Enter the Lightning Village

Kazuo startled by the unexpected appearance of the masked ninja swiftly drew out a five star shuriken he had been given by Rohan.

“Hey there ninja, if you don’t want your guts spilled all over the ground I’d suggest that you step aside.”

“Does this kid really think he can stop my katana with just a shuriken?” the ninja thought lowering his guard. “Geez…how troublesome.”

Kazuo threw the shuriken.

The ninja sheathed his katana on his back and pulled out a smoke bomb and dropped it on the ground. A white cloud of smoke formed immediately and the shuriken passed right through it. Kazuo was too shocked by what had just happened to realize that ninja had appeared right behind him. The ninja then gave a swift blow with his sidearm that landed straight on the young prince’s neck resulting in him falling to the ground with a thud. He was knocked out unconscious and lay motionless on the ground like a corpse.

Kazuo then woke up five minutes later and let out a loud scream, “Ite (Ouch)!”

“That shit hurts!” he added as he held his neck.

The ninja who had been leaning on the side of a tree then immediately said, “Purple hair, ill-mannered and annoying…hey kid you are Inazuma Kazuo right?”

“Of course it’s me, who did you think it was?” Kazuo rubbed his painful neck.

“I was instructed to escort you to the Lightning village,” said the ninja moving towards Kazuo.

“Wait…who sent you?” Kazuo interrupted trying to get up from the ground.

“The Lord Sage, your grandfather Kazutaka-sama.”

“Shit, that old geezer,” Kazuo thought.

The ninja then added, “Let us go we do not have all day.”

Kazuo got up and they were on the road racing towards the village. The two of them ran for a while with Kazuo tailing behind the ninja who was as swift as the wind. They were now approaching the village when a fatigued Kazuo stopped to catch his breath.

“H–hey…wait up!” Kazuo felt a wheeze coming. “Aren’t we there yet?”

The ninja halted on a tree branch and then jumped to the ground.

“We have arrived…the Village is right up ahead,” he assured Kazuo.

They slowed down for a bit and started walking at a steady pace. The Lightning village wall was now in view. Kazuo had left the Fire village at dawn and it was now midday when he arrived at his destination. Before they entered the village Kazuo was asked to produce his identification papers and get them stamped at the gate. After Kazuo did so, he was welcomed into the village and they carried on their way to Kazutaka’s Ninja School. The two of them were walking through the busy streets of the village when Kazuo’s stomach started grumbling.

“Yo ninja, I’m hungry get me something to eat,” ordered Kazuo.

“Don’t boss me around kid…this isn’t the Fire village and I’m not one of your servants!” the ninja roared in annoyance.

Kazuo was frightened by the ninja’s tone and the stern gaze from his dark eyes which were visible through his mask.

“Alright my bad…please can we get something to eat.”

The ninja then agreed and they walked over to Karin’s restaurant which was situated in the busiest part of the village with people walking in and out and some having their brunch inside. The succulent aroma of the food being cooked inside could be smelt from a distance.

“We can grab something to eat here,” said the ninja as they entered Karin’s and walked over to the counter to order their food.

The restaurant was quite busy and packed with people having their scrumptious meals. The inside was spotless with ceramic floor tiles, its walls were neatly painted and wooden furniture filled the sitting area. On the menu there was ramen, plain rice, rice with stew and steak, tea and coffee amongst many other palatable dishes.

“Hey Shin,” Karin said with a huge welcoming smile. “What can I get for you today?” She was a slim, beautiful young woman in her late twenties and already running a lucrative business for herself.

“Karin-san, hi.” Shin handed over a total sum of 35 yen to her. “One bowl of ramen for the kid and a cup of coffee for me.”

“Great! Isn’t he a cutie,” her face beamed at Kazuo. “What’s your name bōya?”

“Kazuo.” He couldn’t help but reciprocate her smile.

“Well nice to meet you Kazuo,” said Karin. “You two may take some seats and your food will be with you shortly.” She wrote down their order on a piece of paper of paper before handing it over to one of her waitresses.

Kazuo and the ninja didn’t wait long for their food to be brought to them.

“Here’s your order sir,” said a waitress.

She handed the ninja his hot cup of coffee and Kazuo his bowl of ramen.

“Arigatō gozaimasu (Thank you very much),” Shin thanked her as she left.

Kazuo raised his chopstick and exclaimed, “Itadakimasu (Thank you for the meal)!”

He then proceeded to devour the tasty ramen that in front of him. The ninja removed his mask from below his chin to just above his mouth ensuring not to reveal his face and then enjoyed drinking his hot coffee. After some minutes they finished eating, left the restaurant and were back on the streets headed to the school. Along the way Kazuo thanked the ninja for the food.

“Arigatō,” Kazuo thanked Shin.

“Dōitamashite (You’re welcome)…I see there are some manners up there.”

They walked for a few more minutes before the ninja announced that they had arrived.

“We have reached the school and from here onwards you can make your way to the Sage’s office so my mission here is done,” said Shin as the two of them stood outside the main school entrance.

He then bid Kazuo farewell and with the cover of a smoke bomb disappeared into thin air.

“What’s with ninja and smoke bombs?” Kazuo thought.

Kazuo walked through the gate entrance and made his way to the main opening. A sign written “Kazutaka’s Ninja School” in kanji could be seen outside on top of the main door. Kazuo climbed the staircase and then entered the building which was as quiet as a Buddhist temple. The walls were painted snow white and the floor tiled with black and white ceramic tiles.

“Why does this place seem like its empty?” he thought as he walked through the ground floor corridor.

All of a sudden he heard a female voice behind him that broke the loud silence. “Kazuo is that you?”

Kazuo was taken aback as he checked behind to see who it was. The kunoichi’s (female ninja) head was shaved on the left side and had spiky orange Mohawk on the right. She was in her late teens, a bit muscular and had a beauty mark under her left eye. She wore an armour similar to Shin’s with the same kanji characters on her left chest. She also had on a white double slide slit skirt as well as chainmail to cover her exposed arms and legs.

“She’s hot!” he thought. “W–wait how do you know my name?”

“You were like three when I left the Fire village I’m also from the Kasai clan,” she offered her hand.

“Kasai?” Kazuo repeated. “That means we’re related right.”

“Yep! Your grandmother Natsue was my great grandaunt.”

“Cool,” Kazuo shook her hand. “Nice to meet you Natsumi.”

“Nice to meet you too Kazuo.”

“Hey if you’re a royal, why aren’t you back in the Fire village?”

“It’s complicated…but my mother was exiled by the royal family for marrying outside of nobility. When she was seven months into her pregnancy we received news of my father’s assassination and she immediately went into labour. My mother and little brother both died during childbirth,” she sniffled. “I was only six at the time and had nowhere else to go so Lord Kazutaka took me in and brought me here.”

“Sorry about that Natsumi,” Kazuo consoled her as she held up tears from eyes.

“Enough about my sad childhood,” she wiped her face. “What brings you to the Lightning village?”

“I was banished by my f–the daimyo,” he said bluntly. “Our clan really likes banishing people they don’t like.”

“Aww, I’m so sorry,” said Natsumi. “Come here.”

After she gave him a bear hug the two talked for a few minutes about the Fire village and the Kasai clan before she showed him the way to Kazutaka’s office. They went up the stairs to the third floor where the office was and Natsumi knocked at the door.

“Enter!” a deep and raspy voice was heard from inside. The two of them entered inside and were greeted by the Sage. “Natsumi-chan, good afternoon…I see you have already met Kazuo-chan.”

Kazutaka was a thin sixty three year old man. He wore a black nagagi and hakama as well as a white haori strictly worn by the Sage. He had short and spiky grey hair which had once been black and his hairline had already receded. He also had a long white beard which went below his chin and had wrinkles all over his face.

“Good afternoon Lord Sage,” Natsumi replied bowing down. “Yes I met him just now on the ground floor and he seems to be quite the interesting fellow,” she further added with a smile.

“Long time no see Kazuo-chan,” Kazutaka greeted his grandson.

“–CHAAANN!? I’m now grown up grandpa I can’t believe you still address me like that.”

“Physically maybe but mentally you are still the same old Kazuo-chan. I have been waiting for you grandson, welcome to the Lightning village,” Kazutaka replied before facing the kunoichi, “Natsumi-chan thank you for bringing him here can you please escort him to the other students’ class.”

“Yes sir!” she replied and then took Kazuo to the students’ classroom in the first floor. When they arrived there Natsumi introduced Kazuo to the teacher, a tall and youthful man in his mid-twenties with short turquoise hair. He also had light blue eyes, wore reading glasses and had a flamboyant aura about him.

“Good afternoon Kazuo my name is Hideo Yamazaki and I am one of the teachers here,” he introduced himself in a deep alto voice.

“Yo what’s up man, so what do you teach? Oh and where are the other guys?” Kazuo fired questions at Hideo like an interviewer.

Hideo understood that he had his work cut out for him and then responded, “I mainly teach General Knowledge, Arithmetic and Introduction to Ninjutsu. The other students are out at the grounds for lunch.”

Kazuo nodded in acknowledgement.

Natsumi then bid them both farewell and when she left Kazuo went to sit towards back of the class. A few minutes passed and students were starting to return. The first was a reserved boy with brown skin and short black hair. He also wore dark shades and trousers with a white jacket that covered his face up to his nose.

Hideo introduced the two boys to each other and Kazuo learnt that the boy’s name was Takumi. After the introductions Takumi went to sit at the front and soon afterwards the class started to pile up. A laid back boy with short scruffy hair whose colour was the same as Hideo’s came and sat next to Kazuo. He introduced himself as Haru Yamazaki and confirmed that he was the teacher’s nephew. The two boys got along well as they would later discover that they shared a great many interests. When the whole class arrived Hideo requested Kazuo to introduce himself to everyone and then lesson commenced.

“Alright then class let’s get back to that question we had before lunch,” said Hideo fixing his glasses. “We have a situation here, Ninja A is on a tree and Ninja B is standing on the ground, give with a reason how B would take out A,” he then questioned his students whilst pointing at a diagram on the board.

Haru quickly raised his hand and when he was picked by Hideo he answered, “It is Mikoto-chan sir.”

Everyone in the room was shocked, one student even started laughing and Mikoto who had been named being the most astonished. She was the class’ blonde delight with fair skin, brown eyes and had the brains to match as well.

“Can you please elaborate Mr. Haru,” Hideo then asked.

“It is simple really…she will just stand there on the ground naked and while she distracts Ninja A, Ninja B will then sneak in behind the enemy ninja and take him out,” Haru answered with a chuckle and Kazuo joined in the laugh. Haru had a crush on Mikoto and all his advances were rejected since day one.

“Such perversion…it is absurd!” Hideo thought shocked to hear the response. “Anyone else cl–”

Before he could ask someone else to respond, a furious Mikoto had swept up to the back row as fast as lightning and she gave Haru an intense punch that landed square on his left jaw.

“Ite!” Haru cried out in pain and thought, “Sheesh…this girl packs quite a punch.”

“Hey no fighting in the classroom kids, you can take this out on the training room with supervision from a graduate ninja and not in my class…understood!” said Hideo raising his voice.

Mikoto then apologized and said, “Yes Yamazaki-sensei…understood,” before proceeding to go back to her seat.

“Well then, as I was saying who can answer that question class?” asked Hideo.

“A shuriken or a well-timed kunai with trajectory of approximately sixty degrees from the horizontal will do since this a long range fight setting,” answered Takumi without raising his hand.

“That’s correct Takumi any quick throwing weapon will do, but please raise your hand next time,” said Hideo.

The lecture continued for a further thirty minutes and then came General Knowledge which Takumi and Mikoto both excelled in and it was a competition for answering the questions. An hour later class was dismissed and school was over for the day, the time was around three thirty in the afternoon. Students who stayed in the school went to their dorms and those who didn’t went to their homes. Mikoto shared a dorm with her best friend Kohaku Matsumoto whilst Takumi shared a room with another student named Kenji Nakamura. Haru didn’t have anyone to share a dorm with at that time and Kazuo asked to share one with him.

“Yo Haru do you like that girl Mikoto,” asked Kazuo as they walking to their dorm.

“Yeah I do Kazuo and she doesn’t like me back,” Haru replied.

“I think her friend, that Kohaku girl with the blue hair is hotter because she’s got a bigger ass. But if you really like Mikoto you shouldn’t be saying stuff that will almost get you killed…she seems like she’s a demon.”

They both laughed.

There was a short pause and Kazuo said, “What do you say we go and peep in the girls’ baths? Hey you may get to see the naked Mikoto you were talking about in class.”

“Wait what?” Haru quickly interrupted. “I want to but won’t we get caught? The punishments here can get crazy…what Mikoto did to me is nothing.”

“Nah we won’t get caught…not when I’m around,” Kazuo reassured as he unpacked his stuff.

Before Haru could say anything they heard a knock at the door. It was Natsumi and she had been asked to call Kazuo to the Sage’s office.

“Hey Kazuo your grandfather is calling for you,” she said with her usual pleasant smile.

Haru blushed and then asked Kazuo, “Bro you know Natsumi?”

“Yeah we met this morning,” Kazuo replied.

Natsumi straightaway added, “Yes he’s like a little brother to me.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What? Brother?”

“No…little.”

Natsumi thought, “The Sage was right this kid doesn’t like to be treated like a child while he acts like one,” and then she proceeded to say, “Well if you don’t want me addressing you as my little brother you can challenge me to a fight and if you win I’ll consider you as an equal.”

Kazuo was filled with joy when he heard this but Haru discouraged him saying, “Yo bro Natsumi is a graduate…don’t you see that kanji symbol on her chest you won’t win this.”

“Don’t worry Haru I got this,” Kazuo proudly replied his friend.

They strolled to the training room and the fight was over before it even began. Kazuo rushed in head first with raised fists and Natsumi dodged all his attacks. She then held both his arms and gave him a knee kick to the gut, Kazuo fell to the ground with a thud.

“Let’s go little bro…grandpa is calling you,” chuckled Natsumi giving Kazuo a hand.

Haru also laughed and added with an “I told you so” to his friend.

Natsumi and Kazuo left the training room and went to Kazutaka’s office.

“Kazuo-chan…so how did you find your first day?” the Sage asked.

“It was shit, but at least it is better than the Fire village,” Kazuo replied with a somewhat beaming face and then he asked his grandfather, “Yo ojiichan (grandpa) can you train me I want to beat Natsumi because she embarrassed me in front of my friend.”

Kazutaka and Natsumi laughed frantically, “Kazuo-chan the only way you can defeat Natsumi here is if you challenge her daily but nevertheless I am glad that you are happy here and already making friends…oh and I was calling you here to tell you that I will be personally responsible for your training,” said Kazutaka.

Kazuo was delighted to hear this and when Natsumi was dismissed his grandfather took him to the training room to practice martial arts.

“Before we begin I should explain the ninjutsu (ninja martial arts) that we teach here is mainly comprised of jujutsu (unarmed combat) and kenjutsu (swordmanship) and today I will be teaching you the former,” Kazutaka explained in a speech like manner.

They began their training and spent over two hours with just jujutsu. When Kazuo was now tired they stopped and Kazutaka told him they would resume the next day. Kazuo then went to take a bath and afterwards it was dinner time. He walked to the cafeteria together with Haru and they had their dinner with the other students. Kazuo was growing to enjoy his stay in the Lightning village and each day after class he had challenged Natsumi to a match, got his ass thoroughly whooped and went to train with his grandfather afterwards.

Meanwhile in the Fire village a week later trouble was looming because a group of about twenty shadow ninja cloaked in black shinobi shozoku (ninja gear) and armed to the teeth arrived midday and waited on the outskirts of the village. The shadow ninja were waiting for an opportune time to attack. The leader of the group had short white scruffy looking hair and wore a kasa made out of reeds and also a white porcelain mask that covered his whole face. He was also dressed in a black nagagi, hakama and haori which had the Kageyama family crest on the back.

“Kage-nin (Shadow ninja)…we shall strike after nightfall,” said the leader breaking the ominous silence.

“Hai Kage-sama (Yes Lord Shadow)!” they all replied in unison.

Nighttime came quickly in the Fire village and the shadow ninja were still waiting outside of the village. It was starting to become dark and there was a crescent moon in the sky.

“How the crescent moon shines ever so brightly like a well sharpened blade ready to attack. As we rise into the night let us show them despair,” the leader of the group announced. “Now, scatter!”