When the group arrived at the receptionist's office, they were greeted by a muscular woman who was clearly the receptionist. She had a commanding presence and a loud, confident voice. "Welcome, Warriors, and greetings master Hibiki" she said in a booming voice. "I have your mission here and ready for you to undertake. Are you ready to hear the details?"
"Yeah, let's have it And try not make sound so easy" Hibiki said, with a grin on his face.
"All right then, let's get down to business," Toma said, clearly amused by Hibiki's antics. "I hope this mission won't seem too easy for you. After all, you wouldn't want to disappoint your fellow Warriors."
Hibiki's comment drew a skeptical look from Kai and the others who clearly thought Hibiki was getting ahead of himself.
"Alright, here's how it goes," the receptionist continued. "The mission is a little challenging, but I am sure you and your Warriors are up to the task. The mission is to protect the people of the northern forest region from a band of marauders who have been terrorizing the area. The villagers are desperate for help, and they need your expertise.
The marauders have been raiding the farms in the area, stealing food and supplies. The villagers are afraid, and they have called upon our help. Can you bring peace and safety to the village?"
"Yeah, of course, Toma," Hibiki replied, trying to sound more serious this time. "We'll do whatever it takes to help the villagers and stop the marauders."
Toma smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked! The reward for completing this mission will be a treasure chest full of gold and silver coins, and a gift from the village elders – a special sword made from the finest steel in all of Wushu Guan. The sword is said to have magical properties and is rumored to be able to cut through any-."
"Heck yeah!" Meili exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "We won't let you down, Toma!"
"-Is what I would have said if we actually gave out rewards to beginners like you, Toma Continued, I was just kidding, you get nothing."
"What!! Is that true Si-Fu Hibiki, we actually get nothing " Meili turned to Hibiki her face full of disappointment.
"Calm down, Meili," Hibiki said, "I'm sure Toma was just pulling our leg. Right, Toma?" he asked, turning to the receptionist with a hopeful look on his face.
But Toma's expression was unreadable, her face a mask of neutrality. "I'm afraid Hibiki is mistaken. You will not be receiving any reward, rewards don't go to Rookies. This mission is originally for master Hibiki and I was ordered to prepare a 'not to complex' mission for you guys to partake in.
Tch!
Kai remained unfazed, while Fuse just watched as things were going.
As they journeyed, the landscape around them changed. The lush green fields and rolling hills gave way to rocky outcroppings and tall, jagged cliffs. As they drew closer to the village, the air grew thick with the smell of smoke and ash. They could see a plume of black smoke rising from the direction of the village, and their hearts sank. "Something's wrong," Hibiki said, his voice grim. "We need to hurry."
The Warriors quickened their pace, and soon they were within sight of the village. The once-thriving settlement was now in ruins, the buildings reduced to charred husks and the streets filled with rubble. But what shocked them most was the sight of the villagers - men, women and children - lying on the ground, their bodies covered in burns and wounds. "What could have done this?" Meili asked, her voice trembling. "Was it the marauders?"
"I don't think so," Hibiki said, his eyes scanning the scene. "These wounds don't look like they were caused by weapons. And there's something else..."
Then they heard it - a low, rumbling growl, coming from somewhere deep within the ruins. The growl grew louder and louder, and then, from the shadows, a massive, hulking creature emerged. It stood at least ten feet tall, its body covered in thick, dark fur. Its eyes glowed red, and its claws were as long as swords. "What is that thing?" Fuse asked, his voice quivering.
"I think it's a shadow beast," Hibiki said, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "A creature of darkness, born of hate and anger. And it's heading straight for the village."
"We have to stop it!" Meili cried, her hands fidgeting
"This mission has taken up a real severe level, I want you guys to take cover now" Hibiki ordered.
"But we can hel-", Meili replied but was cut shut.
"No, I'm not sure guys are ready for this sort of thing and beside you don't have to worry. This beast won't cause no more harm with me here" Hibiki said, with confidence in his tone. "Don't worry you guys, Hibiki here will protect ya"
The others hesitated, but finally they did as Hibiki asked, taking cover behind a crumbling wall. As the shadow beast drew closer, Hibiki stood his ground, his hands balled into fists. "I won't let you harm anymore of these people !" he shouted.
The shadow beast let out a roar and charged at Hibiki, claws outstretched. Hibiki dodged the attack, and then struck out with a powerful kick, sending the beast reeling back. But the shadow beast was quick to recover, and it lunged again, its teeth bared. Hibiki stood his ground then he brought out his favorite weapon the Twin Sai, ready to fight. "Bring it on!", using his two fingers to tell the beast to approach.
With his Sai in hand, Hibiki was a force to be reckoned with. He was fast, agile, and deadly accurate. And now, with the lives of the villagers at stake, he was ready to unleash his full power. "Shuriken sword style!" he shouted, flinging his twin Sai towards with great accuracy as the shadow beast came charging again.
This time, Hibiki was ready. He whirled around, his Sai flashing in the sunlight, and struck the beast in the chest. The creature let out a howl of pain and stumbled back, clutching at its wound.
Hibiki pressed his advantage, darting in and striking again and again. The shadow beast stumbled back, bleeding from multiple wounds. But it wasn't giving up, and it lashed out with its claws, catching Hibiki off guard. Hibiki was knocked to the ground seemingly intentionally, his Sai flying from his hand. "No!" he cried, scrambling to get back to his feet. But the shadow beast was already upon him, its claws raised to strike the fatal blow.
Just then, there was a flash of movement, and a blur of color as Meili leapt from her hiding place, her katana drawn. She struck theshadow beast with all her strength, slicing cleanly through its chest. The beast let out a final howl of agony and then collapsed, its body dissolving into black mist. Hibiki stared in shock, as Meili stood over the remains of the beast, her katana still raised. "I couldn't just sit there and watch," she said, her voice shaking. "I had to do something."
Hibiki nodded, understanding. "You did the right thing, Meili," he said, his voice soft. "You pretty much saved me, haha." Letting out a little laugh. Fuse emerged from her hiding places looking relieved, but Kai was nowhere to be seen at the moment.
"Umm, Meili where did you get that kitana. We weren't supposed to carry weapons like that!" Fuse asked, seemingly surprised
"Oh uh, I got it from the weapon area in the Si-Fu residents. I just felt a right moment like this would turn up for me to use it y'know." Meili replied
As Hibiki watched Meili, he couldn't help but smile. He had noticed her trying to conceal the kitana earlier, and he had deliberately created an opportunity for her to use it. It was a risky move, but he had faith in her ability to handle herself in a fight. He could tell that she was both amazed and annoyed by his actions, but he knew that she would come to appreciate his decision in time. For now, he was just glad that she was safe and that the threat had been neutralized.
"By the way, where's Kai?" Hibiki asked, "wasn't he hiding with you Fuse"
"No, I didn't see where he was going before I went to take cover?" Fuse said
Then a voice broke out, "Quit your babbling, am here," It was kai.
"And where were you coming from?" Meili asked
"I led some of the surviving villagers away from the battle to a safe area," Kai said. "When I saw that you were handling things, I figured it was best to make sure they were out of harm's way."
"That was a really smart move, Kai," Hibiki said, impressed. "You saved their lives, nice work."
"Whatever, Just doing my part, Si-Fu," Kai replied. "What's Meili doing with a Kitana."
"I'm glad you asked Kai, Meili replied, confidence in her voice, "I used this to save Si-Fu Hibiki here"
"Huh, what's she talking about Si-Fu" Kai asked, surprised from what his hearing
"Oh, you didn't see?" Fuse replied, a sly grin on his face. "Meili here just saved Si-Fu Hibiki by taking out that shadow beast. She sliced it in half with that Kitana, like she was born to wield it. You should have seen it, it was awesome!"
Kai took a moment, then chose to remain unfazed, "Whatever!"
Huh
"He ignored me, he just likes acting cool. I'll just try harder to make him acknowledge me." Meili thought
But despite his stoic response, Meili could tell that deep down, Kai was impressed. After all, she had just taken out a powerful enemy, and she had done it with style. She couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself, even if she knew she had to work harder to earn her fellow Warriors' respect especially Kai. She would not let them down, not now, not ever.
"I think it's time we go see the elders of the village, we have to geta better understanding of the situation before we can formulate a plan," Hibiki said, turning to his fellow Warriors. "Are you all ready?"
"Yes, let's go," Kai said, determination in his voice.
With that, the group headed towards the center of the village, where the elders' residence was located. As they approached, they could see that the villagers were gathered in the square, whispering amongst themselves and casting worried glances in their direction. It was clear that they were all very afraid, and the Warriors knew that they had to do something to help them.
As the Warriors entered the elders' home, they were greeted by a group of elderly men and women, all dressed in simple red robes. One of the elders stepped forward and spoke, his voice shaky but stable.
"We are grateful for your help, Master Hibiki and you fellow young warriors. Our village has been under attack by a group of bandits for weeks now, and now a shadow beast appears out of nowhere, we are at our wit's end. The bandits have taken our food, our supplies, and even our people. We have no way to fight back, and we are desperate for your help."
Hibiki looked around at his fellow Warriors, Meili, seeing the determination in her eyes. Meili turned out to the elder and spoke, her voice clear and strong.
"We accept your request for help, elder. We will do everything in our power to defend your village and bring the bandits to justice. We will not rest until the people of northern forest region are safe."
That attracted a skeptical look from kai, and surprised but seemingly impressed look from Hibiki.
The elder's face lit up, and he bowed low to the Warriors. "Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. We will provide you with whatever assistance we can, and we will pray for your success."
With that, the Warriors set out
"Let's make a plan on the way, we don't have a moment to waste," Hibiki told his fellow Warriors. "This started out as a simple mission to take out some bandits, but the appearance of that shadow beast has made things a lot more complicated. This is going to be rather interesting." Hibiki's thoughts were racing as he tried to figure out the best way to approach this challenge.