by Ennki Hakari
She must have been around five years old at the time, and still going by her birth name, Mia. This was before she’d been granted the name Chiyome, one of the six great fighters of the Jinshin clan. She’d only recently joined the clan and was still a clumsy crybaby.
The village had been created for young members of the clan to train. This training involved the children staying out in the forest all night in order to help them get used to the darkness. Startled by the whispers of the trees and the howls of monsters off in the distance, Chiyome curled up in a bush and tried to suppress the sounds of her breathing, tears streaming down her face as she prayed for the night to pass by quickly.
Even though adults supervised the training to make sure the children were safe, the young Chiyome—Mia—was absolutely terrified. It was a difficult night for her. But somehow, she made it through. As soon as morning came, she passed out from exhaustion.
In spite of all the hardship, Mia never swayed from her dream of becoming a ninja. A short time later, she was practicing throwing shuriken with several other children her age. Straw scarecrows had been stuck in the ground some distance away, serving as targets for the metal projectiles. Despite their young age, all of the children were hitting their targets with the heavy shuriken.
Mia pinched the shuriken between her fingers and threw it with all her might toward a scarecrow’s upper torso. However, rather than flying straight ahead, it tumbled to the ground a short distance in front of her.
The other children broke out in laughter at the sight.
“Hahaha! Mia, you suck at this!”
“What are you aiming at anyway? You need to look straight ahead!”
Mia’s eyes began to burn, and the shuriken embedded in the ground in front of her blurred, as everyone around her kept laughing.
“Nng… Waaaaaaah!”
The embarrassment grew too much for Mia to bear, and she began to cry at her own shortcomings.
Her parents had been enslaved by humans, and her father had died of exhaustion due to the sheer amount of work he’d been forced to perform. His body simply couldn’t keep up. Her mother escaped with her, thanks to the efforts of the Jinshin clan, but the humans came after them. Before they could be captured, Mia’s mother gave up her life to protect her.
This village was full of similar stories of those who’d suffered at the hands of humans, losing one or both parents. But it hadn’t only been a desire for revenge that caused Mia to seek out the Jinshin clan. She wanted to save others in the same situation she’d been in, and become a strong fighter so that she could protect herself in the future. She was certain that her mother would still be here had she been able to fight. It was Mia’s inability to forgive herself for that loss that drove her.
Mia wiped away her tears, picked the fallen shuriken out of the ground, and threw it at the target again.
Again it came up short, this time bouncing off the ground and rolling away, sending the children into another fit of laughter.
Just then, three shuriken cut through the air and embedded themselves in a tight cluster in Mia’s target. This display of skill put a quick end to the children’s mockery.
A young boy walked silently toward the training ground, casting a cool glance around.
He looked to be around two or three years older than Mia, and he wore a gentle smile. Like Mia, he had black hair and was a member of the cat clan. The boy pulled three more shuriken out of his shirt and threw them.
Each one cut a different arc through the air, landing dead center in three different targets.
“Once you can do better than me, then and only then do you have the right to mock anyone else.”
Rowe, the young boy who cheerfully offered up this challenge as he stood by Mia’s side, was well known among the villagers for both his physical prowess and his impressive maturity, despite his young age. This was the first time Mia had met him in person.
“Watch me.”
Rowe picked up Mia’s shuriken from the ground and held it in front of her face before gracefully tossing it forward, landing it squarely in the center of his previous cluster.
Mia followed every motion the boy made, even as tears still streamed down her cheeks.
Rowe turned to Mia and shot her a smile. “Instead of throwing it at the target, think of it like extending your arm toward the target.”
Mia wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded firmly before picking up another shuriken and throwing it straight ahead, doing the best she could to mimic the boy’s movements.
Unlike her previous attempts, this time she managed to hit the wooden pole that held the target in the ground. Mia looked back up at Rowe, the surprise apparent on her face. He offered a broad grin in return.
Rowe pulled several more shuriken out of his pocket and placed them in Mia’s hand before pointing toward the target.
“Well, looks like you just need to put your mind to it and it’s yours. Next time, place your fingers just a little bit higher.”
Mia nodded, and focused all of her attention on the target ahead.
The other kids, who’d been intently watching the exchange between Mia and Rowe, immediately began mimicking his style as they went back to throwing shuriken at their own targets.
Mia continued to practice throughout the rest of the day, and, by sunset, was able to hit the target every time, even if her accuracy could use some work. She let out a heavy sigh, barely able to hold her arm up anymore due to her exhausted muscles.
Rowe smiled at the young girl.
“Well, I think this is a good time to call it a day.”
Mia looked up at him quizzically. “Why did you help me like that?”
It was a simple question, straight from her heart. She couldn’t fathom why someone like Rowe, a child prodigy by nearly any measure, who was respected by adults and outpaced all his peers, would spend his time helping a screwup like herself.
“You and I come from similar backgrounds… We’re both orphans. So I guess I just wanted to help you out.” He offered her a gentle smile.
Mia shook her head. There were countless orphans in this village; that couldn’t be the reason. Mia fixed her azure eyes on Rowe and asked again. “Why me?”
He smiled ruefully. She was much more stubborn than he’d expected. Actually, scratch that—it was precisely what he’d expected from her.
“You and I are one and the same. You weren’t invited to this village by a member of the clan, but rather came here of your own volition.”
What he said was all true. She’d come here on the very day she was rescued…the day her mother died.
She’d been covered in cuts and bruises, and her eyes had been swollen from crying. But in spite of that, she’d told the member of the Jinshin clan who rescued her that she wanted to join their ranks, her voice still trembling from crying.
“I… I wanna be one of you! I w-w-wanna protect people. Please, teach me!”
The young girl cried over her own weakness, and felt an anger welling up inside at her own powerlessness. She wiped away her tears, her body and spirit beaten nearly to a pulp, as she stared intently up at the adults dressed in ninja garb.
Rowe shrugged his shoulders. “We’re all apprentices here, Mia. But I’m going to make sure that you become stronger than anyone else. I promise. You’re still a bit on the clumsy side, so I’ll need to look after you for a bit. Do you have a problem with that?”
Mia gave her head a firm shake.
From that point on, Mia and Rowe spent all their time together.
Rowe was occasionally sent on assignments outside the village, but he always visited Mia first thing upon his return, to help her with her training. Under his close guidance, Mia quickly improved. She emulated everything about him, from the way he swung a sword, to how he carried himself, even down to how he spoke.
Together, Mia and Rowe drew a crowd no matter that they did.
***
Several years later, on a crisp morning, Rowe appeared in fro
nt of Mia as she was practicing her swordsmanship alone. He’d just returned from an assignment.
“I see you’ve added to your repertoire while I was away.”
Mia jumped when Rowe spoke. She’d been so focused on her training that she hadn’t noticed his stealthy approach. When she saw him, her face lit up.
“Welcome back, brother!”
She began to run toward him, then remembered herself and dropped to a knee, bowing her head low.
“E-excuse my impertinence. You’ve been granted the name of Sasuke and accepted into the fold as one of the great warriors of our clan. I apologize for my lack of respect.”
Rowe—now known as Sasuke—let out a sigh at her sudden change in behavior. Then he offered a mischievous grin. He stretched out his hand and ruffled her hair.
“I’m back now, Mia.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Her eyes scanned Rowe’s face, the face of a man she loved like a brother.
Sasuke turned away from Mia and looked off into the distance. “Becoming one of the clan’s six great warriors isn’t purely a cause for celebration. Taking on this role means that the previous holder of the spirit crystal is no more…”
Mia bowed her head again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Sasuke turned his gaze back to his protégé and stroked the hair between her ears. He smiled at her gently, his eyes softening.
“Whoa, hey, I’m sorry, Mia. I shouldn’t have been a downer like that. I was just thinking that if I’d been strong enough, then maybe the previous Sasuke would still be here.” The current Sasuke wiped the sad look from his face and smiled again. Mia was at a loss for words, unsure of what to say. “Sorry, I know I’m not making a whole lot of sense.” Sasuke scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh. He quickly tried to change the subject. “Hey, Mia, why don’t I show you what I can do, now that I’ve pledged myself to a spirit?”
Sasuke opened his hand in front of Mia and closed his eyes as he focused.
A moment later, a light began to form in the center of his palm. It swarmed around his hand, then a sudden gust of wind blew all of the fallen leaves high into the air.
Mia’s eyes went wide as she watched the mystical wind move.
This was a relatively simple ninja technique, common to cat people who possessed magical abilities, but Sasuke’s method was entirely different.
Through training, most cat people were able to perform rather basic magical ninja techniques, but only a rare few could pull off techniques using the power of the spirits.
The power spirit crystals granted to the six great warriors were rare treasures that allowed their holders to become one with a spirit by making a pledge to it. This gave them the ability to summon forth the spirit and use magic more powerful than the spells wielded by even the best mages. The wind technique Sasuke had just performed made use of his spirit’s power.
At a glance, a normal observer would be unable to tell if this were simple magic or the work of a spirit. However, when the power of a spirit was used, it let off a characteristic glow, a glow that represented the pledge its holder shared with the spirit.
Sasuke had been able to use magic-based wind techniques for many years, so the ability he’d just demonstrated shouldn’t have fazed Mia, but he was taken aback by the look of amazement on her face.
He looked straight into Mia’s deep azure eyes. “Mia…d-did you see the wind?”
Mia wasn’t exactly sure what he was trying to say, so she responded with a brief nod, then cocked her head to the side in confusion.
“That’s amazing! That means you have a strong affinity with spirits, too!”
Mia’s ears twitched as she found herself mirroring Sasuke’s excitement.
Sasuke took the surprised girl’s hand and held it up to his eyes.
“Can you feel the spirit’s breath, Mia?”
A soft glow began to form in her palm, and she could feel a gentle wind stroking her skin. Small sparks flew out of the center of the light, as if they were dancing. She could feel a slight warmth spreading throughout her hand.
Sasuke finally let go and gazed intently into Mia’s eyes.
She could tell what he was going to say next. She focused all her attention on her palm.
In the cool, damp forest, surrounded by the low-hanging mist of the early morning, Mia began to feel that same warmth return to her hand as a force ran gently through her, causing her ears to perk up.
A fine mist began to accumulate in her palm, growing larger with every breath she took. When it was the size of a small bubble, it began to shine under the light of the early morning sun, intensifying and dancing about in her palm.
Sasuke stared in astonishment at what was happening before him.
“This is amazing, Mia! You were able to call a spirit without a spirit crystal! I’ve never heard of anyone your age being able to pull something like this off. We need to report this to the village leaders… No, we need to report this to Master Hanzo himself!”
Mia smiled cheerfully at Sasuke’s enthusiastic praise. “Does this mean I’ll finally be able to help you?”
Sasuke paused at this, but quickly fixed a smile on his face so Mia wouldn’t notice his hesitation. He nodded. “If you keep working on your power, you’ll be a great asset to the village. But don’t overdo it. Trying to influence the spirits is a lot harder than it seems.”
Sasuke reached out and took Mia’s hand again.
She was slightly confused at his sudden change in behavior, but she nodded eagerly.
“Got it!”
***
Soon, the news that Mia was also able to call forth spirits was the talk of the village.
Hanzo, the leader of the Jinshin clan, was all too aware of just how remarkable this turn of events was. He assigned the other five great warriors to train Mia whenever Sasuke was unavailable.
Like a natural, Mia quickly picked up a knack for summoning the spirits, much to the surprise of the adults in the village. Her talent was undeniable.
Mia threw herself fully into practicing her abilities, even outside of her instruction time, in her effort to keep up with Sasuke, now one of the six great warriors of the clan.
However, this devotion led to a fatal lapse in judgment.
One day, Tsubone, another of the six great warriors, told Mia to take a break from training for the day and let her body rest.
Mia, however, was having none of it.
She had mastered the ability to use a spirit to carry out water-based techniques and was leaps and bounds ahead of her peers. But she hadn’t yet been assigned to a squad. Instead, she’d been ordered to stay in the village and focus on her training.
While all her peers were out hunting monsters beyond the village limits, she was stuck, all alone, practicing.
According to Hanzo and the other villagers, Mia’s ability to call forth spirits without the need for magical items made her a precious resource. They figured that she would only grow stronger if she had a spirit pledge crystal to call her own.
With that in mind, they simply couldn’t risk sending her outside the village.
But Mia found this incredibly frustrating. She wanted to catch up to Sasuke and start being a useful member of the village as soon as possible. Still, she could understand where Hanzo and the other adults were coming from.
Mia decided to sneak out of the village in order to practice her water techniques alone.
Because of their spirit crystals, the six great warriors were a force to be reckoned with. In Mia’s case, however, she didn’t have a spirit dwelling within her. She needed both time and concentration in order to call forth a spirit, making her techniques largely ineffective in the face of an attacker.
Which was exactly the case with the large, growling monster she encountered almost as soon as she’d left the village.
What the monsters roaming the wilds outside the village lacked in power, they made up for in large numbers. The monster Mia found herself
facing wasn’t much to speak of in terms of strength.
Up until now, she’d only run across goblins, which hardly counted as training.
The growling monster in front of her now was of a totally different variety, usually unseen in the forest. It was about three meters tall and had two long, curving tusks jutting from its lower jaw. On top of its head, it also had two dark purple horns. The monster was covered in black, mottled fur and had bloodred eyes.
Unlike normal beasts, monsters were imbued with mana and could call forth something akin to magic. The creature before Mia was wrapped in a dark mist that made it difficult to see where its body ended and the mist began.
Worse, the sun was already starting to set, turning the sky a deep crimson and bathing the forest in darkness.
Shadows cloaked the monster, making it almost impossible to see.
“Graaaaaaaol!!!”
The monster let out a hideous cry and charged, heading full tilt toward Mia. She twisted out of the way, feeling it graze her side, then pulled a shuriken from her pocket and hurled it at the monster’s eye.
It missed its mark and hit one of the dark purple horns instead, the resulting clang echoing through the clearing.
Taking advantage of the distance between herself and the monster, Mia drew the short sword from her waist and held it at the ready.
She glared at her opponent, in the hopes of gaining enough time to summon forth a water spirit. The monster, however, had other plans, and rushed headlong toward the girl.
The monster was massive, a full five meters long if you counted its tail. Despite that, it was still able to move rather nimbly, though Mia had no time to dwell on this.
She was so focused on calling forth the spirit that she didn’t respond to the oncoming threat until it was too late. Blood sprayed as a large gash opened in her right arm.
After ramming past Mia, the monster slammed head-on into a tree.
This didn’t slow it for long, however. It quickly turned around for another headlong charge.
The dark-furred monster tore right through a tree the size of a young child, knocking it to the ground.