Chiharu stepped back as her mi bnk in plete fusion. She couldn't uand what was happening or how it ossible. It froze her body with her tanto falling slightly from its previous defensive position. The electricity charged down through the hall at her slower than its natural terpart, but still too fast to outrun. ‘…grandfather…’

  An explosion of the lightning reached its target bing the entire area in white light before fading into a dust cloud. The se was unreadable, but the Head of the Higoshi still pulled up a wide grin in expectation of a bloody sight. “I don’t know who hired you, but it was your mistake to think that you could take the Head of the Higoshi !” He gave a brief ugh, pleased with himself and the demonstration of their new power.

  The thick dust in the air slowly began to settle from the igate. All that could be seen was a thick spread of blood os and walls. Chiharu’s body was still masked by the stubborn cloud. It was enough for the middle-aged man to turn away in assurahat the threat had been eliminated. “Weaklings such as you o longer exist in this new world!” He walked bato his room leaving the mess to be ed up by his men.

  Chapter 69 – Blood Stained Shadow

  Once everything had finally settled, the guarded ninja stood up straight from his attabsp; He had hit both of the assassins. Tamotsu id over top of Chiharu and blood sprayed against the walls and floor. The man stepped forward moving to firm his kills and if need be end their fading lives. There was not an immediate sign of life from the two bodies in his approabsp; However, he wouldn't leave it to ce leaning down to che Tamotsu.

  His hand reached out to the neck looking for a pulse, but an arc fshed in front of him taking him babsp; Another sudden arged at him f him to jump away to safety. When he checked on his arm there was a thin line of blood from the initial strike. “Still alive…”

  The body on top of the child began to move looking as though he was rec. It pulled the ninja into a defeag the situation before making an attaow questioning his options si had not mao kill one of the assassins. Soon his inal assessment ged, seeing that the assassin was not so much moving as it was being shifted away. The child pulled up resting the other assassin on their bad leaned over examining the body. “I see now…you were protected by the other one…”

  Chiharu spared a momentary gre for the guard that attacked them. ‘I couldn’t move…’ She internally chastised herself while trying to see if Tamotsu was alive or not. There had been no more signals from the rest of her men. The thought of another death choked her throat. ‘…Tamotsu, you protected me… I’m still so useless… Grandfather and now you…’

  A dull cough shook through Tamotsu’s body harsh enough to increase some of the blood flow spilling out of him. It gave enough hope back to Chiharu. She stood up and turo face the guard, her eyes narrowed fiercely. “I’ll make you pay for that!” Chiharu’s tanto was borne in front of her with the tip of the bde dripping blood that it had freshly tasted.

  The ninja smirked back, being amused by the se. “A child is threatening me? You should just run away now. This is no pce for a child trying to py at ninja.”

  “I’m no child! I’m a ninja!”

  “Your words taint and dishonor its proud heritage. Stop now before you make me angry.”

  “You ’t talk of dishonor after what you people did!” Chiharu quickly made the man just as enraged as she.

  The man gave her a questioning stare for a moment before snapping back at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, child! You’re really starting to piss me off!”

  “You ’t deny it! I know the truth!”

  “You don’t know anything, kid!”

  Chiharu became dragged into the man’s denial. The thoughts of her grandfather only served to fuel her inferno that burned inside her heart. Chiharu’s body began to move on its owing to her emotions when something suddenly took hold of her ankle. She turned down to see that Tamotsu strained his hand to get her attention. ‘…Tamotsu…’

  “…it’s poiue with…him…they’ll never…admit to it…” Tamotsu coughed through the ask that covered his fabsp; The pain from speaking was enough to send his body into vulsions.

  Chiharu leaned down to Tamotsu trying to look more closely at how serious his injuries were for him. “Don’t talk anymore, just rest.” She pced a hand on his shoulder. ‘I don’t know how bad he is, but I have to get him out quickly. I doubt that they’ll let me leave so easily despite his attitude.’ Chiharu rose back to stare down the man with the strange powers liftianto back up into a defeanbsp; ‘I don’t know what straricks he’s using, but I won’t be able to take another… I’ll have to keep him from using it again…’

  “So the child has a pn?” The ninja held a very fident tohat could easily be mistaken fance, which it perhaps was a little. He mocked her stance by taking a very weak offensive position. “If he couldn’t take my g Lightning what makes you think you ?!” His hands began to move to press together when Chiharu suddenly released a kunai at the man f him to dodge out of the way.

  Atempt was begun by the man to initiate his attack, but Chiharu sprio close the distance while he had been evading her first throw. ‘Kid’s fast and smart in reading my moves already…guess I ’t take the child lightly…’ He dodged effortlessly out of Chiharu’s thrust with her tanto.

  Chiharu spun around expeg that her first attempt would fail and pnned for the position that he would move to. The ninja came to a stop at his evasion, but was left in a momentary shock to see Chiharu fluidly following up her strike. ‘I’ve got him! I read him perfectly! This is it, grandfather!’

  There was a hint of a pleased smile that pulled across her face as her sword quickly came to striking. The bde left an arc through the maire midse still holding surprising across his fabsp; Chiharu straightened herself up taking a measured breath while her eyes began to turn for her arget.

  A fsh of blood sprayed into the air as Chiharu staggered forward suddenly feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder. ‘What’s going on?! Is it the uards?’ While she struggled to recover her bance she turned her head trying to analyze the situation. Across the hall at the doors to the Head of the Higoshi stood the same three guards remained unmoved. ‘It wasn’t them? Who?’ Chiharu tripped her foot a little, still caught off guard by the pain.

  A swift breeze behind Chiharu formed into a shadowed figure. “fused, child?”

  “What?!” Chiharu spun around only to be too te. Another quick fsh dug into her lower baog her bance off and almost bringio the floor. Blood slowly dripped down her back gluing the fabric to her skin. ‘How’s he still standing?!’

  The man appeared behind her once again. Chiharu had only a sed to react to the impending bde aimed to pierce her through her bato the heart. His bde sank into skin drawing an annoyed disgusted expression from him. Chiharu stumbled away from the man smming against the wall for support as she pai with her blood.

  ‘She’s got good reflexes, shifting her body enough to avoid the fatal blow. No matter, she’s at her limit.’ He revealed his own short sword that he had been using with lightning speed and precision against Chiharu. “You thought if you could keep me from using my g Lightning that you could win didn’t you? I don’t to take someone like you. My speed will be enough.”

  Chiharu coughed in pain feeling the deep wound that peed into her babsp; She had been fortu missed both her lungs a, but it still howled greatly. Her bored breathing fought with the pain that she fought to remain in trol. “Speed? That arick of yours?”

  “No trick, child. It’s natural speed. We told you the world was no lohe same. Normal humans haven’t a ce!” He charged straight for Chiharu going for the final blow with his sword, but Chiharu rolled to the ground and out of the way. It didn’t sway his move as his eyes followed her movement aed quickly ging his line of attack.

  An arch of blood sprayed from a shallow wound at Chiharu’s thigh. She forced down her shock at the ninja’s agility to keep herself going. All she could be allowed was a defensive position falling back with each swing made at her. Despite her best efforts every siempt she made to avoid a wound failed leaving her littered with shallow wounds across her body. ‘I think…I’m starting to see his movements…somehow…’ Chiharu rested on one knee from the most ret of the vicious assaults.

  The man narrowed his eyes as he took a moment to read the situation. ‘I keep missing…how? It’s just a normal child! Even trained, I should be faster, but my accuracy keeps getting worse!’ fusion started to settle into his mind as he grew frustrated with his tinued failure. It started to feel like the fight became evenly matched the further he analyzed the movements. ‘This child ’t be my equal! It’s not possible! It’s just a kid!’

  Chiharu tried to calm her breathing that had bee out of trol. A prolonged battle wasn't what she was aced to let alone real bat. It was going to have to end soon for her. ‘I have to end it, but I don’t know how. He’s too fast for me to even nd a blow.’ Chiharu clutched the hilt of her tanto preparing for her final act.

  Both charged in with the man trying to use his speed to get around Chiharu for a back attace more. Sparks flew from the csh of the two bdes as Chiharu mao catch up with his strike. He backed off and disappeared trying for her once again, however she was able to match him. It fell into quid rapid collisions of metal sparking and chipping from the force being brought to bear with ons not intended for such powerful strikes.

  Chiharu kept pace with the man a as though she could do a little better. She went for an offerike, but missed him, taken off bance by the increase in speed not aced to it yet.

  The man turo prepare to strike Chiharu, but couldn’t find her. “What’s going on?” He searched around through the hall desperate to find Chiharu with sweat starting to build in the mounting tension. Even if Chiharu moved quickly he khat she had to e out eventually, but it ed him that there had not been an attack yet. It felt as though she was nowhere in the hall. He started to back away trying to hold himself into a defensive position. “Something’s wrong here…”

  Everything was bbsp; ‘What’s going on? Where am I?’ Chiharu tried to look around the hall that she thought that she was in, but all she could see was endless darkness. It felt empty aoo full for her to stay. ‘Is this another one of that man’s tricks?’ She tried to move a as though her legs were ag while it didn't ge her position.

  Chiharu blinked her eyes, suddenly feeling like she was seeing a light. The light grew stronger expanding in front of her until an image appeared like a portal for her. She could see the man with his fnk pletely opeo her. The feeling that she had at that moment as she reached through was ohat couldn't expin. It was like a reflex or instinbsp;

  Her sword hand stretched out to the portal and pressed through. The whole mome distant like she was a third party watg as the ninja jumped away holding his side bleeding. ‘He’s panicked? Bleeding, but how? What just happened?’ Chiharu tried to focus ba herself to break out of the disembodied feeling that she was having.

  The view that she had of the ninja suddenly ged looking up at him like she was on the ground somehow. Her instincts took ain and reached out towards the image. Another arc of blood came off the man from his leg as he leapt back looking ered. ‘Am I doing that? Is that me? How is this possible?’

  Chiharu started to panic, as she couldn't answer any of the questions. The strange magi front of her threateo destroy everything she uood. Her rational mind couldn’t accept what was happening. She tried to run towards the image hoping it was a.

  “Is this that child’s doing? Does the child have powers too?” He frantically searched for Chiharu, still fused. It all happened so fast that he was afraid she might be far faster than he could imagine. As he turo check his fnk Chiharu appeared ing towards him out of the wall with her tanto held out. In his state, he couldn’t react quickly enough, forced to take the sword’s bde through his chest. He slowly colpsed to the ground unmoving as Chiharu rested on him breathing heavily.

  Chiharu turned her head up and looked around quickly to get her bearings. “I’m babsp; And he’s…” She looked down the hall towards the three remaining guards that appeared to be shaken from the sudden reversal iuation. The sword jerked free unceremoniously from the man’s body eg through the corridor snapping the remaining guards out of their paralysis.

  “The kid took down Takeo!” stammered the guard on the left that appeared ready to flee.

  The guard in the middle punched him in the face for his cowardibsp; “It’s our job to protect this dardless of who it is!”

  “Right and the kid’s already injured!” It seemed to be their signal to pull out a fully-automatic mae gun eabsp; The clig from the guns flicked Chiharu’s eyes up reading the situation. She disappeared the moment that the guards opened fire with a heavy stream of bullets. In the seds after their guns sounded off the dires ged as blood sprayed out from their bodies before colpsing to the floor from multiple wounds. The st of the bullet gs bounced os as Chiharu re-appeared fag the sliding door.

  Chiharu threw open the doors with her arms spread out. Her breath heavily paced still and her body only held together by adrenaline. Across the rge lightly furnished room sat in a meditative position was the middle-aged man that she had been seeking. “Yoshikazu Higoshi! I’ve e to take your life!”

  “Hrmph!” He barely opened his eyes towards her. The look of disi was heavily set in his fabsp; “You, a child, think you kill me! Burn in hell!” His eyes suddenly glowed red sharply before the entire air in the room seemed to be blown out followed by massive waves of heat that burned across Chiharu’s fabsp; She felt as though there was a force pushing her back struggling to keep her banbsp; A moment ter everything ig oo fire.

  The windows blew out with fmes shattering them instantly. Immediately after, the roof over the room exploded upwards into the night sky destroying everything in the room. An enraged fme towered over the mansion pushing into the high opy of the forest itself. Even after much of the initial bst calmed, there was still a threatening force blowing out from the epiter as Yoshikazu Higoshi appeared unharmed. He looked about the settling fmes that began to recede from their unnatural ignition. “Escaped huh? Tch!”

  Appearing out of the ground deep in the forest was Chiharu with Tamotsu over her shoulder. She looked back at the fire that illumihe dark trees. “I failed tonight… But this won’t be the end…”

  M arrived for the ees leaving a deafening silehrough the mansion. The death of many of the men had left the remaining feeling uneasy. It was no longer certain if they would be able to defend from attacks. Their only fort was knowing that their night raid had left the Higoshi disarray and at an equal loss of men, but there was still a third bsp; The Kenkyusha was the stro of the three s and with both of the weakened positions of the other s the threat of attack from them was without question.

  Everyone feared a new ninja war.

  “Tamotsu…” Chiharu, heavily bandaged, looked down at his body resting in his futon. She mao only get him out safely from the failed mission. All of the men that she had lost were runniedly through her mind t her st nerves.

  Tamotsu stirred from his sleep and opened his eyes to see Chiharu o him. “Lady Chiharu…you’re safe…”

  She iffly ba. “Yes, but the mission was a failure and I’ve allowed my men to die and you to bee injured because of my inpetence as a leader.”

  “Enough!” Tamotsu coughed sharply from the strain, but forced himself to trol his body’s pain. “You have failed no more than I have in keeping you safe from harm.”

  “…I’m still too weak to avenge my grandfather’s, but I’ll bee stroamotsu. Strong enough so that you don’t have to protect me. Strong enough so that I protect my men!” Chiharu’s face hardened iermination as she looked down at him. There was an eased look that came across Tamotsu as he rexed in his futon.

  Out in the forest of the ees, two figures stood out of sight of the mansion and the perimeter guard. “That’s quite the show you’re putting on, Tamotsu…”

  Tamotsu looked up ftly staring at the man. “Those three are not the only oo have discovered strange powers. I don’t know why it’s happened, but the stage has bee now. Both s are weak and ripe for invasion. War shall be ing soon.”

  “Yes, the end of the s will be soon.”

  “I’m ed about the power that the Head of the Higoshi dispyed. It could still prove a problem to the pns. Be sure to iigate thhly any new powers that develop within the Higoshi bsp; We’ll o know everything before the move be made.”

  “Still being cautious… This is our trump card…”

  “It’s not a trump card if everyone has ohough… I won't allow overfidend arrogance destroy the pn that we’ve bored so long for.”

  “Uood!” The man disappeared from the tree branch he rested on leaving Tamotsu alone once more.

  Tamotsu looked ba the dire of the mansion. ‘I must see more of her power, it could be problematibsp; She’s still soft though…’ He thought back to the previous night from the hidden position he held watg the entire se py out with his marioe. ‘She was uo kill the men, still missing the fatal points on purpose… I’ll have to ensure I trol her development…’