Can a Murderous Orc and a Ninja Fall in Love? (She really Hates Orcs)

Night four, and no progress. The ravines housed hundreds of caves in an interconnected web that reached far beneath the realm's surface. The demon general could be anywhere in these ancient capillaries, Kuroni suspected, and so spent most of her days traversing them, watching for demons and other night creatures. The pits of darkness were an ever-present hazard.

Occasionally, the kunoichi would come across ancient ruins in more structurally sound caverns. The rock gave way to well-made stone, and runes in a language she couldn't read scattered across the walls. This usually included monsters, but nothing for a woman of her caliber. However, there were ornate doors that locked from the inside, giant slabs of obsidian with a light fog coalescing around them. She felt their intention when she drew near. It haunted her. There was no demon general behind those doors, so it was best to leave, with haste. There were five doors she discovered.

The sixth door she found had the monsters pre-murdered for her, each one eviscerated with concerning violence, with one of the dark doors left slightly ajar. Kuroni closed this one and locked it herself. That orc, she thought. He was here first.

"Still no luck?" Hideyoshi asked. Kuroni decided to pay them a visit outside the walls. "Maybe Lupa can help you out. She has a nose for this kind of stuff."

"I don't know what a demon general smells like," she chuckled. Her claws brushed gently across her hero's shoulder. "I imagine they smell like shit, though."

"I'm terribly sorry to put you all in this situation," Kuroni bowed. "We'll find the general as soon as possible."

"Yeah, please hurry. These boss fights are getting tough."

She could tell, though their spirits seemed high. Lord Akira must've been doing everything in his power to ensure the waves were contained. If only Fuuma could join them. Their team looked strong.

The trek up to camp required a hike up the mountain through spots of mountain trees and waterfalls before hitting the lake. The stairs weren't hard to climb, and they presented one of many beautiful views up to the temple at the mountain's peak. As she traveled through, a branch snapped. She lit her new beam saber, her form illuminated by the purple hue. Who was it?

“Oh, it’s you,” Mars said, his axe glinting in the dark before his form appeared. “Did you find anything?”

She said nothing. The orc appeared in the moonlight, his chest and viscera stained weapon was coated dark red.

"I found a camp in the underground," he continued. "I thought I'd find the general behind those doors, but it was nothing important."

Her sword pointed forward. Everything told her to fight. The orc's eyes glistened black in the moonlight.

“You’re afraid of me? A woman of your caliber?”

“Well, of course," she shuddered. "Do you know what orcs do to women like me in this realm?”

“Don’t lump me in with that pig breed,” Mars huffed. He had heard it all before. “Our lovemaking would be beautiful.”

“That’s too frank, even for you.”

Nonetheless, Mars approached. “I am a specimen from a more advanced realm. I am built as the perfect warmachine, a champion of combat. I am death manifest.”

Mars took the rock next to her and claimed it. The distance was too close to her liking. Her blade was close enough to where the slightest flick of her wrist would burn his face off.

“So you admit it,” she spat, her face scrunched. “You’ve raped and pillaged across the human realms before.”

“I’ve killed many humans. I was a high-ranking officer in my homeworld. I slew swathes of bannermen on horseback, and I decapitated the heads of kings with my glaive. All I thought about was death and destruction in those times.”

Kuroni imagined this was a confession from the orc he intended to take to her grave. When was he going to attack?

“Is that why you’re here?” she asked. “Is our world next?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m here.” Mars looked away. “It’s all very fuzzy, like a bad hangover.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“You’re very obedient, you and your sister. You’ve served under a master since you drew your first breath. That master had morphed you into the beautiful woman you are today, until recently.”

Kuroni said nothing. Her face remained stern as ever.

“Ever since I came to this world, I haven’t heard from my god. I can’t feel him. I can’t sense him, and as time has passed, I've realized how much of myself wasn’t my own thinking, but his. All of that anger, that bloodlust. I am without purpose in this world.”

The beam was so close now that Mars couldn't ignore it, and gently bent away from it.

“But, I’m afraid of returning to that world, to become a slave to my god’s ambition, to only be an avatar of war, but I also don’t like being free, a very tense situation. The goddesses here are not fearsome beings, for I do not fear them.” He turned to her. "What do you see in your little boy?”

The swing nearly took his head off, but the orc's flexibility showed itself as he balanced on the edge of his tailbone, arched back, and rolled onto his feet. His face squashed into a flattened scowl. 

“So you’re remorseful. So what?” Her voice quivered, sword once again pointed. “Do you think that excuses what you’ve done, how many people you’ve killed? Do you expect me to offer you forgiveness after what your kind has done to my village, to my mother and father? You expect my sympathy?”

“I never said I was remorseful.” Mars stood. “In fact, I kinda miss my Murderer Chief role. I don't think you've understood me, woman.”

“What do you mean? What do you know about me?”

“Everything. Your militant stance, that stilted way you talk. Who’s controlling you? Your old master, or that weakling you call master?”

The blade was actively pursuing Mars' neck. “Don’t you say another word about Master Fuuma!”

“So the boy. I'd rather it be the other master. I can sense his quality through you. He'd make a worthy opponent.”

Kuroni flew into a rage, aiming to kill, but Mars parried the searing blade with his arm and closed in immediately, his brute strength twisting the saber out of Kuroni’s hand and pulling her into a hold.

A thousand flashes overtook Kuroni, and all of her darkest fears came to haunt her. All of her discipline fell away in a wave of sheer panic. 

“Tama, hel-!”

Her voice was shut by Mars’ wide, tusked mouth. Even with her voice taken, the ninja screamed and squirmed with all her energy, trapped in the throes of death or worse, moving like a rodent in the claws of an eagle. The stench and the taste of his lips brought back so many bad memories that they played over and over again, generating a worse scenario for her imagination to torment her with. It was just a matter of time until they came to bear.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened. The orc was a little exhausted, his nostrils snorting into her face, but she was still here. She could still breathe. She ran out of things to fear and now dangled there, unsure of what was to come. 

Was he not going to do anything to her? The opportunity was there. Was he not excited? She nudged her leg forward to explore. No, he was very excited, and the bump unlocked new fears, but he was fully restrained in his actions. His musk had morphed as well. It had become a soft, acrid scent, nothing like she remembered. What was happening to her? She felt her mind fray into branching paths.

“Are you done?” Mars grunted from the side of his mouth. “If you try to scream, I’ll kill you.”

Kuroni kept quiet, and after another minute, her mouth was free from his, though drenched in an unflattering amount of saliva. The less she resisted, the more freedom the orc returned, and soon she was back on her feet, numb and shivering. She disappeared in an instant. Mars could hear the trees rustle with her steps, swiftly moving away, or not? The ninja was likely still in his presence, waiting, scheming.

"I apologize," he said plainly. "I think...I'm treating you too much like an orc. Oh, if only..."

If Kuroni was within earshot, she still would've said nothing. She'd remain in her tree for the rest of the night, stewing in her complicated emotions left raw and vulnerable by his superior strength. What was she to do? How would she kill the orc? Would Tama hear of this? Mars didn't know. All he knew was that he enjoyed the conversation.