Shinobi Armor- A collaboration from the SOS Skype Brigade!

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Pastaa~Chao
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Shinobi Armor- A collaboration from the SOS Skype Brigade!

Post by Pastaa~Chao »

Shinobi Armor

BY: MIYU, PASTAA, FLAME, ASUNA, SHADE (not really, the lazy baka)

Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a city in Japan by the name of Suii, which existed in the 1500s CE. In this city, powerful ninja and samurai clans lived under the rule of the Ieyasu clan's patriarch. The samurai and the ninja quarreled brutally until the Ieyasu clan made a truce. Unfortunately, there was a disgruntled resistance despite the Ieyasu’s efforts that lasts even now. Still, the clan would dissolve and divide up its fortunes but more importantly, the Crimson Armor, amongst its colleagues. Whoever owned this special suit of armor was as mighty as a dragon, and became the leader of the entire city. However, if one with evil in their heart wears all of the pieces of armor, they would be consumed like wood in flames, and beautiful Suii would fall and never rise again...

The great Ayasaki clan, the first family from the most relevant clans in the city, has gained protection over all the Crimson Armor through immense turmoil and dedication. Through bloodshed and the eternal vow of fealty, they have built up a reputable position and are known to be very close to the Ieyasu clan. Unfortunately, a bad seed sprouted, and sought to gain all of the armor so he could have dominion over all of Suii. It is up to his son to save the Armor and carry on his family’s duty. The son of the Ayasaki clan, Seishirou, is a brilliant leader with unwavering positivity, flexibility, and the ability to adjust to his situations cleverly enough to get his way.

The majestic Kirisame clan is full of true, brave warriors whose combat skills are unparalleled, its traditions adhered by every clan member, the star prodigy being the only daughter of the patriarch in comparison to her weak older brothers. The main branch consists of the patriarch, his late wife, his four sons, and his only daughter, Tenko. Because the patriarch had to fight off the rebellions caused by the opposition, he had to leave his only daughter alone. Quite a free spirit, Tenko believed she would be fine on her own, but she has a long way to go before she can mature into a responsible adult. Thankfully, a girl training to be a geisha named Maiko took her in.

Maiko hails from the Rise clan, a clan that seems to specialize in classical arts such as traditional tea ceremonies, ikebana, bonsai, Kabuki Theater, and often, the women become geisha. However, behind that shell, everyone knows that the clan’s true craft is the art of stealth. Maiko’s job as the heiress to her family’s fortunes is to gather Intel to understand her circumstances and preserve her good position. However, she often uses her gifts to also keep an eye on the Ayasaki clan, who is threatening to overthrow the Rise clan in influence, thus she knows of the incidence.

Kazuo is from the diplomatic Hashimoto clan. They are clever and skilled with their words and are often known as the couriers of the village as well as the mediators for certain arguments between the clans. They are messengers to other cities and are well known all over Japan. Kazuo owns a special skill of his own, this skill is to effectively debate with other people, poking holes in opposing arguments, being a master of rhetoric.

The Hayate clan has been long since savagely slaughtered by the Opposition; however, one child was taken into a temple and hidden so the clan had one last survivor. The Ieyasu clan informed the Hayate long since, but only the main branch believed them. Following the instructions given before the Ieyasu clan fell apart, they gave their daughter to the nearby Shinto shrine. Raised by monks, Chiharu became a good conscientious young lady likewise the people of the Hayate clan. Although the monks trained her to be a shrine maiden, she wishes to become a lawmaker who enforces laws peacefully while understanding the usage of the Crimson Armor well beyond many others.

Now, these five young adults, each from each clan, are posed with the challenge to uphold the balance and peace within the city, for there is a strong opposition of rogue ninja and samurai wishing to weaken the tranquility. On the other hand, Seishirou’s father seeks greatly to become the owner of the Crimson Armor and inheritor of the Ieyasu clan by fraud, violence, blood, and the sorrows of all who is in his way.

Chapter I

SEISHIROU

Seishirou didn't deserve this. He just wanted a midnight snack. He didn't deserve to see his father attempt to kill the kind, gracious grandfather he always loved.

"Dad!" Seishirou cried out, his eyes trailing after the faint sound of footsteps. Looking at the silhouette at the wall which followed, Seishirou could only think of one person: his dad. His gentle ruby eyes widened in surprise as they caught the glimpse of the knife handle protruding from the clenched fist of his father's hand. "You can't do this! You know better, really! Don't kill Granddad!" Seishirou panicked a his dad turned around and threatened to stab him, the blade gleaming silver as it hovered above his pale skin.

Seishirou's father hesitated, but then said, "I can't kill you. You remind me far too much of your mother. She was a beautiful woman, but unfortunately as reckless as you. Don't get in my way, son." He glared before slithering into the Ayasaki patriarch’s bedroom.

Sick of being frozen in fear, Seishirou had to do something. He had held his father very dear to him despite how rash, insensitive, and intense he was. On the contrary, what his father was about to do was so wicked that Seishirou needed to act quickly. His father could not be allowed to reap the rewards of such a heinous sin. Taking the stiff, hard-as-stone (the cook wasn’t even exaggerating) bread from the pantry, he ran into the keeping chambers of the Crimson Armor, and smashed the bread into the glass case. Shards of glass scattered everywhere, hitting poor Seishirou. Holding back the howl he wanted to scream in agony, Seishirou stole away the heavy armor pieces and tossed them in a bag. Lugging it away as quickly as he can, he began his arduous journey to somewhere that was safe.

He found himself most surprised when he was spotted by a young lady in a black kimono. She flinched while muttering unintelligible words to herself. Interested, he stepped towards her and bowed only slightly, seeing that she was a girl much younger than him, about fourteen.

Hoping she wouldn’t catch sight of him, Seishirou peered closer, perplexed as to why this young lady was out so late. Despite his intrigue in her, if she saw him, she may be frightened, and thus run away. On the contrary, he didn’t know she was looking for him.

Perhaps, it was better he didn’t know; otherwise, he would have thought he was in danger. Yes, he was in danger, but it was not the girl he had to worry about. In truth, it was something much, much more sinister…

Each step Seishirou took felt absolutely excruciating. The boy didn’t know much longer he had to go until his journey to bring the Crimson Armor to safety was over. All of his concentration was diverted from the girl as he struggled to move onward, wearing down from the loss of blood. The blood loss was minor, but most influential, as he found fatigue and nausea from such.

Also, he was out very late at night without sleep. Of course, he would be tired. That was common sense, but for some reason, he lapsed into a nightmare after a dream about finding this lady who forewarned him about his doom. The girl was strangely similar to her. Likewise the maiden who helped him in real life, she wore a simple obsidian black kimono with a light viridian furisode, each embroidered with the golden symbol of the Rise clan. She held a composed, regal nature, with a small smile. Her hair was long and straight, raven black, and kept in a bun. The difference was that the lady from the dream wore makeup and looked like a maiko dancer.

What was her name...? He didn’t quite catch it before. Maybe he was dreaming. Seishirou wished so. He never wanted his father to be a criminal guilty of parricide. He never wanted any of this to happen. Tonight was a horrible, horrible night, and Seishirou knew it all too well.

Before he could even acknowledge it, he began to drift in and out of black unconsciousness. Feeling a gentle breeze of wind, he also caught sight of the elegant, golden clan symbol of the Rise upon the blur of dark black that flew past by him.

Gentle, frail fingers much smaller than Seishirou’s intertwined with his own fingers as his arm was pulled to his side softly, as he found himself supported by a helping hand of the girl who he didn’t know the name of. Slowly, his sight faded away, but he could sense everything else in every other way. He tasted the blood on his tongue that was caused by biting it too nervously; he smelled the crisp summer air, he felt the hand that gently held him and prodded him onward as he moved on in a trance for a short distance, and he heard encouraging murmurs from the girl whose breath tickled his ear so.

Soon, he found himself in a drafty old place that smelled of mothballs and dust. Certainly, it could only be the temple. Yes, it was. It was the local shrine; they had to be in the inner area as he was guided inward through the area. How decrepit the temple was and so small too. Seishirou and the Ayasaki clan definitely needed to make donations for renovating the place. It’d be beyond helpful, he thought. Then, he found himself left alone, slightly, having to cling onto a short table nearby him. He heard various noises: from water pouring to items trembling against each other.

Afterwards, the girl made a thud. Then, she directed him, “Go and lie down on this mat. I will treat your wounds.” Her voice was quiet, but high pitched. Seishirou complied, lying down on the mat. Carefully, the girl began to treat his wounds. Gratefully, he rested, eventually slumbering as the girl cleaned his wounds and placed cloth bandages over them. He was damaged pretty bad, huh? Seishirou thought. The wounds sure are painful.

Then, he slept.

*********************************************

MAIKO

Maiko had paid servants in the house to spy on the members of every family. It was pretty common of the Rise clan to do that. Although, pretty much everyone wanted to object, they couldn’t, because they all knew that the Rise clan had some dirty blackmail against them from spying on them for so long. The Rise clan even trained some of the paid servants in the basic methods of stealth so they could spy on their families at night. From what was heard, a lot of scandalous matters occurred. This occurrence was possibly the most curious case yet, and Maiko was just dying to find out what on earth could possibly have gone on.

Wearing a pitch black kimono, Maiko listened quietly as an old servant woman from the Ayasaki household rushed through the entrance, removed her sandals and bowed on a cushion in the guest room. “My lady, I am sorry to trouble you but as I went to prepare the head’s midnight snack, something major was going on! There has been a murder and a robbery in the Ayasaki clan’s home!”

“I am not displeased with your abrupt presence- I am only interested in what you must say,” Maiko replied with serene eyes the color of molten butterscotch. “Now tell me all you know.” The old woman had only vague details, and she could not see much but the silhouettes of the persons within the house. However, that was everything the young heiress needed to hear. Clutching the golden lotus blossom in her hands, she made a fist, sending petals floating to the floor. “Thank you.”

That night, Maiko furtively snuck over to the Ayasaki estate and came across a boy wearing torn, blood-stained night clothes carrying a gigantic leather bag that seemed to be very burdening. Immediately, she felt sympathy for the boy, wanting to help him, after noticing his suffering of exhaustion.

Noting his circumstances, Maiko pitied the young man, and found that he would die had she not helped him into the temple. She did not live there, nor did she have permission to enter there, especially the inner sanctum. Dire situations called for dire solutions, however, and she did whatever she could to help him. Besides, the monks were out on a spiritual expedition. Surely, they would not return too soon.

She opened a wooden supplies closet and found some scissors, some cloth, and a dusty tatami mat. Maiko left the man over near the table. He could grip on it if he lost his balance. Maiko feared he would pass out at any minute, so she worked quickly, laying out the tatami mat on an open space on the floor. She took a bucket, filled with water at the spring outside and purified it using whatever available magic herbs there were in the temple.

“Go and lie down on this mat. I will treat your wounds,” Maiko said urgently. She gave a relieved sigh when the boy obeyed.

Then, she dipped a cloth in the filled up basin and washed some of his wounds with the wet napkin before dipping it in the water once more. Maiko repeated this several times before starting to create the ointment. She treated the boy with a basic antiseptic herbal treatment with the recipe every ninja had to learn at a young age. Then, she placed bandage over the wounds. All this took fifteen minutes, and not once did the man stir.

Sighing, Maiko finished the job before resting on another tatami mat she had retrieved from the closet and fell asleep.

She dreamed of the man whom she had taken care of. In this dream, he seemed to be treating her as a lover. Every wonderful aspect of him was even more highlighted than usual. Of course, she thought he was cute from the very beginning. The dream just was about them having nice pleasantries, and after a close up of his face, the dream blacked out, and Maiko woke up.

Dim honey beams shone into the shrine. The sun was radiant today, Maiko thought as she woke up, refusing to open her eyes. So beautiful, too. Perchance, something good shall come to happen today.

Maiko gave up on keeping her eyes shut, and decided to blink them very slowly. Little did she know that she was in for quite the shock. Face to face with the man she took care of, her back bolted upright as she sat on her knees.

“W-what...are you doing up awake...?” she stammered in shock. He was out cold last night; she would have never guessed he would have risen earlier than her. Maiko just blinked more and regained composure.

The man smiled at her nervously, as if he didn’t know what to say or do. Then, he gazed at her eyes. “Thank you for saving me. Why?”
Maiko wasn’t sure how to answer. The best reply is that she wanted to interrogate him; another good response would be she was intrigued by him, and finally, she thought he didn’t deserve to die and she wanted to know what was in his bag. “I was curious why you were so hurt and what was in this bag.”

The man sighed. “It’s a long story. Are you willing to hear it?” He had a faraway, almost tragic look in his eyes as he recalled something Maiko didn’t know or ask about.

Maiko had no choice but to nod yes, to keep the conversation alive.

“In the middle of the night, I woke up after a dream-” he paused, as if wondering whether to reveal what the dream was about, before deciding against it, “and my father was up too. I was shocked to find my father up to, with a dagger to kill my grandfather. I couldn’t possibly defend myself against my father; he was armed whereas I wasn’t, and he had enough incentive to want to hurt me, even though I am his son. I could not allow him to have any of the benefits of committing such a terrible sin, so I took his main heirlooms with me, damaging myself. Money, land, and the other inheritances meant very little to me. But this reward is very special. I can’t tell you why; I’m sorry. I just don’t want to trouble you too much.”

The boy was really sweet. With such a crestfallen look on his face and understanding of his circumstances, Maiko couldn’t help but sympathize with him. She patted his shoulder comfortingly. “It’s alright. Can you tell me your name?”

He was hesitant once more, but then he replied, “Yes. I’m Ayasaki Seishirou. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ayasaki beamed brightly.
Maiko couldn’t help but smile back. “My name is Rise Maiko. The honor to meet you is mine.” They bowed slightly to each other. When it was time to leave, they put everything back in place and disposed of any used materials.

They began to walk out of the temple, thinking nothing could go wrong now. The bond between them started out as a healthy, but mysterious
friendship, and they were glad about it. Maiko had gotten the information she wanted, and Ayasaki escaped possible threat.

“Do you think you can return to your family home?” she asked him.

“No. I’m afraid they’d kick me out, especially since Dad is probably the new head, and I took away the most important heirlooms he has. It’s not like he ‘really’ owns them, though. In fact, he’s just supposed to be guarding them. Alas, he was too arrogant to understand.”

“Oh...” Maiko tried to help him carry the bag of heavy metallic objects she could not identify on her own.

“No, please don’t touch these,” Ayasaki quietly said.

“Oh, sorry,” Maiko replied.

“No, no, no, it’s fine. It’s just that they have to be a secret. Otherwise, it’d be much more difficult to protect these. They are extremely precious.”

“Ah, I see. So would you like to stay at my house since you cannot return to your own?” Maiko tried changing the subject.

“If I can. I hope they don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Yeah, me too. However, you must let me hold that. You shouldn’t strain yourself.”

“Alright. But, please, please don’t get too curious and try to find out what’s inside.” That was a challenge accepted for Maiko. Whatever was inside shouldn’t be of importance to her anyway. However, their attention was deterred and -they were dumbstruck, absolutely dumbstruck, as if they couldn’t believe it.

“!!!”

“!!!”

“Oh my... There are intruders! Bring help! Help!” A beautiful shrine maiden with dark blue hair stared straight ahead at the couple in stark terror.

*********************************************

CHIHARU

Chiharu’s mouth became agape as she stared at the couple before her in a reproachful manner. Maybe they were a bunch of robbers. But the stuff in the man’s bag seemed too bulky and inconvenient to be stuff from the shrine. Chiharu honestly had no idea what that was for, but she didn’t care.

What if they were doing the dirty and ruining the pure, consecrated, albeit a little shabby, shrine? The mere thought of that theory made Chiharu ready to cry. However, she regained composure, and managed to inquire, “What are you doing here? This is sacred grounds. You two shouldn’t be meddling around here.” Her voice was a little shaky, but it was good enough to convey the message across. “The other monks will be here soon. You should leave now.”

“Wait, before we go. I should explain. Please listen to me. My name is Rise Maiko, and this young man next to me is Ayasaki Seishirou.” The girl put down three fingers aside, and bowed deeply enough so her forehead touched the floor. Chiharu gasped. Wasn’t that a bit excessive? The girl continued to speak. “In truth, we weren’t doing anything indecent. I found this boy badly hurt and almost passed out. I took him here for shelter, and I also tried to heal him. He got hurt during trying to rescue these items in the bag from a corrupt member of his family.”

“Goodness.” To be frank, Chiharu didn’t have any idea of how to react. “I-I’m sorry that happened... Well, he’s fine now... so that’s good, I suppose.”

“Yes, but I need somewhere to stay,” the man pointed out. “My family won’t let me back in until I hand these over to the corrupt leader."

“Goodness... I-I don’t know if you can stay here honestly...” Chiharu looked down.

“It’s fine, totally! I actually kind of expected that. Anyway, I’m going to go and stay with Rise over here if I can’t stay anywhere else.” The boy smiled pleasantly, as if he was fine with it.

He seemed to be in a lot of trouble, yet he also was alright with that. Chiharu looked at his disheveled appearance, his ripped clothing still marred by dried blood. The maiden wasn’t sure what to think of these strangers. Despite how they were here suddenly without any consent had indeed surprised her to an extent. From their behavior they seem to haven’t done anything wrong, but shifting her gaze the miko turned her attention to the bag that Seishirou possessed. It seemed rather hefty, yet his appearance clearly shows he must have indeed gone through a lot of trouble. His injuries weren’t recent - that much was for certain from the quick examination she was taking in from him.

Rise on the other hand seemed to be in health in terms of appearance. Her elegant and sophisticated manner was a bit excessive - something Chiharu herself wasn’t expecting - and the words she spoke of their presence here had confused her from the start. Closing her eyes for a second the woman then opened them while her lips formed into a friendly smile. “I see... Hmmm...” The shrine maiden crossed her arms as she began tapping her foot the soft shifting strands of her blue hair almost covering her shoulders.

“I can’t ignore one thing, though. The only factor that’s worrying me is the contents of that ba-”

“Hey! Chiharu!”

With a turn of her head certain individuals came into view.

"Who...?"

Chiharu didn't recognize the two.

"Hello there." The boy said creepily without meaning too. “We’re here to help save you from these robbers, right?”

The boy was tall, but not as tall as Ayasaki. He had a clever look on his face, but his smile was bitter and mocking. He had dark blue hair, even richer than Chiharu’s. He looked very mature and was at a normal height for someone his age. He wore a dark navy blue kimono with a dark green bamboo design on top. Upon it, he donned a dark indigo haori and a vibrant goldenrod obi. He wore bandages around his wrists, and was covered with many battle scars.

"Who... are you...?" said Chiharu, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"I am the one that haunts you."

"Cut it out!" The girl hit the boy. "Geez... do ya gotta keep doin’ this to every person we meet?" sighed the girl.

"Yep!" the boy replied before the girl kicked him right in the face.

"Well whatever... Nice to meet ya!"

"Who might you two be?" asked Chiharu, simply and utterly bemused.

"I am the ghost in your closet! I am the monster under your bed!" said the boy valiantly. "I am Koharu Rokujou!"

"Wrong!" The girl punched the boy in the stomach.

"He's Hashimoto Kazuo and I’m Kirisame Tenko!"

"Nice... to meet... you..." said Hashimoto, staggering from the blow.

"..." Chiharu didn't know how to respond to this. In fact, to be honest no one did. "Nice... to... meet you?" She attempted a polite greeting towards Kirisame.

Kirisame was of short stature. She had black hair up to her shoulders, which was pretty common around these parts. She donned soft sky-blue colored pieces of armor wrapped around her chest, attached to the sides of her hips, shin guards, and shoulder guards, all of the same color. Wrapped around her waist was a yellow colored bow with two ribbons that stretched down to the tips of her ankles. Covering the abdominal area was a cloth that was dark shade of pink, and her pants were a soft shade of a dark purple. What deemed that Kirisame belonged to her clan was a cloth draped over her front with a golden circle in the middle, a golden brim, the cloth matching the color of her armor, and stretching down to about the tip of her knees.

She must be lost; such a small child, thought Chiharu.

"Are you lost? Do you need help to find your mother?"

Kirisame looked confused. "Whatcha talkin’ ‘bout?"

Chiharu put her hand on top of Kirisame's head. "Little girls shouldn't wander around at night. Your mom must be worried."

Kirisame stuttered. "Little...?"

Hashimoto’s face grew pale. "Here we go again..."

"I ain't little!" Kirisame snarled.

Chiharu smiled, looking down at Kirisame. “Okay, okay. But nonetheless, you shouldn’t wander around at an hour like this. It’s dangerous!”
Kirisame calmed down slightly, but didn’t quite return the smile just yet. “I can take care of myself!” She crossed her arms and huffed.
Chiharu noticed that she evidently wasn’t going to change her mind. It was written all over her face. “Alright, then.” She kept a small smile on, despite Kirisame’s disdainful expression.

Ayasaki then stated, “Well, that’s quite an entrance of you two.” He shrugged. “Well, nice to acquaint you then!”

“Yes, very much so,” agreed Rise.

"Nice to you meet you too," said Hashimoto.

Kirisame looked over at Ayasaki. “You honestly look like you’ve been attacked by a dog or something. A very violent dog.”

“Huh? It wasn’t a dog,” Ayasaki replied.

“Well, it sure looks like it was one.” Kirisame seemed pretty certain and confident in her sentiment, and even though Ayasaki was giving her a funny look at her claiming this without any real evidence when he knew that it wasn’t true, she wasn’t budging with her opinion.

“A dog had nothing to do with it. It was glass.” Ayasaki sighed.

“Glass... from a flashlight?” Kirisame asked.

“What? That’s a silly word. Torch is better.”

“No it isn’t! It’s a flashlight!!” Kirisame once again took a stand.

“They don’t flash! It’s a torch!” Ayasaki argued.

"Flashlight, moron!" protested Kirisame.

“It is most definitely a torch and not a flashlight! Back off!”

"Well it's a flashlight, and you should be careful with dogs."

Dogs didn’t even- that’s just maddeningly unhelpful and irrelevant!” Ayasaki was shocked at her response.

"It's okay it be not loved by dogs, just don't irritate them anymore. And just don't hurt yourself with flashlights anymore," concluded Kirisame who was not even paying attention to Ayasaki.

"Does it even matter?" asked Hashimoto.

"Shut up!!" exclaimed the two in unison while still arguing.

“Tenko-tan, why don’t you behave instead?” Rise suggested. Although they did not look alike, it seemed that the two had a very familiar relationship by how the girls silently interacted through body language.

“Gah! What are ya doin' here?” Tenko backed away in shock.

“I’m here to help Ayasaki-san, Tenko-tan.” Rise eyed her “sister” with a stern gaze.

“Well why do ya care!?”

What people had failed to notice was Chiharu’s interest in the bag that Ayasaki had been carrying. She edged away while the
whole ‘flashlight/torch’ argument was going on, intrigued by what the bag could hold. Someone arriving, looking bloody and torn up by something and holding a bag? It was very suspicious. She had to be certain of what exactly he had brought... words were not enough. She had to see for herself whether he was telling the truth, or whether he was secretly a harbinger of much more ill omens.

Casually hiding what she was doing from everyone else, she grabbed the bag quietly, and opened it. She snatched something that felt cool and metallic. Bringing it closer to herself, she discovered that it was a dark burgundy, with thick, black cushioning on the inside: a chest piece for armor. Chiharu widened her sapphire blue eyes. She knew what this was. But how? Why did he steal this? Who was the corrupt member of the Ayasaki clan who wanted this? Was Ayasaki lying?

Suddenly, the armor piece burst into a blazing cyan aura and latched onto her bosom, and she couldn’t hide what she was doing any longer. As
everyone laid their eyes on Chiharu, she couldn’t muster any words to explain herself.
Chao Island Roleplay: Rebirth: "I speak with the tones of shadowed viridian (#00BF8F)..."
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