"How bold of you, Kagero..." said Kazutaka, brandishing his katana. "To come here making such demands. I will make you pay for what you did to my family!"
"Ah yes, the daimyo-kun and the other royals… such a boring lot." Kagero yawned. "However, that wife of his… N–Natsuhi, yes!" he said, making a gesture gripping her breasts and smiled. "What fun she was."
Iaijutsu! Kazutaka struck a swift attack.
"Not so fast now, are we," said Kagero, blocking the blade with his staff.
☯
Meanwhile, Natsumi had been scouting for enemies from the cover of a flat roof. She saw one of the four assassins and shot an arrow at his shoulder. In response, the man, tossed a kunai at her but she saw it coming and evaded the attack. Afterwards, she fired a continuous stream of arrows, forcing him to seek cover in the adjoining buildings. Where is he?
Minutes later, she felt the cold edge of a katana on her neck and. Shit!
"If you tell me where Kazuo Inazuma is, I might spare your life."
Natsumi's heart raced and she took a deep breath, placing her bow on the ground. "Alright," she said, raising both hands in the air. "I'll tell you." She knelt on one knee and from her peripheral, she saw the katana shaking.
"Huh," said the assassin when their eyes met on the blade's reflection.
Natsumi reacted fast and ducked. The sword had cut through her hair and it was replaceable. When the blade passed her, she spun around and drew a tantō (dagger) from the waist. In a swift motion, she drove the short blade into the assassin's gut.
The man grunted. As a last resort, he swung once more but she blocked him and sliced through his throat. Blood splattered as he fell down with a hand on his neck.
Natsumi glanced at a bloody trail on the rooftop. "You should've killed me when you had the chance," she said, staring at the light in his eyes fade. She wiped the tantō with the corpse's uniform and grabbed her bow before leaving the scene.
As the kunoichi jumped over clay rooftops, she came to an abrupt stop when she saw another assassin standing next to a corpse on the ground below. Upon closer inspection, Natsumi noticed that the body was her comrade. Oh, no... She thought, aghast. Not Ichika! Veins formed on her temples as she clenched her teeth. Rage.
☯
Several minutes had passed during the battle at the school yard. The Sage and his protégé stood ground as they fought against the Shadows King and his heir.
Overwhelmed by Kazutaka's advances, Kagero had resorted to dual wielding. However, Kagemaru stuck to using taijutsu to defend against Asuka's attacks. Feeling disrespected by this gesture, the kunoichi fought even harder. "I see you're still holding back," she said, smiling. "Won't you show me that projection of yours?"
"I won't be needing it," said Kagemaru, raising his fist. "This is enough."
"I see... then I'll make you bring it out." Asuka's smile disappeared and she wore a straight face. With one hand, she made the Prithvi mudra and repeated the mantra. Lam, I am grounded. I am empty...
"You're familiar with majutsu? This will be int–" Kagemaru saw clenched fist flying towards him. Kuso! He veered aside and the steel dusters missed his face by a hair's length. That was cl–
Asuka did not give him a break. She followed the initial strike with a barrage of rapid punches and kicks. The Shadow Prince dodged most of her attacks and when he tried blocking one, her punch pushed him a few metres away.
Seeing the Lightning kunoichi advance once more, Kagemaru made the Prana mudra. In an instant, a black spear materialized from his shadow. The heavy blows resumed and after a few exchanges, his weapon broke in two. "Mushin (mind without mind), huh?" he said, smiling as he jumped backwards. He glanced at her knuckle dusters and continued. "Earth conduction too. Fine then, I'll show you the difference in our abilities."
A calm, red-orange aura surrounded Kagemaru as he made the Prana mudra. He brought the broken tips of his weapon together and they wove into a black fluid. Once repaired, he spun the shadow spear and tossed it. Suishin!
Asuka leapt away and dodged the weapon. As she ran, she looked back and saw it following her at high speed. She darted to a tree and jumped into some bushes next to it. That could've been me, she gulped, seeing the impaled trunk.
Kagemaru's spear got stuck inside the trunk for a few seconds and he summoned it. "You can't hide there forever," he said, approaching her at a steady pace.
Meanwhile, Kazutaka turned his gaze to the other fight. I must end this quick.
"I am you opponent!" Kagero swung his weapons at Kazutaka and the latter blocked with both hands on Kajin. "If you keep staring at them, you'll lose an arm..."
Kagero kept advancing as Kazutaka took on the defensive. The heated, one sided battle continued until Kazutaka jumped backwards, creating distance between them.
"Surely you're better than that, Taka-kun?" said Kagero, pointing at the katana with one of his rods. "You disgrace Kazuro's legacy by wielding Kajin. I thought you would have awoken it by now."
"You shall not mention his name in vain!" said Kazutaka, his face turning red. He brandished his sword and glared at Kagero. "Lest you wish to lose your tongue!"
"Hah, now we're talking bring it all out… that Inazuma rage!"
Kazutaka inhaled and pressed a thumb on his palm–making the Agni (Sanskrit: Fire) mudra. "Kajin: Shōkyaku (Kajin: Incineration)!" he said, clenching his teeth. As he exhaled, the blade crackled ablaze with a gentle, orange-yellow flame.