Saizo (SLBP PART 1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Shit!!!" Saizo mentally cursed himself and felt a sword pressing onto his neck from behind.

"Your next answer to my question will determine your fate Kirigakure Saizo. What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Partner?"

Saizo smirked as he looked at her from a side glance, seeing her silhouette.

"I'll be frank with you since you're a worthy opponent. He's not coming back."

Saizo felt at that moment that she was faltering as the pressure from the sword against his neck weakened. In a flash Saizo turned around, lunging for the hilt of her sword, recognising from the feel of its handle to be his best friend's one. He then swiftly turned it against her by piercing her cleanly through the stomach, causing the other sword she's holding to drop from her grasp...

Blood started dripping from the middle of the sword's blade to its hilt...

The female ninja spluttered in pain only to have blood dripping down her neck as it poured from her mouth..

"Sorry. Did we hit a vital organ there?" Saizo smirked as his opponent lowered her head..

Next thing he knew she grabbed his blade and pulled herself towards him so that their lips were just inches away, their fox masks the only thing separating them...

"You... just... stabbed me with... your... best friend's sword..."

Saizo was about to answer "I know" when he stopped himself...

"Wait... How did she..."

The breeze in the night air suddenly picked up and sakura petals started swishing around them...

His crimson eyes started brimming with tears as he reached out a trembling hand to remove her mask...

"Don't... You won't... be able... to take it... You won't be able to take it... Seeing me... without my mask..." she whispered again.

Saizo gripped the hilt of his sword harder and tried to wrench it out from her, the rain started falling on them together with the cherry blossoms..

"Saizo... Stop... It's not going to do anything... I'm already far gone as it is..." she croaked out as more blood poured down her neck...

"Why..." Saizo spoke one word.

"I... It's a long story... Yahiko and I recently... found out we... were from a clan of ninjas... from our father's side..."

Saizo gave a loud sob as he gritted his teeth.

"Why didn't you tell me?!?" he yelled out as he yanked her fox mask off. "Why did you keep such a thing from me?!? Did you even know I'm your enemy for the night?!? Did you?!? DID YOU HUH?!?"

He kept yelling in Lina's face, scarlet eyes boring into the beautiful brown eyes he loves so much...

"I... know... Yahiko too... But... We weren't planning to kill you... We agreed to just kill the Daimyos and disappear after that..."

When Saizo just kept sobbing in grunts Lina reached up to remove his fox mask and wiped away his tears with her thumb, a faint smile playing at her lips...

"We... We were assigned to stop the Daimyos... Lord... Lord Kenshin was my family's protector and the Daimyos has been sending ninjas to assassinate him as they wanted Echigo to be conquered in the fastest way... They know Lord Shingen wouldn't resort to dirty tricks like assassination so they took matters into their own hands... Yahiko and I insisted to repay back Lord Kenshin's loyalty by protecting him back in return..."

"Argh!!! I should have recognised your voice even though it was muffled by the mask!!! Even Yahiko's too!! God why didn't I realise it sooner?!?" Saizo shouted as he clenched his eyes closed, tears pouring down his cheeks, mixing with the rain...

"At-at least... I leave this world happily under the tree that started it all..." she coughed out hoarsely.

Saizo's eyes widened and when a flash of lightning lit up the area, he saw from side glance the ever-so familiar engravings on the tree trunk...

Saizo yelled out his sobbings incoherently when he realised they were under the sakura tree...

Their sakura tree...

Lina wrapped an arm around his neck for support before placing her chin onto his shoulder, whispering something in his ear...

His eyes widened, feeling her hand falling limply away from his body...

He didn't know how long he remained there till his siblings showed up...

"Saizo! Where the hell were you?!? The meeting with the Daimyos ended hours ago and Lord Shingen asked about your absence!!" Hotaru's voice sounded, landing behind his elder brother, along with Yuki beside him.

Saizo remained motionless, now on his knees even though he heard his brother...

Yuki immediately smelled the stench of blood but didn't say anything...

After a while, Saizo turned sideways slightly.. He has yanked the sword out of Lina's body and was clutching her tightly against his chest, not caring on how the heavy rain and the sakura petals were pelting him...

His scarlet eyes were broken... His siblings didn't say anything...

Killing a loved one might be part and parcel of being a ninja... But to have it happened twice...

"What were her last words..." Yuki broke the silence.

"....."

The three siblings had a stare off; two against one till Hotaru narrowed his eyes.

"I hate to do this to you nii san but if you don't start letting us in then we can't help you.."

"....."

Hotaru's red blood eyes turned cold as he spoke in a monotonous tone, using his ability; the soul of the language.

"Tell us her last words."

Saizo just stared at his siblings before opening his mouth.

"I wanted to name her Sakura."