Ninja Love: Saizo Kirigakure

Chapter 42

The fighting in the room was fast-paced and brutal. With such close quarters, Saizo's opponents had to be extra careful to not accidentally attack each other in their frenzied state. As per character, Saizo moved swiftly and serenely, displaying illusions of himself that vanished at the last moment and left their attackers to crash into each other.

As I watched from the wall, I admired the way Saizo held his composure. He seemed to move without cares or worries. In the close quarters, he deemed it too difficult to use the long-range kusarigama, so he held with sickle end of his weapon and slashed down enemies with ease. All the while, Oriku kept to the back of the room, slowly circling Saizo in an ever-tightening loop. As she passed each fighter with blood-lust in her eyes, they would stop and almost cower before her. She, on the other hand, hardly paid them any mind.

Gradually, the ring of warriors between her and Saizo thinned, until there was no one to keep them apart, save for the rings of bloodied bodies littering the floor. Oriku's eyes were trained on Saizo like he was her prey, and they never wavered from his face, even as she slowly stooped to the floor to pull a katana off of one of the dead Hachisuka.

"Alright Saizo, let's cut to the chase. We both know that you can cut down nearly everyone in this room without breaking a sweat, but I can guarantee you that you'll find a worthy opponent in me. But," she paused, dropping her voice from a guarded to a more sultry tone, "I can think of a way that we can avoid all this messiness and wasted energy."

Saizo arched his eyebrow at her, but stayed silent.

"The leader of our clan works for Nobunaga, as you well know. Ever since this war began, Nobunaga has been ranting and raving about how the ninja are threats to his power, and we should all be wiped out," some of the other ninja in the room looked down, while others shifted uncomfortably and Oriku continued, "It is only a matter of time before he turns on us, especially after all the... shortcomings we've experienced while in his service. However, if you let us take the Kusonoki princess without a fight, we'll all get out of this alive. My people and I live, having appeased Nobunaga, and you get to be relieved of your babysitting duties and do what you wish." Oriku looked intently at Saizo, who had an unreadable expression on his face, and an infinite silence stretched between them.

Now I was the one uncomfortable. Saizo would never hand me over like that, would he?

Finally, the scene in the room shifted. Saizo looked up, a gleam in his eye, and said through gritted teeth and a burning rage, "Over my dead body."

Oriku flew at him without warning, and her sword clashed with his sickle again and again. She jumped back from him as he took a swipe dangerously close to her heart and laughed in the most sickening tone I had ever heard, "It's a shame that I'll have to dispose of such talent!" and leaped back at him. The other ninja in the room had pressed themselves into the corners, giving as much space for the duel as possible. They knew better than to try to intervene or even help when such powerful forces were at each other's throats.

Metal connected with metal a few more times before Saizo managed to slip in his say: "Good thing I won't be dying any time soon!"

Resounding clashes rang through the courtyard and cool evening air for the next several minutes. Reinforcements had indeed been called in, but they could to nothing, lest they accidentally harm one of their greatest warriors. The two ninja were neck and neck, hardly getting more than a scratch in at a time. As always, it was mesmerizing to watch Saizo fight. He danced with elaborate footwork and concentration that could crack stones, moving faster than I could keep up with.

Unfortunately, I became so enthralled with watching Oriku and him fight that I failed to account for my own surroundings. Before I knew it, I was backed against the parapet wall with a sword to my throat. A smug-looking samurai stared down at me, before blinking in surprise and recognition. The smug smile the tall man held turned into a full-blown grin and he asked, "You're the Kusonoki princess, aren't you?"

I hadn't the chance to make up a story for myself before he began calling out to his fellow guardsmen, "Hey, Haku, Shaku! Bring some rope and tell Nobunaga I want a raise! I just found the Kusonoki legacy!" the samurai tossed his head back in full-body laughter, pressing his blade uncomfortably into my throat.

From the second I looked back up to the window, everything began to move in slow motion. Saizo, presumably drawn to the commotion outside and the mention of the Kusonoki name, turned towards the window. Our eyes met for a split second, but a flurry of emotions stormed their way across his face in that short time. I saw surprise, shock, anger, and even a hint of fear show and disappear in an instant. Unfortunately, I also saw what he didn't: Oriku, taking advantage of her opponent's momentary distraction and drawing a small, black case from within her robes. She worked quickly, unlatching the box and drawing a small, feathered dart to her lips in one swift motion. I went to scream for Saizo to turn around, damn you! But the words barely made it past my lips before my voice was smothered by a big, meaty hand.

He understood too late. Saizo turned his eyes back to Oriku just in time to watch her smirk in satisfaction as the blow dart made solid contact with his neck. He froze. I froze. I watched Saizo fight to stay n both feet with every fiber of his being. His muscles strained and his teeth were clenched tightly with the effort. The poison was stronger than his will. Slowly, tortuously, Saizo fell to the ground, and all I could do was watch in helpless terror.

As soon as Saizo dropped of view through the window frame and Oriku started moving towards him, I flew into a blind rage. I started kicking at the samurai, screaming words I don't even remember. I spat curses as I struggled with all that I was to escape. The man holding me was having a lot of difficulty keeping me restrained, and his guard friends rushed over to try to help him.

Suddenly, I remembered the knives I had hidden within my kimono. A few were strapped to my legs, and I had one right within the collar of my kimono. I acted frantically, barely thinking at all as I doubled myself over and went limp in the guard's arms, making him curse as he struggled to keep me from falling to the ground. While I was down, I slipped my hand beneath the hem of my kimono, practically tearing the knife away from its sheath at my ankle, and another at my knee.

I snapped back up, knives in hands, ans started swinging wildly, slashing at the guard and unleashing my rage and panic on him. The samurai cried out as I stuck flesh, blood spattering across us both. His colleagues began shouting and swearing, jumping into the shuffle to try to get me under control.

In those moments, I could see nothing but the window. I heard nothing but the thunderous sounds of my own heart beating in my ears. Oriku smiled down at Saizo, saying something and waving her hand. A couple of ninja stepped from the crowd, picking up Saizo's limp body and slinging his arms over their shoulders. They dragged him from the room, and I was truly alone.

I couldn't even hear the screams that ripped through my throat and made themselves known to me only by the pain they caused. My hands were bleeding; victims of my own careless fighting. I vaguely realized that the blurriness in my vision meant that I was crying, but that didn't stop me from using all my strength to stab at the men around me.

They had taken the one person I loved most in this world, and there would be Hell to pay.

Suddenly, a sharp, excruciating pain in the back of my skull brought a deafening ringing to my ears. The impact resounded around my skull, stunning me as I whirled around drunkenly, trying to find out what had caused the pain that had broken through my rage. My vision began to darken at the edges, and a haze settled over my mind as my eyes landed on a scared-looking man with a club in his hands.

Looking at this man, my anger and hatred returned full force, and I rushed at him, even as the black mist at the fringes of my vision began to slowly creep inward. The man with the club easily stepped back to avoid me, and brought his club down again on the back of my head with double the force of the first strike, sealing my fate and handing me over to the blackness.