Kenshin knew it was time to go on a mission. It had been a long time since he had left Leaf which was interesting since the last time he was away from the village he was a Stone ninja. As he pulled on his titanstone knuckles, he thought of his family. Kenshin came from a large a family so he had many siblings and was an uncle many times over. None of his family were shinobi so he had to keep work mostly secret. His family was a military family though serving from spearman to archers to commanders. He had a few cousins that were samurai. He was the first and only shinobi which made them proud.
Kenshin shook his head, the sunlight glinting from his eyebrow piercing. He was a shinobi of the Leaf. No time to think about the past. He forged his own future.
He approached the new Hokage area. Shinobi passed and Kenshin waved at a few he knew. Most were former students and he chatted for a small bit before going to get a mission. He picked an S rank mission from the merchant guild. Why was it S rank? Right now it said to go to the Saru clan. The Saru clan was a well-known merchant guild in the area. There were rumors of some bandits in the area but were they S rank material?
Kenshin went straight away to the Saru’s clans location in the village and found that he was expected. Apparently, they had someone watching the board. He was lead to a small area and then to what was a glorified broom closet. There, sitting on a low seat, was the head of the Saru clan. As he made to bow, he was pushed into the room and the door was closed and locked behind him. Kenshin stood in front of him and looked. The man stared back and it was a moment before he started talking.
“They have my wife and daughter.” He said plainly but Kesnhin could tell by the strain in his voice that he was far more upset than he lead on. “And they are watching the house.”
“They?”
“The Bandits. They call themselves the Demon Lords. They have been terrorizing us for weeks and they have escalated by stealing my wife and daughter, as well as many other children and spouses from other merchants. I was the one bold enough to ask for help. Things cannot continue. You must save them.”
“Sounds simple enough.”
“It is not. They are in a castle that has never been breached, allegedly. Your main task is to retrieve the captured merchants. If you can ruin their operation, it would be appreciated. Do you accept?”
“I already did. I will be back with your wife and daughter.”
Kenshin left after he heard the door unlock. Kenshin knew of the castle and found it easily enough. The only problem was that it was still daytime. There was no sneaking in at this time so Kenshin waited and watched.
The guards were constantly patrolling. A new shift started on the hour every 2 hours. Kenshin saw no slacking form his distance but he was at a disadvantage. The forest ended and there was a clear 100 foot perimeter around the castle. No trees were close enough to jump from. The castle itself was a third story building with an impressive wall surrounding the complex. He would hear the occasional grunt of training from the courtyard and Kenshin knew they were at least ex-military. It would not be surprising if there were shinobi among them. Missing ninja were a disgrace to the village and deserved to be hunted for their treachery. Still, Kesnhin had a mission.
It was well after the sun set before Kenshin moved as fast as he could over the stretch of land before him. He felt his muscles strained as imbued himself with chakra and hoped they had no sensory type ninja on look out. No alarms were raised as he touched the stonework. Kenshin climbed easily enough before finding that the guards were just moving into position as he arrived. As they turned, he jumped over and with a crack, slammed their heads together. He carefully placed the bodies in a dark corner and began to make his way through the complex. A few times he was almost caught and he had to knock out some more guards. He had to hurry. The guards were going to change and if someone didn’t report back he was going to be in trouble.
It was at the first floor of the main castle that he killed the first two men of the night. The only way into that first floor was a gate being guarded by two men. They had drawn breath into their lungs as they glanced him approach, fast and low. He had to. He opened the main gate slowly and plaedtheir bodies inside. Kenshin knew that if they were here, he would have to escort them out. That means that killing any he saw would be less trouble for him.
So the bloody business of killing men in their sleep began. Without a sound Kenshin’s fist would connect with a skull and that was it. ‘Almost too easy.’ Kesnhin thought as he found his way to the 2nd floor. Half way through that floor, he found a room guarded by 5 guards. How odd that it was guarded so heavily at night. Kenshin inhaled deeply as he braced himself and charged. The guards fell but not without some noise. Kenshin stayed himself and listened hard. There was no sound of movement but it would not be long before.
“WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!” a shout rang out.
‘Crap found out.’
He punched open the door to the room to find several started eyes staring at him.
“I am here to rescure the merchant folk. Is that you?” Kenshin would ask and he got a mixture of blank stares until a woman stepped forward and nodded. “Then you will follow me. The first floor is clear now as is this floor. Stay close.”
As he turned he heard shouting from the top floor. That would be the leader. He would not want to face that man.
[ “Down the stairs quick.” He would say as he turned to where the stairs were leading up and noise was coming from. After a great inhale, a fireball would escape from Kenshin’s mouth and suddenly the castle was on fire. He darted down the stairs and cleared the last few stairs with a leap.
“We don’t have much time. Remain calm. I have help.”
Kenshin would make a series of handsigns and, with a little blood, a group of 5 ninja dogs or dog variants appeared all looking at Kenshin seriously.
“Hey you all I need your help. Satu stay with the people and guide them to the gate. It is north of here. Koneko, Akihiko, and Eiki cause as much chaos as you can in any area you can find. Do not risk injury. Draw them away from Satu and the people. Ezo with me.”
The dogs nodded and most of them took off. Ezo sniffed at his heels as he ran into what looked like the training area. The guardhouse was quickly emptying and as Kenshin expected, most of the men were there and Kenshin threw himself into combat. All he saw was ash, blood, and Ezo biting into foes. He didn’t know how many fell before he heard rather than felt Satu cry out in pain and disappear.
Ezo howled next to Kenshin and attacked even more ferously.
“Stay here. Don’t take risks.”
Kenshin moved quickly out of combat and ran towards the north gate wwhere he found a man kicking one of the captives who were too scared to move.
“Loyalist scum” he shouted as he saw Kenshin approach and Kenshin dodged out of the way of a torrent of lightning.
“We will kill these people after we kill you.”
As Kenshin wondered who he meant by “we” two more people appeared and Kenshin felt kunai sink into him. He pushed them away and took stock of his enemy. Two females. The male was the one who had spoken.
“Run! I will hold them off.” Kenshin shouted at the captives and shot a fireball at one of the ninja surrounding him.
As they dodged, the captives regained their senses and ran.
“We will find them soon enough. We kill you now.”
“You most certainly can try.” As Kenshin begun digging deep into his chakra reserves.
Before long, he felt the chakra flow through his muscles causing them to almost sprain under the pressure.
In a berserk like rage, Kenshin laid waste to the shinobi but it took everything he had and then some. As he stood above his slain enemies, Kesnhin swayed and nearly fell over. He had definitely broken a fist with that last attack. His chakra was almost gone. The edges of his eyes were during dark and he struggled to stay awake.
He smelled Ezo before he saw him and the hound looked as worse as he felt. Even as he limped towards Kenshin, he had been drooling violently. As the drool hit Kenshin he felt some of wounds close.
“Thanks friend.” He said and before Ezo could say anything, he poofed out.
One last effort on his part. Kenshin slowly got up to his feet and walked into the forest, leaving the burning castle behind him. The sound of men burning and men shouting to put out the fire were of no concern to him.
Kenshin found the captives and guided them back into Leaf. The sun was rising as he truened the wife and child of the Saru clan’s chief to him. Tears were shed and many thanks were given. Kesnhin, too tired to be polite, nodded his head and trudged his way back home. His little apartment was very appreciated as in a few more footsteps, just a few more, he would collapse into his bed. He would collect his earnings in the afternoon. For now, he would let et his body heal. Anything to avoid the hospital.
WC 1704
Kenshin shook his head, the sunlight glinting from his eyebrow piercing. He was a shinobi of the Leaf. No time to think about the past. He forged his own future.
He approached the new Hokage area. Shinobi passed and Kenshin waved at a few he knew. Most were former students and he chatted for a small bit before going to get a mission. He picked an S rank mission from the merchant guild. Why was it S rank? Right now it said to go to the Saru clan. The Saru clan was a well-known merchant guild in the area. There were rumors of some bandits in the area but were they S rank material?
Kenshin went straight away to the Saru’s clans location in the village and found that he was expected. Apparently, they had someone watching the board. He was lead to a small area and then to what was a glorified broom closet. There, sitting on a low seat, was the head of the Saru clan. As he made to bow, he was pushed into the room and the door was closed and locked behind him. Kenshin stood in front of him and looked. The man stared back and it was a moment before he started talking.
“They have my wife and daughter.” He said plainly but Kesnhin could tell by the strain in his voice that he was far more upset than he lead on. “And they are watching the house.”
“They?”
“The Bandits. They call themselves the Demon Lords. They have been terrorizing us for weeks and they have escalated by stealing my wife and daughter, as well as many other children and spouses from other merchants. I was the one bold enough to ask for help. Things cannot continue. You must save them.”
“Sounds simple enough.”
“It is not. They are in a castle that has never been breached, allegedly. Your main task is to retrieve the captured merchants. If you can ruin their operation, it would be appreciated. Do you accept?”
“I already did. I will be back with your wife and daughter.”
Kenshin left after he heard the door unlock. Kenshin knew of the castle and found it easily enough. The only problem was that it was still daytime. There was no sneaking in at this time so Kenshin waited and watched.
The guards were constantly patrolling. A new shift started on the hour every 2 hours. Kenshin saw no slacking form his distance but he was at a disadvantage. The forest ended and there was a clear 100 foot perimeter around the castle. No trees were close enough to jump from. The castle itself was a third story building with an impressive wall surrounding the complex. He would hear the occasional grunt of training from the courtyard and Kenshin knew they were at least ex-military. It would not be surprising if there were shinobi among them. Missing ninja were a disgrace to the village and deserved to be hunted for their treachery. Still, Kesnhin had a mission.
It was well after the sun set before Kenshin moved as fast as he could over the stretch of land before him. He felt his muscles strained as imbued himself with chakra and hoped they had no sensory type ninja on look out. No alarms were raised as he touched the stonework. Kenshin climbed easily enough before finding that the guards were just moving into position as he arrived. As they turned, he jumped over and with a crack, slammed their heads together. He carefully placed the bodies in a dark corner and began to make his way through the complex. A few times he was almost caught and he had to knock out some more guards. He had to hurry. The guards were going to change and if someone didn’t report back he was going to be in trouble.
It was at the first floor of the main castle that he killed the first two men of the night. The only way into that first floor was a gate being guarded by two men. They had drawn breath into their lungs as they glanced him approach, fast and low. He had to. He opened the main gate slowly and plaedtheir bodies inside. Kenshin knew that if they were here, he would have to escort them out. That means that killing any he saw would be less trouble for him.
So the bloody business of killing men in their sleep began. Without a sound Kenshin’s fist would connect with a skull and that was it. ‘Almost too easy.’ Kesnhin thought as he found his way to the 2nd floor. Half way through that floor, he found a room guarded by 5 guards. How odd that it was guarded so heavily at night. Kenshin inhaled deeply as he braced himself and charged. The guards fell but not without some noise. Kenshin stayed himself and listened hard. There was no sound of movement but it would not be long before.
“WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!” a shout rang out.
‘Crap found out.’
He punched open the door to the room to find several started eyes staring at him.
“I am here to rescure the merchant folk. Is that you?” Kenshin would ask and he got a mixture of blank stares until a woman stepped forward and nodded. “Then you will follow me. The first floor is clear now as is this floor. Stay close.”
As he turned he heard shouting from the top floor. That would be the leader. He would not want to face that man.
[ “Down the stairs quick.” He would say as he turned to where the stairs were leading up and noise was coming from. After a great inhale, a fireball would escape from Kenshin’s mouth and suddenly the castle was on fire. He darted down the stairs and cleared the last few stairs with a leap.
“We don’t have much time. Remain calm. I have help.”
Kenshin would make a series of handsigns and, with a little blood, a group of 5 ninja dogs or dog variants appeared all looking at Kenshin seriously.
“Hey you all I need your help. Satu stay with the people and guide them to the gate. It is north of here. Koneko, Akihiko, and Eiki cause as much chaos as you can in any area you can find. Do not risk injury. Draw them away from Satu and the people. Ezo with me.”
The dogs nodded and most of them took off. Ezo sniffed at his heels as he ran into what looked like the training area. The guardhouse was quickly emptying and as Kenshin expected, most of the men were there and Kenshin threw himself into combat. All he saw was ash, blood, and Ezo biting into foes. He didn’t know how many fell before he heard rather than felt Satu cry out in pain and disappear.
Ezo howled next to Kenshin and attacked even more ferously.
“Stay here. Don’t take risks.”
Kenshin moved quickly out of combat and ran towards the north gate wwhere he found a man kicking one of the captives who were too scared to move.
“Loyalist scum” he shouted as he saw Kenshin approach and Kenshin dodged out of the way of a torrent of lightning.
“We will kill these people after we kill you.”
As Kenshin wondered who he meant by “we” two more people appeared and Kenshin felt kunai sink into him. He pushed them away and took stock of his enemy. Two females. The male was the one who had spoken.
“Run! I will hold them off.” Kenshin shouted at the captives and shot a fireball at one of the ninja surrounding him.
As they dodged, the captives regained their senses and ran.
“We will find them soon enough. We kill you now.”
“You most certainly can try.” As Kenshin begun digging deep into his chakra reserves.
Before long, he felt the chakra flow through his muscles causing them to almost sprain under the pressure.
In a berserk like rage, Kenshin laid waste to the shinobi but it took everything he had and then some. As he stood above his slain enemies, Kesnhin swayed and nearly fell over. He had definitely broken a fist with that last attack. His chakra was almost gone. The edges of his eyes were during dark and he struggled to stay awake.
He smelled Ezo before he saw him and the hound looked as worse as he felt. Even as he limped towards Kenshin, he had been drooling violently. As the drool hit Kenshin he felt some of wounds close.
“Thanks friend.” He said and before Ezo could say anything, he poofed out.
One last effort on his part. Kenshin slowly got up to his feet and walked into the forest, leaving the burning castle behind him. The sound of men burning and men shouting to put out the fire were of no concern to him.
Kenshin found the captives and guided them back into Leaf. The sun was rising as he truened the wife and child of the Saru clan’s chief to him. Tears were shed and many thanks were given. Kesnhin, too tired to be polite, nodded his head and trudged his way back home. His little apartment was very appreciated as in a few more footsteps, just a few more, he would collapse into his bed. He would collect his earnings in the afternoon. For now, he would let et his body heal. Anything to avoid the hospital.
WC 1704