Ninja Love: Saizo Kirigakure

Chapter 19

Clad in my new clothes, I was led out of the little shop and back into the hallway by the servant girl. I kept looking around for Saizo, but he was nowhere to be seen. Instead of leading me back towards the center of the temple, I was directed to walk down the hall four doors, and enter the one on the right. I looked at her curiously.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

She chuckled, almost inaudibly. “No. I am not allowed any closer to the end of this hall. It is reserved for officials and dignitaries only. Now go, princess. They’ll be expecting you.” She turned to walk back the way we came.

“Wait! At least tell me your name.” I called out, having a sudden and inexplicable desire to know the name of this servant girl that spoke like an elder, though she was younger than me.

She turned slightly, still not completely facing me. “Chiyo.” And she was gone.

Left alone in the hallway, I followed Chiyo’s directions and wandered down the hallway, stopping at the fourth door on the right. Not knowing what came next, I knocked.

“Nyūryoku suru.” I instantly recognized Hanzo’s voice and slid the door open, stepping into a dimly lit room.

Peering through the shadows, I noticed that this room was significantly larger than the clothing shop. It had no windows, and only a few lanterns, explaining the terrible lighting. Along the walls were rack upon racks of weapons, most of which I couldn’t identify. The far wall housed weapons that bore the appearance of clubs, maces, and bludgeons. The wall immediately to my right glimmered with the metal of katanas, kunai, Sais, shuriken, and throwing knives. To my left were weapons such as nun chucks, bō staffs, and an assortment of other wooden weapons. It was a little intimidating, being in a room that could cause so much death, but I was requested, and so here I was.

I stepped in a little farther, and the lighting was not so terrible as to prevent me from distinguishing five figures in the room. I automatically assumed that they were, Hanzo, Saizo, and the three elders, and I found myself to be correct as I came to a stop in front of them, about in the center of the spacious area.

“Princess Kusonoki, savior of the ninja, today officially marks the beginning of your journey on the Path of the Ninja. You will be trained to be a skilled kunoichi in all of the weapons you see here today, but you must choose one in which to excel in. Feel free to look around for a while. Test how the weapon feels in your hands. When you find the weapon right for you, you will surely know.” Elder Arashi gave a small bow and spread his hands out in encouragement for me to look around.

I didn’t even bother with the wall filled with clubs. For some reason, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of beating someone to death. I mean, I could barely even kill anyone at all, let alone in the most brutal way possible.

Stepping to the left wall, I ran my hands over a particularly attractive bō staff. It looked like it was made of mahogany, and it fit nicely in my hand. It was a little taller than me however, and I didn’t quite feel like it was what I would want to defend myself with in the middle of a battle.

I continued down the wall a little more, but aside from a very cool set of nun chucks, nothing else caught my eye.

Keeping the staff and nun chucks in the back of my head, I crossed over to the right wall, surveying the shining scene before me. Not exactly wanting to touch anything, be it because they were too pristine, or so sharp it hurt to look at them, I walked slowly down the whole length of the room, finally stopping at a beautiful set of hand carved katanas. I gently lifted them and their sheaths off the shelf, examining them carefully.

Slipping a blade out of its scabbard, I marveled at the sleek form of the curved metal. It shone in the candlelight, catching a few rays and sending them bouncing off the walls in a delicate spray. They were a little longer than my arm, were identical in craftsmanship and appearance.  The sheaths were a sleek midnight black, matching the over kimono of my outfit. They had a red ribbon tied neatly around the tops, that could wither be tucked into the sheath or let free to float around in the wind.

The handles of the katanas were a thick wood, wrapped in the same kind of ribbon that the sheaths had around them. The silvery blades were light but sturdy, and they had an intricate engraving on each side of them both. Looking closer, I realized that the design was made up of the odd whorls from the cave!

Seeing my chance and seizing it, I turned to the elders and asked, “This design, what does it mean?”

Ryu was the one to speak first. “It is called the Akane no kuresuto. It used to be the signature of the ninja. Wherever they would go, you could find one of these markings nearby. Then it became a stealth issue, and was discarded as an old symbol of the past, even though it had only been in use for a couple decades. Legend has it that, as a ninja dies, he will be able to recall the patterns and be linked to the afterlife by Akane herself, for it was originally her family crest. When the ninja became her family, it became their crest as well.” I nodded, finally understanding that the markings in the cave signified the resting place of at least one ninja.

Going back to the two katanas, I slipped the straps over my shoulders so they crossed over my shoulders. Crossing my arms and grasping the handles, I pulled them out of the sheaths and almost squealed in glee. They were absolutely perfect. I stood, beaming in the candlelight with my swords in hand.

“This is my choice.” I said, smiling at the group before me. They each gave me an approving look, except for Saizo (of course).

“Congratulations, princess. But before we can move on, we need to add some final touches on your outfit.” Elder Amarante smiled mischievously. I arched an eyebrow, wondering what she could mean.

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A short perusal and a little bit of a struggle later, I was finally completely outfitted. Aside from the swords strapped to my back, I now had a stash of kunai in my boots, a few shuriken tucked under my arm guards, and a dagger strapped to my hip. The entire array was topped off with a little glass vial of a potent poison attached to a necklace around my neck.

Contrary to what I had first thought, I did not feel weighted down in the slightest. In fact, I felt very powerful. It was a bit of a foreign feeling, but a good one nonetheless.

I stood proudly before the smiling elders, very pleased with the way my outfit had turned out. I now truly looked like a warrior princess, and I was definitely ready to play the part.