Enter The Ninjaverse

CHAPTER 74

Lulloyd and Over stood a few feet from Oni. The one warrior they had barely seen before, yet seen the power he held, was simply carving. The dull, growing blue light of the morning was starting to reach across the waves. The dull water around him almost made it hard to distinguish Oni from the water at which the end of the canal he sat on. The glow of the Slow Blade sat beside him. A small gust of wind caused several of the shavings of his carving to be blown up and towards Lulloyd and Over.

Then, Oni stood up. The two immediately tensed, readying to attack. Oni reached down, taking hold of the Slow Blade in one hand, and his carving in the other. He kept his back to them for a few moments, his face hidden from them.

"Greetings, Lulloyd, Over," Oni spoke up, "I knew that some of you would come. The two of you in particular, I did not expect. But I suppose it does not matter. You are after this thing, yes?" Oni held the blade up.

"Yes," Over frowned, "Will you keep it from us?"

Oni said nothing. The being turned around, facing them. Once more, Lulloyd caught a look into those eyes. Those eyes that were so dull, so lacking in feeling, he swore they were almost dead. Oni made no moves, almost like he was a statue, staring at them. Lulloyd felt the urge to draw his sword growing further and further inside of him.

Then, Oni reared his arm back and tossed the Slow Blade at them. Lulloyd, stunned, leapt into the air on instinct and caught it. As shock and confusion filled him, he looked up to Oni by rotating his hips. Oni simply turned around, sitting back down and going back to his carving.

"I have no urge to fight you," Oni declared, "Take it. I do not have need of it."

Lulloyd looked down at the blade in confusion. He could feel that it was the real thing. Not just the sensation of it being as heavy and weighty as the others, but that it was pulsing with power. Power that was as easy to use as just thinking as what he wanted to do. Over looked over at him, eying him for a moment. Lulloyd blinked to indicate it was genuine.

"Why?" Over frowned, "Why would you not fight us?"

Oni didn't respond for a long while. He just went about his carving. He carved small pieces off, flakes that they couldn't even see. Then, when he had finished working on the unpainted eye, he pulled out a vial of paint from his hip and slowly poured it over. Taking the tip of the chisel, he guided the paint along until the green swirl for the eye was completely, a perfect mirror of the other side. Lulloyd was almost transfixed by it, unsure why but enamored with it. It wasn't until he looked around to see another ship was coming into the port that he realized how much time had passed watching it. Over had just waited, a neutral expression on his face.

"Do not misunderstand my actions, I will fight you when the time comes, but not now," Oni informed them, "I am working to replace the mask that you broke during our first encounter, and the one Monty stole from me."

"Oh really now?" Over quirked an eyebrow up. Lulloyd gave another blink to tell him it was true.

"Yes," Oni shook his head, "The masks of the Oni are ones of great power. But they require time. I have worked on this one the longest. It will be ready soon. But until then, I wish to have my time to carve. This place here, close to the ocean, it calms me. It is unlike the loud noises of the city."

"If that is your conviction," Over narrowed his eyes, "Then what is your purpose in fighting us, if you will not even question why we want this?"

"Because it is not apart of the balance that I am here to fix," Oni responded, "If your plan would throw it apart, then perhaps I will act. But now, I have no reason to."