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"Bloody Roots" A chill breeze, one synonymous with early spring mornings, blew across the desolate plains surrounding an insignificant village on the border of the Scarlet Moon Empire.Normally at this time every day farmers would be waking up to begin a hard days labor in the fields shivering at the chilled breeze, but today was unlike other days.Today a deathly silence replaced the normal bustle of everyday life.Today the rooster never crowed, the wives didn’t call their husbands for breakfast and the children didn’t squeal in delight at some new discovery they’ve made.Today the breeze blew over the smoldering ashes of once proud buildings and over the remains of the once vivacious villagers. The
Sixth division of the Scarlet Moon Army had arrived under the cover of
darkness.With ruthless efficiency
they struck the village mercilessly, without warning, slaughtering men,
women and children alike.Upon completion
of the slaughter they set fire to the village and burned it to the ground.The
true provocation and origin of the attack would remain an enigma for decades
to come.However, as far the citizens
of the Scarlet Moon Empire knew the Rokkaku Ninja Clan performed the slaughter.That
was the explanation issued by the Empire, no one would ever know the truth,
or so they thought.
“Wahhhh!!!!!”
the infants cries brought Akimi back to reality, she knew she needed to
cover as much ground as possible with the time she had left.Again
she resumed her flight, running for the border of Jowston, the northern
neighbor of the Scarlet Moon Empire.“If
I can just make it across the border, he should be safe” Akimi
repeated to herself, spurring onward into the pitch black of a moonless
night.Finally having run for as
far as her broken body would carry her she collapsed in the woods.With
her last precious moments of life she removed her gold hoop earring and
placed it inside her infants wrappings.“Goodbye
my son, may this memento someday lead you to the truth” and with that Akimi
passed on, never knowing what fate awaited her son.
Running, crashing through the forest, this was completely unbecoming a
Rokkaku ninja, but something inside of him told Girou that he must hurry.“I’m
getting closer now, the cries are getting louder” Girou said to himself
as he pushed himself ahead at a furious pace darting over fallen logs and
leaping across streams.He had just
been on a routine patrol when he heard the distant cries, and although
he hesitated to leave his post he could not in good conscience ignore them.His
heart raced in anticipation as he neared the clearing where the sound was
emanating from, and as he cleared the tree line he found the source.In
the center of the clearing was an infant.“A
child?!But who could have left it
here, and why?He appears to be no
more than a few months old.” Girou asked himself, and then the answer
became clear.Next to the child,
her hand still outstretched toward it, was its mother.From
the bodies side still ran a stream of blood, creating the pool of crimson
that the corpse now laid in.Bending
down Girou noticed that the blood was still warm; she hadn’t been dead
for long, and it was a fair bet that her pursuers weren’t far behind.Just
then a cold wind blew through the clearing and sent a chill down Girou’s
spine.In the distance he could hear
the fluttering of birds taking flight, “Whoever is responsible for this
must be coming to finish the job” Girou thought.Quickly
he scooped up the child, then like an apparition he disappeared.Moments
later an extermination squad sent out from the Sixth division entered the
clearing.After investigating the
surrounding area for witness’ they gruffly dragged the dead body of Akimi
back the way they came.Girou sat
perched high in a nearby tree, his hand over the infant’s mouth to prevent
it from crying, watching the entire atrocity.He
knew who they were; he could recognize their uniforms even now in the inky
blackness of night, they were soldiers of the Scarlet Moon Empire.After
the soldiers had moved a safe distance away Girou came down from the tree.Looking
down at the child he realized what he must do, and without a moments hesitation
he made his way back to Rokkaku.
Girou entered Rokkaku just as the golden rays of dawn began to crest the mountains.The light filtered through the trees creating an ever-changing pattern on the ground as he made his way to the dojo where Lord Kyoji was to be found.Girou knew that he would need to seek his master’s counsel on this matter.Girou entered the dojo to find Lord Kyoji deep in mediation. “Pardon master, but I have come to seek your wisdom on a matter of great importance” After a moment of silence Lord Kyoji rose and faced Girou.Instantly he noticed the child Girou cradled in his arms. “Where did this child come from?” Kyoji asked in an infuriated tone. Quickly, and as concisely as possible, Girou related the entire experience he had witnessed on his patrol. “Perhaps this child came from the village attacked last night.” Kyoji mused. “What village master?” “Last night a village just across the Scarlet Moon Empires border was brutally attacked and then burned to the ground.Our scouts informed us that there seemed to be no survivors.I believe that this child is from that village.”Kyoji said, his tone grave. “What shall we do with him then?” Girou asked. “Although it is against our tradition to allow outsiders to be permitted into, let alone raised, in the village, he shall stay here.From this day forth his name shall be Shin, and he will be raised as my son Hanzo’s son.” Let the villagers know that not a word of his true origin is to ever be spoken again.I want him to grow with no knowledge of his true heritage.” Kyoji ordered. “Yes, milord.” Girou stated as he handed over the boy to Kyoji. Thus Shin’s roots took hold, and he began his life
as a Rokkaku ninja.
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