The Bitter Sweet Ninja

“Hey Kalynn, are you here?” I called as I let my dripping wet self in from the storm. I heard an “over here” from behind a pile of books. I found her glued to her computer killing off gung-ho Cow warriors in Diablo.
“Hey, I have a favor to ask.”
   “Hmmmmm?”
“Could I get you to look over my story and check it for grammatical errors? It’s due tomorrow.”
“Yah, I guess. You have it on an USB port?” I stuck it in front of her nose before she finished talking. She wrinkled her nose then took it between two fingers and plugged it in.
“Shinobi

The shadows clothed the walls making it seem as if one was walking through a tunnel that was getting smaller and smaller with each step. Yukari, clothed all in black, swallowed nervously and tightened her grip on her halberd. She strained her eyes trying to see past the darkness. There! She whirled as she heard the faintest of sounds. She crouched and waited till she felt wind blow past her cheek then, she struck. With a loud “oaf” the perpetrator fell to the floor clutching his lower region. She let a small smile of satisfaction creep across her lips. No need to be nervous after all. As she moved to continue down the hall she felt a sharp sting on her neck. Her eyes darted around while she froze. There was someone else here! She cautiously slid a foot forward only to collapse as she put her full weight on it. Lying there on the floor she felt her limbs go limp. She had lost all motor control…she was a sitting duck. Yukari heard a chuckle and strained her neck to be able to see her captor. He was almost upon her when, out of the corner of her eye she saw the rosy glow of a lamp bobbing her way and a voice singing merrily away without a care in the world. The unseen assailant faded away as the light came closer.
“Oh my, what’s this? A poor defenseless ninja on the floor of the secret tunnel? How awful! Help, oh please , someone help….” Then she paused. “Wait, if I save him then he’ll be forever grateful to me and I’ll get to play with him forever or I’ll tell everyone his secret, and if he tries to kill me then well, I’ll just have to be quicker and kill him and….what’s this?” The woman had unwound the head mask.
“A girl? Phiff! Someone else can save her. But this clothing will fetch quite a pretty penny. ” Before the jingle of your favorite television commercial could tumble from your lips the girl was clothed only in what the Kami had graced her with at birth. “That what you get, whore. Really, girls as ninja? What a horrid thought.” Muttered the woman as she hurried away.  Just then the castle was hit by thousands upon thousands of cannon balls and the walls came tumbling down.

                                 The End. “

  Kalynn looked up from reading the story.
“You really suck at writing, you know that don’t you?”
“I couldn’t help it, I didn’t know what to write, mean I knew what I wanted to write but there were just so many other things I wanted to do. Like I was sitting on my bed typing when I looked over and noticed that on my wall I have two corn husk dolls I made and that it looks like they’re swirling around this dried Chinese Lantern plant I snagged from the school’s plant life. And I was looking at it and I felt so inspired to paint. It would have made a beautiful picture. And then I just feel down today. Like I’m unappreciated. And I just want to mope about it. I mean things haven’t been doing so well between…” Kalynn held up a hand.
“Don’t want to hear it. I warned you, didn’t I? Didn’t I? About getting involved with foreign chicks?”
“Yah you did, but she was just so cute and cuddly, I mean, how could I resist?”  Kalynn rolled her eyes.
“Whatever, hand me that computer, I can’t stand to see a story butchered like that, so I’ll write your assignment, but this means you owe me big time, got it?” I just nodded, hiding a smile inside, I knew if I messed up bad enough I could get her to write the story for me. She’s a much better writer then myself any day. “Really, faster then you can hum your favorite TV commercial?”
“I’ll get you some hot chocolate then, ok?” But Kalynn, brow already furrowed in deep concentration, merely grunted. She was already gone.

                                
The Story of the Bitter Sweet Ninja

“Times were dark and sinister during the Meiji era.  But none so dark as it was for the Ninja clan that protected the Aizu clan. “

I looked over Kalynn’s shoulder as I stirred my own mug of hot coco.
“Bitter sweet ninja? What are we talking about here, the Hershey’s bodyguards? I thought you could write better then I could.” I took a sip of my beverage and made a face as my tongue burned.
“Shut up! I’m just getting started.”

The Bitter Sweet Ninja
revised

“The shadows clothed the walls making it seem as if one was walking through a tunnel that was getting smaller and smaller with each step. Yukari, clothed all in black, swallowed nervously and tightened her grip on her halberd. She strained her eyes trying to see past the darkness. There! She whirled as she heard the faintest of sounds. She crouched and waited till she felt wind blow past her cheek then, she struck. With a loud “oaf” the perpetrator fell to the floor clutching his lower region. She let a small smile of satisfaction creep across her lips. No need to be nervous after all. As she moved to continue down the hall she felt a sharp sting on her neck. Her eyes darted around while she froze. There was someone else here! She cautiously slid a foot forward only to collapse as she put her full weight on it. Lying there on the floor she felt her limbs go limp. She had lost all motor control…she was a sitting duck. Yukari heard a chuckle and strained her neck to be able to see her captor. He was almost upon her when, out of the corner of her eye she saw the rosy glow of a lamp bobbing her way and a voice singing merrily away without a care in the world. The unseen assailant faded away as the light came closer.
“Oh my, what’s this? A poor defenseless ninja on the floor of the secret tunnel? How awful! Help, oh please , someone help….” Then she paused. “Wait, if I save him then he’ll be forever grateful to me and I’ll get to play with him forever or I’ll tell everyone his secret, and if he tries to kill me then well, I’ll just have to be quicker and kill him and….what’s this?” The woman unwound the head mask and reeled back in surprise.  
“A girl? Phiff! Someone else can save her. But this clothing will fetch quite a pretty penny. ” Before the words were even out of the woman’s mouth Before the jingle of your favorite television commercial could tumble from your lips the girl was clothed only in what the Kami had graced her with at birth. “That what you get, whore. Really, girls as ninja? What a horrid thought,” Muttered the woman as she hurried away. The walls began to shutter.  Yukari was left lying on the floor. She would have shivered had she been able to move. As it were, there was nothing to do except blush at her exposure, so she calmed her breathing into slumber. And she dreamed. She dreamed she was walking along side the streets just after dusk had fallen. The sky was dripping rain and as she walked she listened to the sounds of the night. The swuach-scuach sound her feet made in the wetness and as she listened she heard but didn’t see a person walking the opposite direction. Even thought she had opened her senses up to chorus of the night, but it was the song of her heart that sang the loudest. What was this feeling of worthlessness and sorrow coming from? She felt her eyes longing to join the sky as it released it sadness. Where was her humor? Where was her usual joy? She tried to smile and think of some thing funny but her thoughts returned as if directed by some unseen hand back to that loneliness. It was a dull ache in her chest as if a piece of her was missing. And though she was walking alone, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something she was missing For surely someone had walked beside her at one time. She thought and thought as she continued walking through the rain. Just then a flash of bright color darted before her eyes. Bright color in the dismal rainy night? Yukari ran after it without thinking. And as she came closer memories began to flood in. Memories of a horrible battle. Where thousands upon thousands were cut down like harvest wheat, painting the fields red and creating crimson lakes with their blood. The ear-shattering bang of the gaijin’s guns and the soul piercing screams of men and women dying. Sulfur and iron scorched her nostril and she licked gunpowder from her lips. She felt her muscles quiver from over use and her eyes gritty with lack of sleep. Her lower head felt heavy and she wished more then anything that she could lay her head down and sleep forever. But for some reason she couldn’t sleep. The bright color was getting further and further ahead. She had to catch up. She past other memories. Those of protecting the Crane Castle’s Princess as she made her way out of the castle suing for peace. Of having to leave friends on the battle field. Of having to watching a large mass of people she knew and loved commit seppuku instead of being captured and killed or worse. Of looking back on the castle that she had spilled blood protecting and seeing its walls cave in as it was overwhelmed by the enemy.  And part of her heart broke, though she knew not why. And still she continued to run after the darting color.
By now the rain was getting much harder. She could hardly place one hand before her face and still see it. She could only see flickers of it here and there, then it vanished. She was alone in the torrential downpour. Tired, she slumped to the ground, her head on the ground. Eyes open but not really seeing, water streaming down her body and face. And as she lay there, she heard a voice.
“Come back to me. Where have you gone?” Her ears perked up a little. What was it about that voice that sounded so familiar?  Her thoughts raced. She remembered a time when she and another girl had gone to visit one of the villagers outside the castle. How they had ridden a horse. But as it got later the other girl decided to leave early. So she made her farewells and left. ‘She left without me.’ Yukari remembered thinking. And it hurt because this girl was a good friend. And all the way back that was all she could think about. Wondering why the girl hadn’t asked for a ride back.
The voice came again.
“Where are you? Come back, come back.” It entreated. But Yukari remained silent. She was still thinking. Her thoughts went back to the scenes on the hill where the castle was overrun. Why had she cried out. Why had she been overwhelmed with a sense of horror and dread and fear?
“Where are you? I am looking for you.” Came the voice. It was closer. She strained her mind. Why was the voice so familiar? Then, the voice came and whispered right behind her ear.
“Found you.” And Yukari felt a feather touch on her shoulder and her hair move in a warm breeze though it was still raining.  And all of a sudden all the missing memories came flooding back. Memories of her and Taeko. Of when her name was Yuriko, not Yukari. Of all the good time and bad times that the two of them had weathered together in their short lives. Before the war had cut their futures short. And as the memories came back the rain began to lighten and Yukari could see that the bright color was back. As she watched the color faded into a faint outline of her dear friend,  becoming more and more visible with each passing second.
Yukari pulled herself to her feet and threw her arms around Taeko. She buried her head in her friend’s hair and neck and simply clung to her.
“I missed you so much. I didn’t realize I had forgotten you” She said, her voice cracking with emotion.
“You were lost on the Road, so I came to find you.” Came the apparition’s voice.
“Then lead on, my friend. I will go will you lead me.”
“Come, then, and we will never be parted.” And with that the two walked off, hand in hand. And as they walked their steps became springier and their eyes lighten. Their broken hearts were mended, and soon they were joined by the man who shifted from looking ancient to innocent, from male to female and back. And as they walked a song rose up in their throats and they gave it voice, and all was well in the world.

The next day, the woman came back, looking to see if the body had been disposed of. But as she neared the spot, she gasped. Where Yukari’s body had been was now a fully bloomed chrysanthemum bush with flowers of both red and white. And as the woman ran from the tunnel chased be a warm summer’s breeze, she swore to her deathbed that she heard two girls laughing.
    
I looked over at the computer. The typing had ceased.
“You finished?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and settled my head against hers.
“For now, I still think it could be a lot better, but this will have to do.”
“Very well.” I said, giving her a quick squeeze before releasing her. “Thanks again. I’ll come back after work.”  But with a laugh, I realized that Kalynn had already gone back to playing Diablo. With a wave goodbye, I let myself out into the dissipating rain.