The New Ninja (Ninja Assassin Fanfic.)

Chapter 29: Decisions

I let out a groan as I slowly opened my eyes. Right away I knew something was wrong - a few somethings actually. Before I sat up, I realized that I didn't recognize the ceiling above me. The futon under me felt plusher than any others that I had laid on before. Even when I reached out to feel the tatami mat floor, I noticed how soft it was. Even the floors in the bedrooms of Iseya weren't as soft, and that family splurged on everything.

"Where the hell am I?" Frowning, I attempted to sit up, almost calling out due to the severe pain in my side that caused me to fall back. An anger washed over for a split second but it was soon replaced with remembrance and understanding.

Oh yeah, Toshi stabbed me. Without sitting up, I just turned my head to look at the room. Where's the guys? Did they really abandon me when they thought I was dead? Those pricks!

Grumbling, I struggled to sit up with the intent to wring their necks.

"Dammit..." It was harder than I expected. Even as I did my best to suppress the pain, I was still human. It hurt.

When I finally got to my feet, I noticed yet another thing. My kimono wasn't one I recognized. Though it was thin enough to sleep in, the quality was exceptionally fine. After making sure that no one was hiding in the room, I opened the kimono to check my wound. I had initially thought that the sword had pierced my stomach, but that wasn't entirely the case. From touching the bindings, I felt that a lot of the pain was centered around where my childhood scar was. I had mixed feelings about that, but I knew that I had no time to dwell on it.

Covering myself back up, I slowly made my way from the room. Every time I lifted my leg, I felt as if my wound was on fire. It had been dressed perfectly, by I assume Wakasa. I knew his medical style well enough by now.

Opening the door to the room, I found myself in a vaguely familiar hall. After thinking for a moment, I remembered it as the halls of Edo Castle. That narrowed down a few options for me. Due to my last mission, I knew the layout quite well.

I slowly made my way down the halls, letting my mind wander to the events of the mission. I had no idea what happened to Willem, Toru or Tsubaki after I passed out, but I could only imagine. My friends hated Willem. The Nagasaki guys were hunting down the other two. I imagined they were either executed or exiled by now. I knew that Willem couldn't be executed without causing issues with Holland.

Feeling a large presence growing with every step, I stopped outside one of the large rooms that were reserved for trials and meetings. Holding my breath, I pressed my ear to the already thin door and listened.

"I say kick all four of them out of the country."

"There's a chance that they'll come back. Better to just kill them and be done with it."

I heard Aoi and Natsume talking among the rest of the chatter.

Four? Who are they talking about?

"Killing Lord Toru is..."

"Look, we'd prefer to find a more peaceful solution concerning him." Now Asagi spoke, finishing Shintaro's unfinished thought.

"Peaceful? He was the one conspiring against the Shogunate. The solution that you're hoping for may not be possible." Soji was as realistic as ever.

I heard a few sighs and what sounded like a door opening.

"Has Keomi woken up yet?" It was Kinshiro that spoke and the room was suddenly filled with silence. "Guess not..."

It was odd hearing my leader sound so genuinely upset.

"She was really hurt, but she didn't seem as pale when I checked on her." Hotaka's voice had lost all its usual airy femininity. As much as I enjoyed hearing him sound like an actual man with his natural deep voice, this wasn't what I wanted. To be fair, I also didn't want to be stabbed but oh well.