Ninja Love: Saizo Kirigakure

Chapter 2

My initial intent had been to head straight into the temple to find Grandfather and ask him about the sudden influx of visitors into our little village. Kawachinokuni was a small village, and it was pretty out of the way, as it did not lie on any main roads. In all honesty, our main attraction was our temple, and even that wasn't so extraordinary as to draw many tourists. Every once in a while, we got a small group of pilgrims to pay homage to our patron goddess: Marisha-Ten, the queen of heaven, and the goddess of light, sun, and moon.

As I pondered these things, I found myself drifting towards the temple gardens. Our exquisite gardens were located around the back of the temple, and were always the most peaceful and most beautiful part of the grounds, and I often went there to think or relax. The garden had been Grandfather's idea, and they were his pride and joy for good reason. They were stunning at this time of year. Slipping off my stiff geta, I sat down on a small stone bench that rested in a shaded area under a lush and gorgeous cherry tree that was just coming into full bloom. Around me, a few people wandered between the carefully maintained hedges, and a couple relaxed by the waters of the small pond that was supplied by a tributary of a nearby river. There were many different shade trees dotting the area, letting the sunlight filter through to dance with the swirling shade from the leaves.

I sighed, letting my gaze turn to the temple's back wall. It carried much of the same design influences as the front, with the exception of a single, simple door in place of the large double-entrance. I had looked over this place a thousand times, and it seemed as though I had memorized every leaf, every roof tile, every waterlily, and every blade of grass, and yet the entire place never seemed to get old.

In the middle of my appreciation, a voice called out to me, rousing me from my lethargic state, "Misaki, come here please."

I turned to the back door of the temple, to the direction of the voice, and saw Grandfather standing by the open door. I dutifully stood, enjoying the soft crunch of the grass beneath my feet before putting my sandals back on and heading over to where Grandfather stood. I greeted him with a respectful bow, but grew suspicious when I noticed the worry creased into his weathered face. Usually he was all smiles and hugs, and that was part of the reason why everyone in our village loved him, but this was not the same person that led me silently down the deserted back halls in the temple. To add to my confusion, and admittedly worry, we didn't head towards the main hall as I expected. Instead, we came through a door that I hadn't paid much mind to before. As a child growing up in the temple, I made it my job to know every in and out of the entire place. I had come across this door before, after all, an old, wooden door with no identifying markings was the subject of every child's fantasies at some point or another, but it was always locked. When I had asked Grandfather about it as a young girl, he brushed it off and told me I would find out when I was older. Over the years, I had all but forgotten about the mysterious door, but I guessed today would finally be the day that I would learn its secrets.

Grandfather pulled a rusty old key out from his robes, and managed to get the door open with only some difficulties. He locked it behind us as well, and I had to pause to let my eyes adjust to the poorly-lit room. As it turned out, we had walked into another, slightly narrower hallway. Small torches lined the wall to our left, but to our right was a floor-to-ceiling silken mural, depicting some sort of story lost to the ages. I did my best to decipher the story as I struggled to keep up with Grandfather's brisk pace.

The intricate designs spun a fantastic tale about a dark warrior that terrorized the countryside, in what appeared to be a crusade to force complete submission. The untouched colors told a story of complete desolation and destruction, showing a great amount of burning landscapes and dying people.