The seventh sanctum.
Hidden safe house of the Hand, and the chosen heartland for the war. Only several kilometers from this patch of empty forest, the way south is decorated with bodies strung up on trees. Blood spilling messily from opened abdominal cavities dripped from the cadavers, which left a stench that wafted across the field with grim familiarity.
You have 48 hours until the battle starts, and 2 weeks until it ends. No time-frame on daily posts.
Even a well-lit place can hide salvation
A map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun
Where the lost are the heroes
And the thieves are left to drown
Calm and Cold, and how they became Mithril.
Stillness, the proverbial calm before the storm, was all that encompassed Echo and Dante Naruga as they lay in wake hiding amongst the sparse foliage near the Seventh Sanctum. For far too long the Patriarch of Manor Kazegakure sit in the shadows. Echo Naruga, Leader of the Clan Naruga, acted only for the benefit of his village. He acted only to protect what he held dear to him, And if that meant continuing to act as a slave to the Crimson Hand. He would do so without hesitation.
Echo hung by his legs locked over a sturdy branch with his long black locks slowly drifting in the wind. His right hand, Dante, stood at the very peak of the same tree his eyes peered for any movement as the sun lowered itself in the sky. Today was the beginning of the end, and the start of a much darker reign.
It had been too long since Echo had embraced the field of battle; it was the last major conflict in Eiskalt if he remembered correctly. And since that time Lichensith Ulroké the mastermind of the Crimson hand has had his boot pressed on the back of the Demon Eyed Shinobi’s neck. In exchange for protection, Echo was to operate as an ‘Affiliate’ for the hand to masterfully begin the teachings of the Way of Shadows once more. Raising the orphans they offered into some of the world’s most deadly assassins and shipping them off to war.
Dante, Echo’s eldest student, accompanied the patriarch of Clan Naruga on this day. He just a was sweet young boy when Echo first laid his eyes on him. Offered to him by the hand at the age of fifteen Echo has kept him in his tutelage for a number of years. He had shoulder length platinum hair and dark crimson eyes. On his hip sat his tanto, two scrolls, and a pair of kunai sharp to the touch.
“Dante, do you see anything yet?” Echo asked as he reached up to his shins pulling himself upright on the branch. He felt the hilt of his tanto and caressed the sharp edges of his shuriken, there was a familiar sent in the air.
“Nothing yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long before that bloody traitor Kushina shows herself. And when she does, I’ll hold her down so you can stab her eyes out.” The youngest of the Naruga clan exclaimed with honor. He was filled with an excitement he was never felt before, this was the first time he would see his master in action.
“Your only here for support, don’t get to hasty and ruin all we have prepared for. This is my fight, and it’s personal. “Echo said as he pulled the fabric around his neck up and over his face.
The sun was beginning to set over the Seventh Sanctum and with it so did the hopes for the Crimson Hand. Kushina No, or better known as The Tainted Flower dawned the field of battle. With only the aid of her steel, she leapt from branch to branch as she traversed the sparse tree line. She was so close, after slipping past the many patrols of Crimson Hand agents a few miles back she was very close to their hideout.
Each tree was decorated with decaying flesh to ward off any invaders, but this didn't affect Kushina. After living through the rough agonizing trials of the Way of Shadows she doesn't frighten easily nor does she allow others to see her worry. As preposterous as it sounds this small framed little girl who has endured so much was once a member of the Manor Kazegakure, a ninja.
With her ever quiet footsteps she made her way closer and closer to the where she believed the heads of the Hand were. She was a shinobi at heart, fully intending to prove herself to her matriarch through her proficiency with the blades. From the dark she would strike, instilling fear into all who witness her.
She knew she was getting close; there was a stench in the air of evil, one familiar to the young girl. She drew her wakizashi from her garbs and continued her way with her blade drawn. At any moment she could be found out an attacked now.
“Master,” the soft voice of Echo’s right hand chimed in over the calming breeze. “Movement in the tree line, from branch to branch.” He said softly as he fallowed the faint shadow with his pointer finger. Echo looked up to his pupil and then to where his finger was pointed. With his advanced eyes Echo could clearly see the shadows moving around past one another in the trees. He saw a figure dancing from tree to tree, like one of his clan would.
“No matter what Dante she does not reach the sanctum, she doesn’t make it past you.” His stern and raspy voice mauled the silence before the master shinobi stood and launched himself forwards to the next tree. His orders were final and Dante knew the punishment for not following orders.
In the darkness the Echo moved like a demon of night toward the womanly figure. She smelt sweet, and as this familiar aroma filled the ninja’s nostrils he knew for certain who was here. It was her, one of his former students whom had fled from the Manor some time ago. Kushina No was what she went by now but when he first knew here she was The Tainted Flower. This gifted young shinobi quickly became Echo’s star pupil during his mother’s reign, but in the confusion of her passing left the manor to seek a different life for herself.
It was a big mistake to try and leave the Way of Shadows, and the punishment was death. Echo never in his wildest dreams would have conceived of Kushina leaving him. And when it was reported to him that she had he did nothing to stop her. In shock he shut down and abolished the Clan and fallowed suit, but was never able to find her.
In the six years’ time that Echo resided within Corone he looked for her, not as a shinobi but as a friend, but was never able to locate her. Finally giving up hope and returning to his home in Salvar once the Eiskalt war was over as per request of the Hand. Once there he reformed the Clan and returned to the life of a ninja. And now to think that it was just luck she was here on this battle field was preposterous, it must have been fate.
Echo unlatched the seal around his tanto before quickly pulling it from its sheath. It let out a slight ringing of metal on metal announcing his appearance on among the trees. His one and only sportsmanlike show before he would do all in his power to subdue this rouge shinobi. If this was another time and another place he would consider letting her be free, but this was war and Echo needed to gain the favor of his Master.
Closed for judging.
Even a well-lit place can hide salvation
A map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun
Where the lost are the heroes
And the thieves are left to drown
Calm and Cold, and how they became Mithril.
Echo, for the tally. No rewards given.
Even a well-lit place can hide salvation
A map to a one-man maze that never sees the sun
Where the lost are the heroes
And the thieves are left to drown
Calm and Cold, and how they became Mithril.
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