Searching [fanfic]

Prologue - The Device

A figure falls within the lumbering shadows that are cast across the streets like a blanket. Silence announces itself with a dull ringing. Not even the slightest creak or far off voice disrupts the moment that seems to be frozen in time.

The figure follows the rough walls, pressing against the cold concrete like a life line. If anyone saw him, he would be head-deep in trouble. No one is around in this abandoned section of town, but random pedestrians are not the cold-hearted foes he is worried about.

Minutes of endless shadows come to a halt and the clad is forced to continue high above the ground. It's a faulty decision, surfacing from the shadows' protective covering; the shadow is the ninja's weapon; a shield. But he is left with no other choice. It must be done in order to move on.

The vulnerability settles on him as he reaches the bare rooftop. Like being stripped of clothing in an open space. Moonlight pours on his large figure. His conscious screams danger, this isn't a wise pick. But no other ideas make voice, so he blocks out the fearful ranting in his mind with forced determination and continues forward.

The rooftops were normally soothing and nostalgic to the clad, but tonight it brings unwanted exposure. He flies across the long stretches of roof, pursuing an invisible enemy. He knows what awaits him and every time he thinks about the abysmal situation, his stomach clenches. Hatred and grief bubble in his chest and burn like acid. Speculation of what will really happen eats at him as it has done all night. He'd spent a long night starring at his blank ceiling, within the confinement of his room, filing through the pros and cons and right and wrongs of the situation. Doubt settled in his mind. He knew that this was a remedy for disaster, for a trap. And the logical thing would have been to ignore the message, and if things advanced into more dangerous affairs, he would call on the help of his brothers and they would fight the enemies' attack together. But the wise thing to do would be to follow instructions, right?

No. This wasn't wisdom or fearlessness. It was fear. Fear of what could be done to his brothers ate away at him, stripping him of any reason. He already lost his father, he couldn't loose anyone else.

Suddenly, something catches his foot and he looses his balance. Toppling forward, he lands on one knee before flipping gracefully upright, avoiding a mouth-full of gravel. With incomprehensible speed, his fingers grip the firm handles of katanas and reflexively pull them from their sheaths.

Wide eyes alert, he scans his surrounding, turning in one quick circle. There. Opposite the rooftop stands a silhouette: Karai.

Fabric flaps in the finicky breeze behind her. He always thought that cape was a stupid decision. But her arrogant stance declares she thinks otherwise, the material making an obnoxious slapping kind of sound.

"Leonardo." She shouts, her voice is sharp and hoarse. "I'm glad you came."

Although her back faces the moon, casting a black shadow across her face, he envisions a devilish smile creeping across her imprudent features.

"What do you want?" Determination and dread duel for a place in his stomach. He suspects the answer, but won't accept the threat without a fight.

"I think you know."

Without thinking, Leonardo spins around, slashing air behind him. Something catches his blade, another blade. It only takes a second for his vision to recognize Karai's apprentice wielding the weapon. He reinforces the blow with his second katana, but she deflects the attack. Pulling his weapons back, he kicks, aiming for the stomach, when a cloud of black smoke erupts, leaving nothing but thin air behind.

Agitated, Leo turns to find standing next to Karai is the thin-framed, masked-apprentice, her own single katana winking in her hand. A wisp of black smoke rides after the breeze just above her head before vanishing.