Shadows of Vengeance

[Reiko]

(solo)

The grip of the sword felt cool to touch. This was a blade that had yet to taste blood and Ki wished that she would try out the blade against someone else. She didn't want to fight this man that stared at her with cold eyes that were warm and loving the night before.

"Kill the ingrate bitch!" A man yelled as he stood up on his jade thrown, blue and red silks billowing about in the strange breeze that would come from the open windows of the castle. The polished wood floor and carpet would soon feel blood from the fight.

Doji glared as she held her sword ready for the fluid motion of drawing and striking as her own kimono refused to stand still but her body was still as a statue as her feet stayed on the ground. Her face was grim with the fact that she didn't want to kill this man. Her gaze went to the side to see Chiyo and Ryo staring at her and tears running down the kits' faces as they silently prayed for their mother's safety and to be freed from the collars around their necks. The pair were hostages to keep Ki from fleeing and to face death with honor.

She would face death with honor but her kits being held hostage made her blood boil.

Ki's opponent was an athletic samurai, his long hair waved freely and his hand was steady. The man was a master swordsman and Ki knew his gentle touch. He was a great man, a true man. So why did it have to come to this?

[Reiko]

This fate was set in motion a few days ago.

Ki was training her kits in the ways of the blade to pass the time. It wasn't serious training as Chiyo and Ryo seemed to not be as interested in bushido as much as there mother was. It seemed that they enjoyed playing around as they did when they were half their size but they still would humor Ki with her training.

Ki was smiling wide while showing her teeth and her skin glistened with sweat and that was the reason for the grin. Her kits had made her break a sweat in combat and she couldn't simply play around while slapping them on their rumps with her boken. True both Chiyo and Ryo couldn't stand a chance to beat her but they had gone the nine tails could no longer fight them in her sleep and they might stand a chance against a bandit. Who knows maybe they could win.

Doji looked at her son and daughter, both had determined faces as if they actually wanted to win. Chiyo and Ryo breathed hard as they took a moment to catch their breathes. Chiyo looked tired and her kimono, fair skin and silver was marked with brown splotches of dust and Ryo was soaking wet from falling in the spring but both had avoided Ki's attack and countered to keep her on her toes.

After the moment the kits charged their mother in an attempt to overwhelm the experienced woman. Her nine tails twitched as the kits' legs pumped in a final assault on their mother. The pair were working close together as their wooded swords went high and low, a lesser swordsman would have been hit but Ki stayed calm and stepped back and place her blade at an angle to deflect Chiyo's lower blade to collide with Ryo's and tangle them up so they were stuck together and Ki was free to playfully swat them on their butts. Both yelped in surprise as the fell down in disappointment.

"It's not fair, you always win!" Ryo said as he kicked his wooden sword before he fell on his back.

"I'm no good at this!" Chiyo whined as she laid on her back and tears welled in her eyes before she was going to cry but Ki stopped the flow with a kiss to the cheek.

"Hey, you've done great. I mean I'm a little beat too, I just have more experience." The nine tails smiled as she stroked Chiyo's dirty hair. "Most professional warriors won't do that to me. You've learned so much." The older vixen moved and Kissed Ryo too. "So good that I think you deserve to have swords of your own. You're both true swordsmen."

"You mean it?" Chiyo said as she looked at Ki and her mother nodded.