Chapter 3

Ryu traveled far across the plains until he came to a valley where he discovered that Toshiro was not kidding when he said that they had been out numbered. There was a small, stone, wall behind which sat one of the other members of the Organization. He looked injured and was craning his neck to see what was happening on the battlefield. Ryu was awestruck at the sight of thousands of gunmen lined up at the crown of the hill opposite of his position. There were countless men wielding short swords swallowing the valley as they engaged the few men who he had come to aid. However, he saw no one who looked to be opposing the army. Ryu figured they were caught in the crowd as they fought. The funny thing about the Organization, it only took a few men to wipe out an entire army.

Ryu carefully looked over the area and saw exactly what he was looking for. Toshiro was brushing past the crowd, not wanting to deal with the small fry, looking only for the commander. A man attempted to run him through, but to no avail. Toshiro had already leaped into the air and, landing with one foot on the shoulder of each of the two men who stood behind him, kicked them to the ground and made a swift escape.
Watching Toshiro fight was a pleasure. He could get out of any situation that came to him. Perhaps it was simply improvisation. Or maybe something else. Maybe he planned the entire fight out. Ryu couldn’t tell. He had to aid his former comrades in the battle that lied ahead.

He rushed through the crowd, dodging the flailing swords of the advancing enemy. A man with a dagger and a few of his friends stopped him in his tracks.

“Hey, boys,” The warrior sneered. “Look what we got here. A ninja. Well, Mr. Ninja, why not show us some of those moves of yours.” The man thrust the dagger in Ryu’s direction.

“Tsk, tsk.” Ryu sighed, as he appeared behind the startled men. “You have no respect for your betters do you?” Ryu firmly planted the side of his hand into the man neck. The fool was knocked out cold. The other men stared in awe until they as well were silenced.

Ryu dashed through the crowd, blinded by the hand-me-down rags worn by the inexperienced, second-hand army. H e needed to catch up to Toshiro, to ask him why he was not fighting alongside his comrades. Ryu reached the bottom of the hill as the last of the army shoved past him. It seemed to him as though this was not a direct confrontation. Toshiro had skipped past the actual army and headed towards an unknown goal. Very few men in the army had paid Ryu any attention. Something was not right and Ryu’s only security now was that he could catch Toshiro for an explanation.

Ryu looked up to see the line of gunmen aiming in his direction. Xavier must be really desperate. Ryu thought to himself. Although weapons such as muskets had been invented at the time in Japan, those who trained in the martial arts believed that firearms were cowards’ weapons. They believed that a direct confrontation if not a more stealthy approach was a man’s way of encountering an opponent.

The gunmen fired in succession, every other man shooting while the others reloaded. However, there was a gap in this cycle if the first round failed to reload in time. This was Ryu’s only chance. He took advantage of the fact that only every other man shot by positioning himself in a place where he was less likely to be hit. Still, this was risky. What if the first round reloaded faster than expected? Would Ryu survive such an onslaught?

Suddenly, a man from the Organization shot down the line, slicing the gunners across their middles with a knife. Taking advantage of the situation, Ryu cracked the remaining opponents in the jaw.

“So Ryu, long time no see.” Ryu’s rescuer scoffed, tossing his blade into the air and catching it as it spun back down.

“Yuki,” Ryu seemed inpatient. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”
Yuki sighed. “It seems that this army’s not interested in us. I think they have a different goal in mind. But they’re still a huge problem. I know they’re weak but they’re everywhere.”

“That’s not the point. I’m looking for Toshiro. I know he’s headed toward Xavier, but I do not know where Xavier is either.”

“Chances are, neither does he. Xavier is in the Castle of Twilight to the north.” Yuki pointed to a beautiful castle at the bottom of the hill to the north. “I guess he seized it a while back. But…why bother Toshiro? He’s one of our best reconnaissance ninja in…Well, forever I guess.”

“Yes, but he’s also narcissistic. He has all right to think he’s better than us, but sometimes he gats a little too-“

“Hey, he’s brilliant. I know he can do this…Trust me.”

Ryu saluted his fellow and began the descent down the hill to the Castle of Twilight. The cool air of the late afternoon swept away his worries. He realized that because this was not an official war he had not been taking it seriously. A true ninja must show no emotion. That is what Ryu was taught long ago. A true ninja must be willing to protect anyone at a moment’s notice. However, inside Ryu was torn. Those principles had gotten him far in life. He was the greatest ninja in Japan. Anyone except the Organization would have trembled in fear at the mere mention of his name. But Ryu knew that it had been the fact that he developed emotion and a will to protect those precious to him that had made him immortal.

His village was under siege and he had been taken down, nearly killed by a rival ninja…Toshiro. He had been slaughtered, forced to his knees by the greatest ninja ever, a ninja who believed in the old ways of teaching. It was then that Ryu realized that he had to develop emotion, the will of fire. He had to protect his loved ones because they were precious to him, not because it was his duty. He had to…protect. He died that day. But he was spared. He was given not only another chance but immortality. It didn’t stop there either. Immortality is simply being frozen in time, without age, living forever. Ryu was granted invincibility as well. He could have been shot back at the bottom of the hill and it would have simply bounced off of his body. Ryu is never sure what to think. He can usually be a “true” ninja and survive the battle pretty well. However, if ever he should come to face an opponent like Toshiro again he may not survive. In his opinion, his invincibility is a precious gift, which may not last if he takes it for granted. That was why Ryu had decided to dedicate his life to protecting others. He weighed his decisions carefully and always fought for the good of his people.

He arrived at the front door of the Castle of Twilight. The castle shimmered with radiance in the light of the sunset. It was made of ivory and a golden caramel-colored molding and trim. He stared in admiration at the finely carved wooden door. It was large and carved with intricate designs and had golden hinges.
Ryu figured he couldn’t just walk through the front door. After a quick inspection of the front face of the castle, Ryu ran straight up the wall until he came to a balcony above the front door. There was a staircase leading down into the castle, a threshold covered with purple drapes leading into the upper level, and a window probably to the same room that was on the other side of the door.

Ryu brushed aside the purple drapes of the threshold and stepped into a dimly lit library. There was a small end table on which sat a book in red velvet bindings with the words “Light and Dark” in gold on the cover. Ryu, being a ninja, had penetrated castles much more likely to be on guard of intrusion than this one was. However, something about this castle made Ryu’s skin crawl. He carefully made his way down the grand staircase carpeted in red with gold railings. He looked around at all the dusty books on their shelves. They were all alphabetized as though it were once a public library.

He cautiously creaked open the gold-trimmed door, coughing as the dust somehow penetrated his mask, and stared in amazement at the main hall. This room seemed much less ancient and not in the least bit dusty, but it still seemed to Ryu as though it had not been used properly in a long time. He realized that was right where he had been hoping the library would lead him, the other side of the front door. It was a grand hall with a large staircase much like the one in the library opposite the front door and on either side of this staircase were two fountains made of ivory shaped like lion heads jutting from the wall and spitting water into a small pool. There was a master fountain in the center of the room with a statue of a roaring lion on its hind legs and at the top of the stairs there were three paths. To the left was where Ryu had just come from, the library. There was a door opposite of Ryu’s position and a long hallway directly at the top of the staircase.

Ryu followed the mahogany railing around the fountain to the top of the staircase. He stepped carefully down and sat on the edge of the pool under the grand fountain.

“Astonishing, simply astonishing.” A familiar voice mocked him. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. “The great Ryu has gathered up the nerve to come here and leave his teammates behind to die.”

“W-who are you?” Ryu stammered, looking all around. “I-I didn’t leave them! They’re not my teammates anymore! I mean…the other army probably passed them up. They’re great fighters, but…they’re not my comrades.”

“Poor Ryu. Is that really how you feel about your former teammates? So sad, they befriended you and now you leave them to die. I suppose that shows how much you care.” The voice scoffed. A sort of shuffling noise came from the balcony circling the second floor. A familiar face to match the familiar voice leaped over the railing and landed gracefully on the fountain. The man sat on the lion’s arched back, leaned back and crossed his legs as though he were at home in the large, dark castle.

“Toshiro,” Ryu scowled at the man who had nearly killed him, invited him into the Organization, and asked for his help as a friend with a problem that he shouldn’t have been involved with, and was now accusing him of doing something that he himself had done as well.

“Ryu?” Toshiro nonchalantly sighed, gazing at the marvelous décor of the grand hall.

“Toshiro…Please, tell me where this is going.”

“You know exactly where this conversation is headed. Do not make me repeat myself.”

“How dare you abandon your comrades like that? You know as well as I do that I was only following you!”

A sudden tension swept through the air like the winds of an oncoming storm.

“Never blame others for your own mistakes especially ones so stupid!” That calm and collected, yet serious tone returned to his voice once again.

“Toshiro, please tell me. What are you talking about?” Ryu seemed shocked at his partner’s sudden mutiny of sorts.

“You never cared for your teammates did you? A true ninja shows no emotion. A ninja is merely a sword, a tool for carving his master’s own image, a tool for killing!”

“No! You’re wrong! The path that ninja walk is not merely a path it is their destiny! They are people, not just tools for killing! They are protectors! A true ninja’s ultimate goal, his only purpose in life should be to protect those that are truly precious to him!”

Ryu’s words hung in the air, waiting to be picked up.

“Then,” Toshiro solemnly drew his blade and straightened up, now standing atop the great lion. “Your own comrades must not be very precious to you.”