Despair

Rohan couldn’t finish his apology to the daimyo. Those three words became his last as he fell to the ground with the two weapons on his back. Kagero took the sword that Rohan had dropped from the ground.

“Now then where were we?” Kagero glared at Kazuma. “There’s been too much bloodshed for one night, if you give me what I want I will be on my way and no one else has to die.”

“What is it then that you desire?” the daimyo questioned trying to muster up some courage.

“Where is the Inazuma boy?” requested Kagero. “Give him to me and my men and I will leave this place.”

Both Kazuma and Keiji wondered which boy the shadow ninja was talking about and each brother thought of his own son who was absent at that moment.

“Seems like my words have fallen on deaf ears…very well,” said Kagero moving towards the group. He then plucked a katana from Rohan’s back and used it to kill all the remaining servants present in the room only leaving the royal family members alive.

“That’ll put them out of their misery,” Kagero said wiping the blood off the blade. “So daimyo-kun and everyone else remaining have I made myself clear?” he questioned.

The whole room became silent.

“Where is the purple haired Inazuma boy?” Kagero paused and pointed at Natsuhi. “Yes the boy with hair like hers.”

The room was quiet again for a moment and the royals looked at themselves fearfully.

“How troublesome, guess I should make another demonstration,” Kagero sighed breaking the ominous silence for a second time. He proceeded to swiftly grab Keiji’s wife Kaori in a chokehold. Keiji furiously stood up and tried to punch Kagero but was given an intense right kick to his gut by the latter which sent him flying from where he came. He hit the wall with his back and fell to the ground with a massive thud and let out a loud scream as he was in excruciating pain.

Kazuma and Natsuhi both looked at Kaori who was being asphyxiated and she shrugged her head signaling to them not to say a word.

“We don’t know where he is,” said Keiji who was still on the ground trying to get up with his hands. “Now please let my wife go.”

Kagero momentarily let go of his grip on Kaori’s neck and then looked at Keiji in annoyance. “You can still talk after that? Not bad indeed, but for lying to my face you will have to be the next one to go to the other side.” He instantly rushed towards Keiji and then shoved the katana through his neck. It was a swift attack and after the sword was removed Keiji spewed a gush of blood from his wound and fell to the floor dead.

Kaori who was trying to catch her breath from the chokehold started crying. She managed to scream out the words, “You bastard! What did my husband ever do to you?” as tears rained down her cheeks. Kagero removed the blade from Keiji’s heart and stared directly at Kaori.

“You’re also at fault woman…you hinted to these two to keep quiet and for that you will join your husband in the next life as well.” Kagero removed the blade from Keiji’s lifeless body and started walking at a leisurely pace towards Kaori.

“If you had all just followed my instructions this would not have happened.”

Tears started falling down Natsuhi’s cheeks at the loss of her brother in law Keiji. Before Kagero reached Kaori, Kazuma stood up in front of the latter with outstretched arms. “If you want to go to Kaori-san you’ll have to go through me,” he said facing Kagero with a stern gaze.

As Kagero was about to reach them Kazuma tried to fight the shadow ninja but it was to no avail. Kagero connected his side arm square on Kazuma’s neck in a flash resulting in the daimyo falling to the ground unconscious. With Kazuma now out of the way and laying on the ground Kagero then proceeded towards Kaori and grabbed her in the previous chokehold.

“P–please l–look after K–Kenzo sister in law,” Kaori begged with a distressed look.

Natsuhi nodded in acknowledgement as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Time to join your husband on the other side.” Kagero raised Kaori in the air and stabbed her in a manner similar to Keiji. Kaori tasted metal as she coughed up blood and her life flashed from her eyes. She took her final breath. Kagero removed the katana from Kaori’s heart and streams of blood gushed out. He hurriedly tossed the body to the side without any remorse and faced Natsuhi.

“And then there were two…”

Natsuhi was too terrified to say a word or move an inch.

Kagero then paced over to Kazuma who was still unconscious, tied the daimyo’s hands behind his back and also bound his legs with a cloth torn from his garments. A few minutes elapsed and Kazuma regained consciousness only to see that Kaori had been murdered and Kagero was grabbing hold of his wife. Kagero started feeling up Natsuhi as he stared directly at Kazuma who had just woke up.

“You have such a fine woman daimyo-kun,” said Kagero whilst fondling Natsuhi’s breasts. “You do know what I am going to do to her if you don’t tell me where your son is.”

“Please leave her out of this and kill me instead,” Kazuma pleaded. “Is it money that you want? Whatever the amount I can give it to you.”

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Kagero questioned furiously. “I don’t want your fucking money daimyo-kun,” he added before proceeding to violate Natsuhi.

Natsuhi cried throughout the whole ordeal as she saw the distressed look of despair on her husband watching her being defiled. When Kagero was finished he tossed her aside and went over to the daimyo. As Natsuhi lay mentally broken on the floor her husband wept as words failed to escape his lips.

“Time to finish things up,” said Kagero. “Since you won’t tell me where your son is I will have to put you out of your misery.” Kagero broke Kazuma’s neck and just as he was about to go to Natsuhi, six shadow ninja accompanied by Kagemaru appeared on the scene.

“Kagemaru, have you found out where the boy is?”

“Yes…we questioned a servant who was scared shitless and she told us that the boy was banished and sent to the Lightning Village.”

Natsuhi’s will may have been broken but her cognitive abilities were still present and she heard every single word. She rose up from the ground and pleaded with tears falling from her eyes, “Please do not harm my son…you can have me but don’t do anything to Kazuo-kun.”

“Hmm,” Kagero paused and faced his shadow ninja. “You hear that kage-nin? There you have it, spoils of war.”

The shadow ninja all laughed except for Kagemaru who was disgusted by what his father had said but dared not to oppose him. Natsuhi realized what the Kage meant and was terrified by the statement. She looked down at Rohan’s sword on the ground and contemplated taking her own life before she could be sullied any further. Before Natsuhi could make a decision Kagemaru had read her mind and swiftly rushed towards her. He impaled her through her chest with the sword that was on the ground. He then lowered her gently to the ground and quietly apologized ensuring the other ninja didn’t hear. Natsuhi managed to mouth ‘arigatō’ before she passed on.

“Ahoka (what the fuck) Kagemaru!?”

Kagero’s face was fuming with wrath and before he got a reply his son rose up with the sword and killed the six shadow ninja in a flash.

“Father, that was not right,” replied Kagemaru. “That woman didn’t deserve any of this. We already know where the boy is.”

“If I hadn’t been weakened from my fight I would have beaten the shit out of you! I should have brought your little sister instead…at least she is more ruthless,” Kagero barked. “Tsukaenē yatsu dana (you’re worthless).”

“You beat me? You can’t even use tōei…how the fuck would you do that?”

Kagero slapped Kagero across face and the latter retaliated with a punch.

“You’re the weak one…old man,” said Kagemaru before he picked up his father who’d fallen to the ground from his punch. He carried him on his back and left for the Shadow village followed by the few surviving ansatsu who could make the trek back home.

By the same time Kagemaru left the scene Ken and Natsumi had arrived at Death Valley. “There is the valley right up ahead,” Natsumi told Ken as they reached their destination. It was pitch black as the crescent moon could barely light up much of the night sky let alone the ground. Ken lit up the way with his lighter as they followed the river to the waterfall.

“So we’re jumping huh?” he asked Natsumi as they both stared down the waterfall.

“Yeah it seems like it,” she replied him.

At that moment Natsumi speedily came up with an idea. She took out an arrow and lit its head with Ken’s lighter and then tied the tail to a long rope.

“Oh I see,” said Ken as he realized Natsumi’s plan.

Natsumi took her aim straight down below the fall and shot her arrow. The projectile flew through the air to land on a tree trunk as it struck a hypotenuse with the horizontal ground and the vertical point atop the waterfall where they stood. Ken quickly tied the rope tout to a nearby tree trunk.

“Right it’s now tight.”

The two of them zip lined to the ground in succession with Natsumi at the front.

“This was way faster, great thinking Natsumi,” Ken applauded his companion. Ken then broke a branch in two, lit the ends and gave one piece to Natsumi to use for light. They could now walk around with some light to guide their path.

“Wait Ken…what’s that right there?” Natsumi asked pointing to an object on a tree.

“Let’s go and check it out,” Ken replied her.

They carefully walked towards the object and found that it was a naked woman who had been nailed onto the tree.