Chapter 1

5.5K 112 2
                                    

Crimson blood seeps through the linen cloth that is carefully placed around the stinging snakebite on your left arm.  You still heard the snake's hisses and a flash of how it struck you before you had even reached for your blade crossed your mind. This was nothing compared to your bruises from training but, it's pretty deep. Despite the pain, you were not skipping out on your mission tonight. After countless Ninjutsu and espionage training, it is finally time for your first mission. Proving yourself to the syndicate is a must.

Yoshihara-san had informed you earlier that tonight.  You'd be assassinating one of Tokugawa Hidetada's descendants- Hoshina Masayuki- at Tsuruga Castle. He is wanted for stealing money from a yakuza family in Okinawa, and using it to buy the historical building; having his guards trained as samurai. The place is crawling with them as you overlooked the wondrous area; surrounded by pearl white walls built on green grass, with the essence of pale pink cherry blossom trees swaying in the midnight air.

 You blend in with the shadows and stealthily jump off a tree, over one of the walls, and from there kick off the wall, and onto the top of a building. The pointed edges of the castles' rooftops were your allies as you leap from one to the other, in utter silence of the night, making way to the tallest tower, knowing that your target would be waiting there. The building is now a few feet away from you, and you jump, hoping to make it across, but your hand misses the ledge and you fall. Luckily,  you had a faithful cherry blossom tree to break your landing, and from there,  you made way atop the roof again, just as two guards came snooping from the corners.

 You see his body there, breathing slowly and in peace. The silence is deadly, as you draw your dagger and creep towards him. Little did you know, the same two dimwitted guards burst through the door, causing him to wake in the process. You hear their swords being unsheathed.

 In the small room you have, you run along the walls, unsheathing your katana blade, and slicing through the first guard before he utters anything, his blood spurting everywhere. As for the second, your blade did the talking for you again, ripping through his frail body, and leaving a whole in his chest as he gasps for life which is quickly sucked away from him. They both fell to the floor, and Masayuki stands, smirking. You shake your head in disappointment and he steps back when a figure in black falls from the rooftop.

Another ninja is now before you. 

He is unmasked and his endless black eyes and tinted soft hair is unmistakable to you. It was your best friend: Ryuushin.

But, what was he doing protecting your target? While being distracted with shock and your mixed emotions, Ryuushin is behind you in a blink of an eye, his dagger lodged in your stomach.  You narrow your eyes at him, before your vision goes black, and his last words swirl around in your head.

"Sorry [Name]," he whispers, regret evident in his voice," It's for your own good."

"R- Ryuu..."

'What just happened?' Thoughts swirled around your head:  'Am I dead? No, I can't be...  I can't die now. I had a mission to fulfill and I'm going to do it no matter what it takes. But... Ryuushin... Why did he stab me?  I- I thought we were friends and he goes and betrays me... Did I do something wrong?'

[KH/FF] Treachery of Fate: Blood and BetrayalWhere stories live. Discover now