The Distortion

Ultimately, it turned out to be rather good. Adam in particular was pleasantly surprised by how synchronized their actions ended up being. It was by no means perfect, mainly due to Râad occasionally stepping out of line, but that very same lack of discipline ended up benefitting the play more than hurting it. The spectators were also captivated throughout the duration of the act. Far from being a standard performance—from Laith’s clothing to his special interaction with his companion—the fresh and never-before-seen experience was wholeheartedly welcomed by allies and enemies alike.

Adam ended up being an extra who was tasked with carrying his brother’s body after being “slain” in combat, a simple feat he struggled with. Adam was conscious of his limitations regarding physical strength, but he didn’t anticipate his brother’s not-so-light body, despite it being rather slim.

“I genuinely do not know how you keep pulling it off with that tiger of yours.” Adam whispered as he dragged Laith.

“It’s all him, he’s just that awesome. He’ll grow on you, just give it time.” Laith muttered—he was still pretending to play dead.

“I’m not even sure I’d want that...”

Râad stood in front of the cheering and clapping crowd, proudly unleashing a series of triumphant roars to celebrate his victory. He would have probably stayed like that all day had he been allowed to, but Laith motioned for him shortly after to exit the stage, which he did reluctantly.

“I reckon you know what you have to do next, right?” Adam asked.

Laith nodded confidently.

“We’re counting on you. Be careful, and good luck.” Adam gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving.

The allied samurais—more had flocked backstage since he started his act—gave him a stern and firm look, namely Akira’s camp. Laith couldn’t really interpret their intent; it could have been threatening, encouraging or both. Laith didn’t bother asking, and couldn’t bother with the answer either.

* * *

Whilst everyone was busy with the festivities, a confrontation was taking place, a confrontation no one could see or hear or sense in any way, a confrontation out in the open, yet hidden in the shadows.

She discarded her long kimono, a kimono that would have hindered her movements and prevented her from hopping from one roof to the next in a quick, nimble and furtive fashion. She might as well have been a living specter. Yuuna searched every hidden corner, every unseen spot, every shady crack, every abandoned building…she scouted every position she would have used to keep watch was she in a similar situation. To no avail. Whoever was spying on them was either much better than her or was not trying to hide at all.

She never anticipated both.

Her last resort was getting to the highest possible point, on the very top of the tallest tower. Yuuna hoped a holistic view of the castle would open her eyes to some detail she might have missed. She was to get there initially, to the Daimyo’s office, as part of her original role before this urgent matter came up. She shot up effortlessly from one altitude to the next, until finally reaching the roof of the fourth story.

There he was.

She was surprised by the lack of attempt to stealth his presence. A man sat there, casually, with no regard to keeping a low profile. Even from below, she could have spotted him had she paid enough attention, except she never considered it seeing how conspicuous it was. She took a deep breath; she couldn’t afford to lose her calm at this stage. She promptly put on the mask over her mouth and scrupulously crept behind him, hoping she would get the first blow on him. It mattered a great deal in a confrontation between ninjas. the fight was usually fast-paced and speed-reliant, so whoever seized the momentum first usually won the bou—

“Took you long enough.”

She refused to believe it at first. There was this familiar air about him, and she did get a strong sense of it, but she dismissed that likelihood in a heartbeat. However, there was no mistaking it now, the deep voice, the wide back and the thick wolf hide draped over his shoulders led to one possible person.

“Ryuuma…san?”

The ninja who helped her, the man who saved her, the one who sheltered her, was standing right before her, probably as an opponent, possibly as an enemy. The one arrogant enough to not use an anonym. He slowly rose to his feet and turned to face her, looking as shocked as she did. Upon seeing him, Yuuna recalled how different he was from other ninjas. A middle-aged man built like a brick wall with clothes plastered to his strappy body, he struck a stark contrast from the slender constitution of his peers. His face remained uncovered, disregarding the mask, a mandatory piece for ninjas to further conceal their identity. Ryuuma wore a fur around his neck letting two frontal large stripes fall one on each side of his chest.

His profile was that of a veteran ninja who had been hardened by an endless number of battles, battles that honed his skills to a degree that even the Shinobi village, which he also happened to desert at one point, would request his services once again, overlooking his past transgression.

“What are you doing here, Yuuna?” much like her, he was disconcerted when he discovered the identity of the one tracking him.

“I…came here…to…” she had no clue what answer she should give.

“According to my intel, most Daimyos hired ninjas to secure their castles tonight, but it seems one of them might be going on the offensive. Whose contract are you fulfilling?”

The question helped her regain her senses. It was a reasonable assumption on his part, but she despised it nonetheless.

“No, please stop. This is not about a contract.”

“That is an even stranger thing to say,” intrigue adorned his face, “If you are not here for a contract, then what exactly are you here for?”

“I…cannot tell you that.” she answered, still puzzled by how it all turned out.

“Well, whatever it is you are after, it seems I was not contacted for nothing after all.”

She did not reply.

“Look Yuuna, just walk away now, there is no need for us to fight.”

“They are counting on me, I can’t let them down…” she could barely look him in the eyes.

“You mean that quirky guy—with his funny tiger mind you—heading towards the backdoor as we speak? What business do you have with someone who’s not even from these lands?”

Her face turned pale…although it was to be expected. Ryuuma was a ninja of the highest renown, for Laith to escape his sight was simply inconceivable for someone of his caliber.

“It is none of your business Ryuuma san, I came here for something else entirely and you are wasting my time.” she mustered all of her courage to utter that bold statement.

“I could say the same for you who is standing in my way; I should be down on the ground dealing with that strange man.” he threw a short glance in Laith’s direction.

“I will not let you get to him.” she answered firmly.

“Please don’t tell me you are entertaining the possibility of opposing me, we both know how it will end.”

“I will if I have to, so don’t make me do it.” her attempt to showcase bravery was almost convincing.

“You can drop the tough act Yuuna, I can see right through you. Stand down, I don’t want to hurt you, I really don’t. Besides, you said this is not even a contract, so why are you so adamant on going through with this?”

Frustration started to simmer within her. “So what if it’s not a contract? All you talk about are missions, contracts and targets, is that all what life is to you?” she held back her voice in spite of her rage.

“That’s all it needs to be. I get hired to do a job, I do the job and I get paid. Nothing in between. Nothing personal.” He stared coldly into her eyes.

His statement brought back some very unpleasant memories of her time in the village. That was all she had heard from the masters and she grew tired of hearing it. She had grown to despise that reasoning with every fiber of her being.

“Well guess what, I’m not here for some stupid contract!” she finally snapped. “Unlike you, this means something for me and I’m willing to do everything in my power to accomplish it so please, for the last time, don’t make me fight you.”

He shook his head with a sigh. He had no desire to fight her; he wanted to avoid this confrontation at all costs. For a brief moment, Ryuuma considered ignoring her to go deal with the young man heading for the rear gate instead. Then he figured Yuuna would shadow him relentlessly and he would have to engage both of them at the same time. He did not worry—not one bit—about whether he could take them on or not, but he feared it would create an unnecessary commotion and pull some needless attention towards him—there was already a loud tiger in the mix. Subduing an enemy was not the only thing required of him, the banquet was not to be disrupted. That was his mission.

As such, he opted for the quieter option.

“It seems this conversation is going nowhere.” he regretted it, but he saw no other way. “I’m sorry Yuuna, but if you want to proceed with anything, you will have to go through me.”

“The same goes for you, Ryuuma san.”

In a heartbeat, Yuuna whipped out her fans and dashed forward closing the gap between them in an instant. She swung both fans—still folded—simultaneously at his face, only to be blocked by his bare forearms. Not only that, Yuuna to suffer most of the shock after the collision, even though she was on the offensive and he was the one under attack. She didn’t falter, immediately striking his legs with a series of lows kicks, hoping to throw him off balance. Nothing, Ryuuma did not even budge, calmly observing.

Her barrage had compromised her footing, which opened a window to end things right away. Ryuuma raised his right arm, open palm, the knife edge of his hand locking onto its target, before bringing it down on the exposed nape of her neck—the difference in height facilitated the task. That singular blow would have knocked her out, had it landed.

Yuuna reacted fast enough, lowering her head as she arched her back with almost inhuman flexibility. In the midst of her dodging, she managed to sneak a graceful kick right to his jaw. Once again, her attempt ended up having the opposite effect of what she intended. For a moment, Yuuna thought she heard her leg crack after the impact. What was more disturbing was the fact that the pointy heel of her sandals, which should have stabbed his jaw, didn’t even put a scratch on him.

From that awkward position, Yuuna followed with a couple of back somersaults to regain proper footing and create some distance between them. She unfolded her fans and positioned herself behind him with phenomenal speed, her right fan aiming his for ear while her left fan attacking his kidney. She figured going for the more sensitive spots would be the way to effectively hurt him.

Again, her blows amounted to nothing…he did not even bother blocking this time. She sprung up, twisting her body slightly to drop-kick Ryuuma in the back, but she ended up being the one kicked back in the process.

I know he’s strong, but this is ridiculous…, she finally froze, physically and mentally.

Yuuna knew her chances were slim…except she didn’t realize they were nonexistent. She initially charged in expecting him to match—or exceed—her speed and agility considering he was a fellow ninja. What she did not expect was to be pitted against an invulnerable tank. Even more unnerving was the fact that during their exchange, his feet hadn’t moved from the very same spot he initially stood in, not a single millimeter. Not a step forward or backward, no rotation, nothing. He overpowered her while standing completely still.

While still stunned with how big of a gap there was between them, Yuuna barely noticed that he was already behind her. She was quick, considerably so, but his movements were closer to actual teleportation than a traveling motion. No more than a blink and you’d lose track of him. Ryuuma attempted the same maneuver as previously to knock her out. Once again, she managed to duck down, dodging in the nick of time, still feeling the breeze from his traveling hand. This time however, he grabbed her left arm and locked it behind her back, knocking her flat on the ground with a low kick to her knee pit.

“Playtime’s over, struggle and I will break your arm.” he said calmly.

She was in extreme pain, and yet, that did not stop her from trying frantically and incessantly to break free of her current predicament. She struggled like a desperate prey caught in the clutches of her hunter.

“I said stop it, Yuuna!” he shouted.

His warning was futile. She wasn’t thinking straight, or perhaps she was just that determined, enough to have her arm broken so she could keep fighting. Yuuna should have been demoralized at her weakness, completely shattered after her pathetic display. Yet, something pushed her forward, a feeling she almost forgot about during her years as a Kunoichi, the simple impulse of caring about anyone or anything. This time, she fought for something of her own volition, not dictated by some issued order. That alone would be enough consolation even if her arm were to break.

Fortunately for Yuuna, she no longer had to worry about that outcome either because in the next few moments, something would become clear to her. She might not be able to win this fight, but she could definitely stall it as much as she could.

In the midst of her desperate attempts to free herself, she indeed came very close to cracking her bones. Right before it happened, Ryuuma released her; he backed out in that last instant. His previous warning had been a mere bluff. He said nothing, but Yuuna could deduce it from his apologetic look. It was then that she realized his downfall in this fight: his softness. The only advantage she had over him in this bout was the fact that he was not willing to hurt her, not really. For Ryuuma to show this side of him was unexpected, but Yuuna hadn’t the time to think about it right now. She would capitalize on this window with all her might, that was her priority.

Her win condition was simple, all she had to do was not get knocked out and buy as much time as possible for her friends and allies to finish the job. She would thus give up the search for the fragment, her primary task in this raid, but it would be better than having Ryuuma decimate their entire party all on his own. From where she was standing, it did not seem that farfetched.