Chương 15: The Ninja of Shadows
Sitting on top of the black-and-white magician's broom all the while embracing the breeze of calm wind, the young man felt at ease. If only this incident ceased to exist, he would've enjoyed this special moment of being one with the wind. Airborne animals passed by with variety, but the majority of them flew in packs much like he was with his new companions. The divine nature below was full of green, full of vitality from the separating river up north. A closer look at the woodland, Kotaro spotted a silhouette seemingly being sprung into the air like a catapult. As the group grew near the unknown, the object became more clear.
A wave of star-shaped steel flew into the air, and the magician instantly reacted. "Hang on tight, outsider!" He did as she instructed, grabbing around her waist tight to his clutches as his body began shaking rapidly. His sight blurred, unsure of the sheer flight speed the magician was going on, but he knew for sure she was trying her hardest to avoid any damage to herself and the passenger. Not only that, but the breeze of calm wind also morphed into the violent storm due to the intense flight speed from the magician. He couldn't handle the agonizing pain.
Melissa's voice seemed to be one with the wind, including the others around his surroundings, so the pilot began descending into the forest. His hearing slowly returned to him, and Melissa assured his safety with a smile. "Sorry about that! I forgot to cast the Muffling Skill to prevent your ears from popping, but it looks like we're going to have to stay down here and wait for our enemy!"
Leaves rustled among the shadowy forest, and tiny rodents squealed in a hurry. Pulling out his magical stick, he chanted its name; he was more than prepared to defend his comrade's back. More leaves began to rustle until the shadowy object revealed itself. The ray of light beamed on his short, green hair. Interlocking his hazel eyes, Kotaro sensed a presence of neutrality within him; this man had the killing intent, yet he chose not to do so. Although, Kotaro failed to understand his motives in attacking them with the star projectiles. The black-and-white magician's hand glowed brightly as the sun, illuminating the surrounding shadows.
"So, the Fourth Ranai in line, are you here to claim the reward too?" commented Melissa. No words came out of his mouth. "I'll take that as a yes."
A ball of energy was fired, and the man swiftly evaded it. He engaged in combat as steel claws appeared on his forearms. "Don't worry, outsider! Leave this to me."
She removed herself from the broom, leaving Kotaro sitting on top of the levitating broom, and she placed all attention on the man. The black-and-white magician cast a variety of spells from fire, ice, and thunder before combining all three primary elements into one powerful attack. Her swift opponent easily evaded them, using the forest as his own playground by jumping into one branch into another.
Kotaro watched their battle, witnessing a magician casting her spells and a man using his speed to avoid her attacks. A mage versus a ninja, he thought. The ninja searched for opportunities to strike, yet he failed to find any opening; however, there was one string he could pull off. The young man widened his eyes, astonished by the swiftness yet afraid.
"Don't move…" the ninja spoke in a soft voice, pointing at the sharp steel near Kotaro's throat. He was quickly disarmed by the ninja and threatened to death. The black-and-white magician surrendered herself, avoiding any harm from Kotaro, and the ninja went no further in his threat.
Both Kotaro and the man were overpowered by an angelic shrine maiden who descended from the sky. The calm breeze of wind rustled the leaves to abandon their homes, joining the shrine maiden in her descent. "Unlike our incompetent magician here, I got your message."
She dropped three shurikens in front of the ninja, and he refrained from any aggression towards Riku. His head leveled to the dirt much like an ant, barely giving any eye contact to the divine maiden. "Kotaro, meet Ranai Kirigakure. He's my loyal retainer."
"Retainer? Why did he throw his shuriken at you?"
"They aren't your typical shuriken. Take a closer look," he did as she suggested, staring at the steel stars which quickly revealed its true form; the stars were mere paper, folded as shurikens. "What news do you have to report, Ranai?"
In his soft voice, he reported to the shrine maiden, "The Sylvan Supreme's loyal retainers are awaiting your arrival, one of them is a kitsune, an earthly demon, and lastly Beak."
Kotaro froze upon hearing Beak's name being called. This unfamiliar feeling inside of him increased his heart rate, unwilling to fight fellow acquaintances whom he met yesterday. The welcoming spirit in that tengu despite shying away from him, Kotaro had taken a liking to him from stranger to acquaintance. "Beak's on our side, right? He's not going to fight us?"
Riku sighed, "I never told you about this, but Beak is one of Joe's retainers. He owes Joe with gratitude. It happened a long time ago when his younger brother had been ill with an unknown sickness. Many territorial monsters quickly ambush the brothers. Unfortunately, Beak was focused on protecting his weak brother that Joe Jones came in the nick of time to save both their lives. Human and monster relationships are awfully rare, and so Beak swore to stay by Joe's side as to repay his gratitude."
Kotaro switched to an understanding mindset, grasping Beak's intentions to protect Joe even if it meant he was an enemy. Despite Beak being an enemy to the group, Kotaro had no hatred in the tengu—but he was more than ready to face his enemy regardless. A stream of energy fueled Kotaro's body, and he revealed it through a smile. All of the uncomfortable presence within him slowly diminished, placing his focus on the main enemy. Ranai stood up, meeting eyes with the new face. "I once saw a nervous man, unsure whether he should involve himself in this incident."
"Huh?" responded Kotaro.
"Now you have a goal, the spirit to resolve," finished Ranai.
He failed to comprehend the ninja's intricate speechcraft, but he thought it was best to reply with a reassuring smile. Ranai seemed to do the same too. The black-and-white magician was confronted with a smack in the head by Riku, scolded and criticized for her impatient assumption, but the small sermon resolved quickly—and the group quickly joined the rest of the crew on their destination. Ranai was recruited too. He had become their agent within the earth, and his swift speed was fast enough to catch up with the fliers in the air.
Both Melissa and Kotaro glowed in a violet light. The energy surged upon their skin, and as the pilot soared through the skies, the cracking sound of the wind was muffled—and the young man's ear was at ease even when the black-and-white magician flew at high speeds which were superb than anyone else. The whole world froze in his sight as the witch's passenger. Hundreds of acres were covered in nature, only rarely passing by small settlements. His sight grew black, embracing the former violent gust to a gentle breeze, and he felt he could endlessly remain in the sky like an eagle.
Suddenly, the flying sessions were disturbed by a sudden jerk to the right. Awakening from the airborne trance, Kotaro felt the warm scarlet drop on his cheeks. A piece of clothing around the shoulder ripped right off, hearing the magician grunt a little. The pilot stopped, encountering a familiar tengu carrying a yellow-orange fan that was shaped like a butterfly's wing and composing an ebony handle. "Melissa, are you alright?"
"Just a scratch. It doesn't hurt too much!" the black-and-white magician assured.
"Look who decided to show up, so hand over that outsider behind you, and this will be all over," said Beak. "Forgive me, outsider. If we met in different terms, this wouldn't have to happen."
"And you still choose a corrupted man like Joe Jones," commented Melissa.
"I owe him my life. I hope you can come to an understanding."
"I don't blame you," said Kotaro. The tengu's black wings shrunk by a little, a clear sign that the young man took note. A smile forged within him, causing the tengu to truly open his eyes, and he began to struggle in his intentions. "I'm sorry for being nervous around you and Fuuko. I don't know how to explain this feeling, but every time I see you guys, it just makes me want to be strong. I-I bet you love helping people, right? Is that why you send the news to people?"
The tengu gritted his teeth, maintaining his objective. "Silence, human! What could you ever understand from me?" He went on the aggression, disappearing on his position before coming to sight next to Melissa. With a powerful swing from his iron fan, he created violent gusts that disabled the magician's flight. While falling from the skies, the tengu proceeded to attack Melissa from all directions. Her swift flight speed was subpar from the tengu, incapable of catching up to his speed. After all, flying was his specialty. Before being completely rendered from flying, Beak finished the beatdown with a rolling kick to the magician's stomach which sent her and Kotaro straight to the earth. The impact caused a small crater, snapping Melissa's broom in half.
"Kotaro…are you alright?" After all that relentless beatdown, he was astonished by his survival. I should've died, but he came to the conclusion that it must've been Melissa's previous spell—the protective magic muffled the wind, including any devastating calamity. This was his first to have experienced such indescribable pain.
"I'm fine," picking himself from the earth, he chanted the name of his blade transforming into its steel form. However, Melissa stopped him from charging so recklessly.
The tengu had already disappeared from his position. Melissa stayed cautious in his next movement, catching the sound of the wind cutting into her ear, and the brief afterimages of Beak flying in mid-air. "Transform Skill: Wind Magician!"
A gust of wind caught into Kotaro's vision, rendering him blind briefly until he witnessed a witch in green. The broken broom repaired itself and appeared in the witch's hand. The stick was slammed to the ground, creating a violent storm around her surroundings. Unfortunately, Kotaro was caught within the storm.
The stream of wind blasted into all particles of his body: his ear perceiving the violent tempo, his eyes blinded by the gathered dust in the battlefield, and his entire body was blown away from Melissa. Despite attacking her own ally, there was a resolve to the enemy's movement. The tengu had been immobilized to the ground, and the two began trading blows with colorful projectiles. Each blow resulted in bruises, shredding pieces of clothes to their shoulders, arms, and legs.
Riku and the others had finally arrived, encountering the clash between the witch and the tengu. Standing between the two fighters, Beak immediately retreated from his position. His injuries rendered his noticeable mobility while airborne, sluggish almost as a bird would when surviving a bullet. The shrine maiden tended her friend's injuries, summoning a glowing, circular ritual beneath the witch; she radiated in the same hue as the circle, and all injuries were cured. She did the same for Kotaro too.
"And this is why you should never go alone," she smacked Melissa's head. "You put not only yourself but your allies in danger."
"Oh Riku, you need to relax. Kotaro is just fine. Look at him, there's no harm to him at all!"
She smacked her again, but the witch shrugged it off like nothing. "He must've known our intentions since he sent one of his retainers to fend us off."
The witch with a confident grin patted on the shrine maiden's shoulder. "It doesn't matter that he knows our move. That just makes it easier for us—that he understands we are tired of his crap!"
"Don't tell me you had a strategy from the get-go?" added Melissa, winking. Her jade attire reverted to her black-and-white dress, an ebony hat attached with an azure ribbon, and a snowy blouse under a midnight cape. Extending her hand outward, the broom immediately flew straight into her grasp. "Get on, Kotaro."
He did as she instructed, cast with a protective spell briefly until taking flight into the sky—and they resumed their pursuit to Joe. Hostile fairies swarmed in groups, firing magical bullets at their targets. The group spread apart before retaliating.
Suddenly, a thunderous shockwave cracked the skies. Everyone's attention diverted from the fairies, encountering a silver fox yokai—a kitsune—judging by the number of its noticeable tails, this kitsune had endured its nine-hundred-year labor of survival granting its great wisdom that it so long desired. Her hands were hidden inside her elongated sleeves, and she stared cautiously at her enemies.
"I see, so the shrine maiden and her abomination of friends have come to rebel against the Sylvan Supreme," said the kitsune. "This is treason. I hope you are aware of that."
"So you're Kyūryu of Mankind? I have no quarrel with you. Joe's power as Sylvan Supreme has been corrupted, and now I am here to revolt his title for the sake of Densetsu," replied Riku.
"You say that, yet you have the young outsider at your side. Was he the final push for you to rebel?"
The shrine maiden disappeared from her position. Nobody had realized it, not even the kitsune who merely reacted with widened eyes. Kyūryu placed her hands on her stomach. Streams of crimson were vomited as she grunted heavily, and Riku returned from her previous spot.
"I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?"
"You bastard. I never expected the shrine maiden to be so ruthless," she coughed more blood. "What will you do now? Spare me like you do with all of the other monsters you've met?"
Kotaro blinded his eyes, hearing the agony of the fox screaming in pain. Both of her arms began falling from the sky, followed by a shower of blood. His face distorted into disgust, witnessing a rose revealing its thorn to its threat—this time, all purity vanquished into cruelty.
"Would you like to be the first to die by my hands, Kyūryu?"
Kyūryu chuckled in response, "Gladly. If it's enough to remove that purity out of you, then my service as Joe's retainer has been completed!"
"Tell the Yama I said 'hi' when you meet her," her purification rod transformed into sharp steel, and she readied the blade near the fox's neck.
Kotaro stared into the golden eyes of the fox yokai. Filled with sorrow, he empathized with the creature. The words coming out of her mouth sounded harmful and confident, but the sight of her visage told a different story. I have to stop them somehow.
"Hey!" he yelled. Although it was abysmal, it managed to give time before Kyūryu's upcoming death.
"Don't worry, Kotaro. You'll be safe after I take care of this yokai."
"That's enough, Riku!" Yet again, his weak tone was unappealing. "We're not killing people. We're here to stop Joe's tyranny, remember? If we kill someone, what kind of image would that bring to your people? Especially if it's you of all people! Aren't you the one who spreads hope, inspires young kids to be like you, peace to relieve the weak? Killing will only make things worse!"
Riku stared at him, who gulped his saliva upon reaction, and she turned to her opponent. Her boast was a mere act, revealing a fearful girl desiring to linger life longer. Then she returned her sight to Kotaro, this time with a fierce stare, his words may have changed her to anew.
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