, he touched it just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He had only asked the kuji artist to sear it up yet she had somehow almost completely healed it.

And now she had just disappeared.
Again he felt that familiar urge to grab this chance to vanish, but this time he was more conflicted than ever. The woman was an an outsider, and by everything in his clan's code, that meant she wasn't to be trusted. And yet... She had trusted him. She had saved him. Did that not mean she was at least worthy of trust in return? If he were a better ninja he would have abandoned her the moment she turned her gaze, yet he didn't. He didn't even know if he could, now.
He had to at least thank her for all she had done for him, if nothing else.

Speckled sunshine shone through the canopy above, illuminating the ground before him. There was a recognizably human-shaped depression in the mud, adjacent to his own. And leading away from that depression were recognizably human footprints, still fresh by the look of them. Kuro knew exactly where he was going.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

Akegata opened her eyes to see that a chunk of time had passed. When she had first closed her eyes, the sun had been close to setting. Now, the sun had risen once more and shone down on her harshly. She squinted her eyes and looked across from her, relieved that he still rested and no harm had befallen him when she was out. Akegata stretched, scolding herself internally at drifting off at such a crucial time. She would have to watch her kuji use next time.

She gave him a quick check up, and he was still recovering fine at the moment. He had a troubled look on his face as he slept, but she gave him another jolt of kuji and it took the expression away. She backed off after giving him the kuji, allowing him the rest he needed to recover.

Thirsty, Akegata drearily made her way down to a creek that ran through the forest. She could tell that her kuji still hadn't completely replenished; it would probably take at least another rest before that happened. At the creek, she splashed some of its water on her cheeks. The cold bite of the water snapped her wide awake, to the alert state that she should be in. Akegata took a sip of the refreshing liquid, then took a step back to look at the creek. The sunlight shone down on its clear waters, illuminating its light blue color and giving the creek a heavenly shimmer. She stood there for a moment, appreciating the moment, until she noticed something in the distance. It was the area where the oni had ravaged the forest and attacked the messenger. Where this madness had all begun.

Akegata quickly made her way there, crossing the creek and forcing her way through the thick bamboo and shrubbery. Once she made it onto the path where the oni had caused all the destruction, her journey became considerably easier. She ran along the torn earth, making her way closer to the grove where it had all begun. The messenger still might have something left on him that would further her mission. So she wasted no time, running at steady pace.

Just as she remained but a few feet away, she heard a rustling behind her. Akegata swore to all the gods. If there was another fucking oni, she had no idea what she would do. She held her breath as it came closer, facing towards the direction of the noise as she tensed her muscles. As it approached upon her, she prepared to jump and take it by surprise. One, two, three... and she leapt and grabbed at the source of the noise.

 

[Sepulchritude]

~​

The trail meandered through the woods before coming to a small brook, still slightly muddied from the previous person who crossed it.
Not wanting to make his clothes any more soggy than they already were, Kuro instead took a convenient overhanging branch across. From there he did away with scanning the ground for prints, for the state of the underbrush guided him much more clearly. Coming out of the disturbed tangle, Kuro was momentarily surprised to discover the aftermath of the Oni's rampage from earlier. The forest bore its scars much more plainly in daylight, with splintered stalks and ruined earth strewn in every direction. A grim reminder of the power the enemy wielded.
The woman's tracks were harder to find amongst the fallen leaves and churned mud, but the few he found gave him a general idea of where she was going. They lead back, back in the opposite way the Oni had come.
At long last, he finally caught sight of a shadow in the trees and picked up speed, disregarding the branches he broke underfoot. He was getting very close now, just one last thicket of leaves to break...

And then a figure pounced out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground. Unthinking, he snatched a knife from his belt, bringing it sharply up to his attacker's throat, nearly touching skin before he realized just who had him in such a disadvantageous position.
“So, looks like fate has crossed our paths once again.” he stated dryly.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

As soon as she saw who she had leapt on, she immediately felt a wave of first relief, then embarrassment. Staring up at her was the familiar dark green eyes of the man she had tried to patch up earlier. Still in a state of pure adrenaline, Akegata remained ontop of him with him pinned on the ground. She stared down at him and his blade that was only a mere inch from her throat.

He looked very amused. “So, looks like fate has crossed our paths once again.” he stated dryly.

His words pushed her to sensible action. She stood up, getting off him, and brushed herself off after she did so, trying to remain at least a little dignified. At least she didn't have to face another battle. Akegata had her fill of fighting to last a few lifetimes. As they both regained their composure she spoke, "I'm so sorry for doing that. I hope I didn't reopen your wound or anything."

There was a pause before she spoke again, "So what are you doing out here? I was going to return; all I was doing was taking a walk and I noticed the oni tracks, so I decided to follow them. I did check on you before I left and you seemed to be doing fine. How are you feeling? You should probably still be resting."

The wind blew, brushing the bangs out of Akegata's face. She looked at the man who she still knew nothing about, hoping that he would open up to her eventually.

 

[Sepulchritude]

~​

Kuro pulled himself back up to his feet, inwardly wincing at a spot he was sure was going to make a very pretty bruise later before glancing up at his attacker. The woman seemed almost... Flustered, he guessed would say. If he was telling the truth, he wasn't very proud of getting tackled in the first place either.

"I'm so sorry for doing that. I hope I didn't reopen your wound or anything." she offered up. Kuro blinked; He'd almost forgotten about the injury. A hasty prodding of the area produced no pain, fortunately. He assuaged her concerns with what he hoped was a meaningful half-nod.

"So what are you doing out here? I was going to return; all I was doing was taking a walk and I noticed the oni tracks, so I decided to follow them. I did check on you before I left and you seemed to be doing fine. How are you feeling? You should probably still be resting."
For a moment, the words stuck in his throat. He knew what he should say and how he should say it, but this was to be the first time they ever talked, well... Meaningfully. Snarks and battle advice aside.

“That's a whole lot of questions to be asking in one breath, don't you think? I'll start from the beginning and work my way down.”
A short cough, to stall. “First off, I wanted to... To thank you. That's why I'm out here. To thank you for sav-... helping me, I mean.”

Another pause, the silence brief but oppressively awkward.
“And as for the second, well, for someone who got tackled into the mud, I guess I'm fairly alright. But, well, not much in shape for running from any more Oni, if that's what you're asking about. But... thank you, anyway.”
More silence. More time to think. This woman had asked him quite a few questions; Perhaps he could return the deed
“I don't know anything about you, you know. I... For all we've done together I don't even know your name. Or why you pulled me into any of this. What were you... What were you doing out here? Who are you?”
He caught himself as he realized every question he had asked could just as easily be turned back on him. And unless this woman had as much to hide as he did, he had probably just made yet another blunder in a long train of screw-ups.

Swallowing nervously, he awaited her reply.

 

[TheDragonMoon]

For once, he actually answered the questions she had instead of being evasive. It was a start. There were a few awkward pauses, but it was much better than deafening silence. Then to her alarm, he threw the ball back to Akegata and started asking her questions. She pursed her lips, wondering why she should answer his questions and if he would do the same in return. Akegata never liked a flood of questions, especially from somebody that she knew nothing about. It made her tense up immediately. Just because they fought together didn't make me any more trustworthy. He could still be a spy for all she knew.

"You're welcome," she responded to his first remarks. Her voice became more tense as she answered his questions. "As for your questions, let's take it slow now shall we? My name is Akegata and as for what I was doing out here... Well, I was working on achieving some personal goals you could say. How about you, mystery guy? I'd love to know something about you and what you were doing wandering around that night."