Chương 40: Ozunu Part 1
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Japan, Ozunu Orphanage: Forest
Lucian was waving his katana so fast it became a blur, cutting and slicing through the ranks of Kuroko. Now he was covered in blood, his clothes stained crimson, but his face still bore an expression of determination.
But the Kuroko didn't stop, they didn't seem to care about their casualties. They only focused on their objective, which was to tire Lucian out. Their movements were relentless as they kept coming, replacing those who died, enclosing him in a circle.
He sliced through another Kuroko, his blade severing its head as it flew up before dropping to the ground with a sickening thud. Another took its position.
With a blank expression, Lucian raised his katana, ready to strike again, when the Kuroko froze. They stopped; their movements halted, their bodies rigid and their eyes unblinking.
"Why did they stop? They shouldn't be like that," Cortana said, her voice a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. "You're about to tire out." Deep down, she was worried; she knew that changes, especially sudden and unexpected ones aren't always good.
Lucian didn't answer. He had no time for speculation, no time to ponder the strange turn of events.
He needed to get to the children. He needed to make sure they were safe.
He moved with newfound urgency; this was his chance. His steps became longer, his pace faster.
He had to use the momentary pause to his advantage. He slashed through the air, his katana cutting a clean line through the immobile Kuroko, slicing their heads off one by one.
He broke free from their encirclement, his eyes fixed on the direction of the children. He glanced back at the Kuroko, noting their motionless forms.
His brow furrowed before he shook his head. He didn't have time to figure out why they had stopped. He needed to reach the children first.
'I don't have time to wonder why they stopped,' he said to Cortana in his mind, as his focus remained solely on reaching his destination. He ran toward the kids' location.
Cortana's mind raced before she nodded. "I know," she said, her voice filled with urgency.
She began analyzing the situation, her knowledge of the Kuroko and the Najin fueling her analysis.
There had to be a reason for this sudden change.
•-----•-----•-----•-----•
While Lucian was fighting and killing the Kuroko, the children, having fled the forest clearing, came to a halt.
The older children stopped, forming a protective circle around the younger ones, their bodies tense and their senses on high alert as they felt a presence a threat approaching them.
"What do we do now?" a child about the same age as Violet and Garrett whispered, his voice laced with anxiety.
Violet scanned the forest, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow. Her gaze searched for the source of the growing danger before she saw ninjas rushing toward them.
She bit her lip, her mind racing, trying to come up with a plan.
"Do you think he's dead?" Garrett whispered, his voice barely audible and his eyes wide with fear, fixed on the rapidly approaching Kuroko.
"No, maybe there are just too many of them," Violet replied, though the uncertainty in her voice was evident.
"Or maybe he already left on his own. We weren't close to begin with," another older child said, his words laced with bitterness a harsh reminder of their precarious situation.
Some of the other children heard him. They frowned, their faces a mix of confusion and anger.
Violet glared at the speaker, her voice filled with fierce defiance. "Yeah, and he should just have left us in the orphanage to escape while we took the bullet!" she snapped. Her anger was justified, Lucian was the only reason they had escaped and even remained alive.
She took a step forward, her eyes blazing with fierce determination. "Those who want to go can take the younger kids," she declared, her voice ringing with newfound authority. "Those who want to fight, we'll buy time." She bit her lip, hoping that some of them would stay.
Garrett stepped forward, his hand gripping Violet's arm. He smiled, a mixture of innocence and courage shining through.
Violet shook her head but couldn't help smiling back.
It was a smile that spoke volumes one that acknowledged the bravery, the sacrifice, and the bond they shared.
The older children looked at each other, their faces a mixture of fear and determination. They had no weapons, no real experience with killing, they only had training and their raw courage.
"We stay together; we can fight," one of the older children shouted, his voice brimming with unexpected boldness. "We can defeat them, take their weapons!" This made the other older children look at him.
He scratched his head, his words a sudden burst of courage. "Am I wrong?"
They all shook their heads. They were in this together. They would stand their ground. Some of them knelt, their faces etched with concern and their eyes filled with warmth as they comforted the younger children who couldn't fight.
"You need to go by yourselves this time, okay?" an older girl said, caressing the head of a little girl.
"I don't want to," the little girl replied, her voice filled with a mix of fear and pleading. "Can't I just stay with you?" She had experienced the harsh realities of Ozunu training at a young age. She knew the danger when she saw it.
The older girl shook her head, but her smile was bright. "No, you can't, but they'll come with you," she said, pointing to the other younger children.
The little girl, tears welling in her eyes, bit her trembling lips. She knew they were right.
"Go," the older girl whispered, rising and turning to take a fighting stance at Violet's side, her fist raised and ready to face the approaching threat.
"Name?" Violet asked, her voice a soft murmur.
"Julianne," the girl replied with a smile, a fragile yet hopeful expression forming on her lips.
Violet smiled back, a silent acknowledgment of their bond and a shared sense of purpose.
The other older children followed Julianne's example, saying goodbye to the younger children, their voices filled with a mixture of sadness and determination.
One by one, they formed a line, their fists raised and ready to fight. They began sharing their real names, solidifying their bonds.
The younger children, with wide eyes filled with tears, looked at the backs of their older protectors almost siblings in their makeshift clan hearts heavy with a mix of fear and gratitude.
They held hands, their small figures a stark contrast against the looming shadows of the forest as they started running. Their footsteps echoed through the trees a new beginning on their journey toward safety.
Just as they were about to disappear into the dense trees, they heard a rush of footsteps in front of them.
The sound was a symphony of movement unstoppable and unyielding and before they could catch a glimpse of the two figures cloaked in shadows, the two figures surged past the young kids.
When the older children turned, their faces were a mix of fear and surprise.
They saw two women, their faces concealed by masks, their eyes glowing with purple and red light as the two women jumped upward, landing in front of them to face the Kuroko.
Noshiko pulled out her katana from her back, the blade gleaming in the dim light as she waved it to her side.
Meanwhile, Satomi Ito drew the daggers at her waist, her weapons having transformed from simple spikes of the past to deadly implements gleaming with a sinister edge a testament to the changes she had undergone over the passing years.
"No one said there would be another ninja clan," Noshiko said, her voice a low murmur, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Deal with them first," Satomi Ito murmured, her voice a soft hiss. "Protect the children before finding Lucian." Her focus remained on the approaching Kuroko, while her mind wandered to the Ozunu Clan's children, pondering their surprising determination something no normal child should possess.
'Is this why the Arashikage Clan wanted to keep the orphans of the Ozunu Clan?' she thought, a profound sense of awe sweeping over her. 'If they didn't grow up as killers, they would surely become great people in the future,' she mused, and her resolve to protect the children was strengthened.
As Noshiko and Satomi charged toward the Kuroko, Satomi parried a curved weapon while dodging another attack.
Though her fighting skill matched that of the Kuroko, her superior physique allowed her to evade their strikes with precision. When she ducked, she waved her daggers, extending her wrist to slash through the air, severing tendons and nerves in their arms and waists.
She didn't want to kill unless absolutely necessary, but something made her frown.
These ninjas were different; they fought relentlessly. Even with grievous wounds, they didn't seem to care about their own survival; they were driven by a single, relentless purpose.
"Noshiko," Satomi called out, her voice tight with worry. She had to warn her friend.
Noshiko nodded, her eyes narrowing as she focused on a Kuroko that had lost a hand and a leg but was still crawling toward the children.
The bodies of other Kuroko littered the ground around them, limbs and heads severed. Unlike Satomi, Noshiko held nothing back.
Her superior weapon mastery and physique quickly revealed the Kurokos' abnormality.
They ignored the bodies of their comrades the decapitated heads and severed limbs that were strewn across the earth.
Noshiko moved with swift, almost silent grace, waving her katana with rapid speed, separating the head from a Kuroko's body.
She then turned to Satomi.
"Looks like even fatal wounds aren't enough," Satomi said, her voice a low growl, her expression grim.
She sliced through the air again, her daggers cutting into a Kuroko's throat, creating a fountain of blood, but it was no use.
The creature continued to assault, its mangled hand still gripping its weapon.
"Cut off its head completely, or maybe try attacking its heart," Noshiko suggested, her voice tinged with grim amusement. She knew Satomi, a devout Buddhist, was now resorting to far more brutal tactics than she typically employed.
Noshiko rushed forward, taking down another Kuroko as she continued to reap their lives one after another.
Satomi sighed, her red eyes sharpening with a predatory intensity.
She dodged another attack and, with a precise, deadly strike, sliced through the Kuroko's nape, creating a gaping wound.
Then she kicked its head, separating it from the body. The Kuroko's severed head rolled along the ground, scattering blood in its wake.
Noshiko raised an eyebrow at Satomi's display. "For a Buddhist, you're more ruthless than I thought," she said, amusement dancing in her tone as a smirk appeared on her lips.
"You know I didn't have a choice," Satomi replied, her expression grave. She understood her actions were brutal, but her daggers were never intended for decapitation.
Noshiko laughed, her laughter echoing through the forest. "I know," she said, her gaze fixed on the approaching Kuroko. She began slicing off their hands, her movements growing faster as she dispatched them swiftly.
Satomi shook her head, releasing a sigh as she examined her daggers. 'Looks like I need to change my weapons again,' she thought. Her daggers, designed for incapacitating enemies, weren't meant for killing, which made her actions deceptively cruel.
She looked up to see the children staring at the ground, their faces pale with horror. They took a deep breath, their cheeks puffing out as they gulped. Satomi followed their gaze and saw a Kuroko's severed head rolling toward the children.
When the children looked up, their eyes met Satomi's.
"Sorry," Satomi whispered, her voice laced with regret, aware of how brutal her actions had appeared from their perspective. She knew she couldn't undo what she had done.
"Okay, focus! More ninjas are coming!" Noshiko called, drawing Satomi's attention. Noshiko had already eliminated the nearby Kuroko and was observing more approaching from a distance.
Noshiko's purple eyes glowed with intensity as she focused on the incoming threat.
The katana in her hand, its hilt wrapped in black fabric and its blade sparkling with purple lightning, signaled that she was ready to fight.
Just as they were about to charge, they saw a red figure rushing toward the Kuroko from behind.
He hurled a kusarigama, its chain whipping through the air with deadly precision.
He then drew his katana, the blade gleaming in the dim light, and began to kill. The Kuroko, caught off guard, fell before him.
Noshiko and Satomi exchanged looks, their expressions a blend of surprise and curiosity as they watched the figure of a young boy whose clothes were stained with blood, even his face smeared with the blood of those he had killed.
Noshiko turned her gaze to the children, who were staring at Satomi, their faces pale.
"Do you guys have another companion?" she asked, her voice tinged with amusement.
The children's eyes widened in surprise as they exchanged nervous glances, ultimately deciding to remain silent.
"I admire your loyalty, kids," Noshiko said softly. She was impressed by their courage. "But there's a kid covered in blood rushing over here, killing these kinds of ninjas," she remarked, gesturing toward the still-warm corpses.
Then Noshiko scrutinized their expressions.
"So, do you know who it is? Otherwise, I'll have to consider him an enemy," she said, turning her head toward Lucian, who was efficiently dispatching the Kurokos as they approached.
"It's Lucian," Violet whispered, her gaze focused on the battlefield. She took a quick glance at Satomi's red eyes, recognizing the signs of an alpha werewolf. 'Werewolf,' she thought, feeling a complex mix of emotions swirl within her. She despised werewolves, but they were the ones who had saved them.
Noshiko and Satomi exchanged surprised and confused glances.
"Isn't he supposed to be nine?" Satomi asked quietly, her voice tinged with sadness.
Her red eyes reflected the grim reality of the situation.
What she saw was not a strong warrior but a child who had been forced to kill to survive.
"Looks like he didn't need any help," Noshiko said, her surprise melting into a frown. While she was impressed by Lucian's skills, she was also concerned about what he had become.
The person they were originally looking for the one they needed to find had turned into a killer.
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Next Chapter 41: Ozunu Part 2
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Marishadoww
Marishadoww Marishadow:
Hello Guys! just telling if you like my story Subscribe on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n on:
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To Support me and get access to advanced chapters. Get ahead up to 20 chapters.
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~ 10 advanced chapters $10 ~
~ 20 advanced chapters $20 ~
Every member helps me creating and sharing more with you all.
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