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Japan, Ozunu Orphanage
Lucian approached the door, his footsteps were heavy with the weight of his failure. He sighed, a deep, weary sigh that seemed to echo the emptiness he felt inside.
From the other side, Ozunu's voice boomed, expecting his arrival. "Come in."
Lucian pushed open the door, his face a mask of stoic indifference.
He walked into the room, his gaze fixed on the floor, and bowed before his master.
"Lord Ozunu."
Ozunu regarded him with a stoic expression, his eyes narrowed in judgment. a flicker of disappointment crossed his features, a silent confirmation of Lucian's failure.
'Looks like he failed miserably,' Ozunu thought, his mind already dissecting the botched mission, a test designed to gauge Lucian's leadership and decision-making skills.
The mission had been intentionally riddled with false information, meant to challenge his young apprentice.
"The others?" Ozunu's voice was low, a rumble that carried the weight of expectation and condemnation.
Lucian didn't hesitate. He answered, as he knows he couldn't hide his failure.
"Dead, Lord Ozunu."
"How?" Ozunu's voice was sharp, demanding an explanation.
"We didn't know the hotel was occupied by monsters and supernatural creatures. It was my fault." Lucian confessed, his tone devoid of any emotion.
Ozunu's eyes widened slightly in surprise. 'He shouldn't have had to go into the hotel,' he thought. 'And Hotel De Luna, before, only guests should have been ghosts.' Ozunu's mind raced, piecing together the events. He hadn't expected the presence of such powerful entities within the hotel.
He'd underestimated the danger. he hadn't fully considered the consequences of placing Lucian in such a precarious position.
"How did you get out alive?" Ozunu asked, his voice sharp with suspicion. He didn't trust those who abandoned their comrades, those who chose survival over loyalty.
Lucian stood tall, his gaze unwavering.
"I killed my way out." he said, his voice flat and emotionless, a chilling reminder of his ruthlessness.
Ozunu's eyes flickered with a strange mix of disappointment and excitement. 'If he killed his way out, that means many supernatural creatures saw him, and they will fear the Ozunu clan. They shall know that the Ozunu are the strongest ninja clan,' he thought, a flicker of pride igniting within him.
He felt a thrill at the prospect of the Ozunu clan's reputation reaching new heights, even if it was through fear and intimidation.
'It means the one goal is accomplished. Now the proper heir should be picked,' Ozunu thought. He had a plan, a vision for the future of the Ozunu clan. He saw a path, a way to ensure their survival and their dominance.
He remained silent for a moment, his mind swirling with thoughts and strategies.
"Why did you enter the hotel when you could have killed the target outside?" Ozunu questioned, his voice laced with a hint of reproach.
He'd expected more from Lucian, more discipline more strategic thinking. 'He's a genius and the perfect ninja, but it looks like he'll still just be a kid,' he thought. 'But there is still plenty of time to train him into the perfect heir.'
"It's my fault. I was overconfident." Lucian admitted, bowing deeper, his words devoid of remorse.
He knew he had been foolish, blinded by his arrogance. He'd assumed the hotel was only a safe haven for ghosts, a place where they could operate without fear.
"It's not your fault. Who would know that Hotel De Luna would be a version of Hotel Transylvania in this world?" Cortana whispered in his mind, offering a comforting thought.
"But it doesn't change that I failed," Lucian thought, his gaze fixed on the floor. He knew he would be punished, and he accepted his fate without complaint.
Ozunu shook his head, his disappointment evident.
"Go, rest. You will be punished later after your brothers and sisters return." Ozunu declared, closing his eyes as he dismissed Lucian.
"Yes, Lord Ozunu." Lucian said, his voice monotone, as he turned and walked away.
'Takeshi and the others left for a mission without me' he thought, his mind replaying the events of the past few months.
He was alway been included in any missions for the last six months.
'Maybe it's an urgent mission,' Cortana whispered in his mind, trying to offer a sliver of reassurance.
Lucian frowned, his brow furrowing as he closed the sliding door behind him.
He couldn't shake the feeling of being left behind of he had overlooked something.
His mind raced with questions, trying to piece together the details of the mission the others had been sent on.
He slowly reached into his clothes, his fingers brushing against the smooth surface of the chocolate wrapper.
It felt like a comforting talisman, a small piece of normalcy in a world that was increasingly chaotic and demanding.
He unwrapped it, savoring the familiar aroma of sweet chocolate, a fleeting indulgence before the inevitable punishment.
Just as he was about to take a bite, a child's voice stopped him.
"Are you okay?"
Lucian turned, his eyes meeting Violet's, her gaze filled with concern. Garrett stood beside her, a similar worry etched on his face.
"I'm fine." Lucian said, his voice flat and emotionless. 'Are these guys worried about me when they hate me?' he thought in his mind cynically.
He knew that Violet and Garrett were different from the other kids with their more human sensibilities, harboring a mixture of envy and disdain for his strength and his ability to navigate the brutal world of the ninja clan without a single shred of emotion.
Violet, however, saw beyond his hardened exterior. She saw a flicker of vulnerability beneath the icy facade.
She knew he was different, that his senses were sharper, his instincts keener, his strength unmatched. But she also knew that even he, the seemingly invincible, could be brought low by failure and loss as they saw him going back alone knowing his team was dead.
She looked at his face, so pale and devoid of emotion a stark contrast to the vibrant energy that had once radiated from him when they first got here. 'I envied his strength and him going on missions, but he shouldn't be like this,' she thought. She remembered a time when he wasn't a numb killer, a time when he was just a boy, vulnerable and full of life.
She lowered her head, a wave of unease washing over her. 'Will I be like him if I start killing as well?' She knew that the path of a ninja was a dangerous one, a path where she would inevitably face situations that would test her humanity but she wasn't ready to become like Lucian, a cold-hearted shell of a person.
She and Garrett, despite their orphan status, had a bond a sense of family that ran deeper than the clan they were forced to live in.
They were bound by a shared past, a shared pain, and a shared dream of finding a place where they truly belonged and revenge to those who killed their family.
'I won't be like him, Garrett won't be like him,' she thought, shaking her head, determined to keep a part of herself, a part of her humanity, untouched by the darkness that threatened to engulf them.
She raised her head, her gaze locking with Lucian's.
He looked at her with a hint of curiosity, his expression unreadable.
'No, he shouldn't be like that as well, as he's supposed to be younger than us,' she thought, her voice a quiet whisper in her mind. She knew that even though he had been going to assassination missions, he was still a child, a boy who had been thrust into a world of violence and death.
Lucian, seeing that Violet remained silent, assumed she had nothing more to say. He turned to Garrett, but he noticed that Garrett wasn't looking at him.
He was gazing down at his hands, his brow furrowed in concern. He slowly lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the chocolate in his hand.
Lucian's hand instinctively moves the chocolate, a glimmer of mischievousness flickering in his eyes.
He looked at Garrett, who was following the movement of his hand.
"Tsk." he clicked his tongue, a sound that carried a mix of frustration and amusement.
He paused, wrapping the chocolate again, and tossed it at Garrett.
Garrett caught the chocolate in surprise, his eyes widening as he looked at Lucian, who was already turning away.
"Share it between you two." Lucian said, his voice devoid of warmth, as he walked towards his room.
"Thank you." Garrett said, his voice filled with a mix of relief and gratitude, as he unwrapped the chocolate quickly. He was about to bite into it when he noticed Violet looking at him.
Garrett sheepishly smiled and broke the chocolate in two, handing one piece to Violet.
Violet shook her head but took the chocolate, her gaze fixed on Lucian's retreating figure.
"Thank you." Violet whispered her voice barely audible. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Lucian, despite his cold exterior. She knew he was a good kid.
What Violet didn't know, as she watched Lucian disappear into his room, was the whispered confession that escaped his lips.
"And now, I regret coming back." he muttered, a sense of sadness settling over him.
Cortana materialized in front of him, her eyes widening at his words. She couldn't help but smile at his melodramatic tone.
"That's just a chocolate." she teased, knowing he was exaggerating.
Lucian didn't respond, simply sitting down to the floor and crossing his legs. He closed his eyes, a slow smirk playing at the corner of his lips.
Cortana rolled her eyes, her amusement outweighing her concern. She knew better than to take his brooding too seriously.
Turning her attention to the other ninjas mission, she tried to guess their target.
"Do you think their mission is about Raizo?" she asked hopefully, hoping for a chance to finally leave this oppressive place.
Lucian paused, his eyes still closed as he focused on healing his wounds. 'Possibly,' he answered mentally, his voice a low murmur within their shared consciousness.
He knew he needed to prepare. If the mission was indeed connected to Raizo, it would be his final battle as a ninja.
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Next Chapter 34: Raizo
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