Kida and Destiny didn’t fly for long. After about an hour the sunset lit the sky up a beautiful glowing blend of red and orange and pink and purple off to their left. It slowly but steadily grew darker after that, until it was unsafe to keep flying if they wanted to actually know where they were going. Destiny spotted a clearing down below and shouted up to Kida. “Down there! Looks like a good place to set up camp!”
Kida nodded and began to circle downwards until she could drop Destiny gently onto the grass, then land herself. She looked around the clearing then grinned. “You picked a good one as usual, Dez,” she said. Destiny grimaced at the nickname, and Kida just laughed. She knew she hated that nickname, but persisted in using it. Destiny was certain it was just to annoy her, and it worked! Nicknames had to be one of her biggest pet peeves.
In a bit of a huff, Destiny dropped her bag and began to unpack the tent, setting it up without another glance at Kida. Not that the angel seemed to care, she was too busy scouting around in the trees and gathering an armful of firewood. By the time the tent was staked firmly into the ground, Destiny had cooled down, both figuratively and literally. It was cold outside by now, the last warmth of the sun fading quickly into the night. Kida set up the fire and whispered a quick spell, sending a miniature fireball into the heart of the wood. It flickered for a moment then caught, and soon they had a merry little campfire dancing and giving off marvelous heat. Once they had warmed up and eaten some of the bread and fruit they’d packed as rations, Destiny noticed Kida looking longingly at the tent and yawning. It did look awfully cozy, but Destiny knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep yet. Then again, Kida had every excuse to be exhausted, she’d been the one doing all the flying. The few hours nap they’d gotten at the inn couldn’t have been nearly enough, although they’d done wonders for Destiny.
“You go ahead, I’ll take the first watch,” Destiny said.
“You sure?” Kida asked hesitantly. “I can stay up, I don’t mind…”
Destiny almost laughed. Liar, she thought to herself. You’d just fall asleep, probably before I did! Out loud, she was more gracious. “No, it’s all right. You took first watch last time. Go on, sleep!”
Kida didn’t need any more encouragement. Destiny had to stifle another laugh at the speed with which Kida dived into the tent, snuggling up into her sleeping bag. Within minutes, the sound of her breathing had slowed and become interspersed with the occasional snore. Yes, it was a good thing she was taking the first watch - Kida would not have made it, no question there.
In spite of herself, though, less than an hour of sitting in the warmth of the fire had Destiny yawning and fighting to stay awake. After the third time she almost fell over, she forced herself to stand up and leave the comfort of their little camp. The night air was biting cold, but it served its purpose. The first breath she took of it once she had left the fire behind seared through her lungs and brought her fully alert and awake. It also started her shivering. While cats could stand up to cold better, there was still only a certain amount she could handle. She found herself thinking longingly of Lumo Bay, only a few hours behind them. Even though they’d been flying south, the weather had still gotten colder as they got further from the ocean - and the fact that they were breaching a small mountain range didn’t help either. The mountains might not have been tall enough for snow, even at the peaks, but the altitude still meant temperatures that dropped significantly below what Destiny considered normal for autumn. Even late autumn.
She began pacing in an attempt to warm herself up. When that didn’t work, she decided a bit of training might help, and shifted into the first pose of the kata for her preferred martial art. Okii-yuri was a widely known art, although obviously it was most common among the ninjas. It focused on defense, on avoiding attacks entirely, or taking them in such a way as to reduce the effects. It also trained the body for increased speed and agility, and as such was an excellent choice for warming up on a cold night. The kata forced her to duck, roll, and leap, twisting her body this way and that to avoid imaginary attacks. She was so caught up in her training that it wasn’t until Kida cleared her throat pointedly that she realized she was being watched. The noise startled her, but she kept her balance, finishing the last turn and dodge before standing straight and smiling.
“Just keeping warm, and keeping in shape. You ready to take the watch?”
“Mmhmm. The tent is all yours.”
Destiny didn’t need to be told twice. She gratefully returned to the embrace of the fire’s warmth, slipping into the comfort of the sleeping bag inside the tent. They had set up the tent on the grass, so the ground itself was even soft, almost like a mattress. There were a few places where rocks poked up, but Destiny managed to position herself in such a way that they didn’t dig into her back or sides. Once she was comfortable she closed her eyes and sighed. Sleep stole up on her quietly, and she drifted off.
It felt like seconds, but she knew it must have been several hours, when she was awoken by the sound of Kida yelling, and the thud of fists striking flesh. She lunged upward in an attempt to get out of the tent, ended up getting tangled in her sleeping back, and finally managed to tumble clumsily out of the tent, drawing her katana as she came fully to her feet. The scene before her took her aback for a moment. Lying on the ground was the hunter who had tried to hire them back in Blowin. He appeared to be wrapped up in a boleadora, and Kida was in the process of taking a coil of rope out of his pack.
“What… happened?” she barely managed to ask. Kida had a grim look on her face as she proceeded to securely tie the man up with his own rope.
“He tried to set a trap for me, but I caught him. Apparently he was following us. I have no doubt that he was not alone, but I don’t think it’s worth our time trying to look for them. We should leave. Now.”
Destiny could only nod, blinking in shock and grogginess. Although she still didn’t entirely understand what had happened, she moved numbly to start packing up at Kida’s command. Kida was busy tightening her knots and ensuring that the man would not be able to escape on his own any time soon. Worry tried to make itself known, until Destiny remembered that he probably had companions waiting for him in the trees who would help him - once they were gone. In fact, now that she thought about it, Kiri was probably one of the ones out there as well. Oddly, Destiny found she almost wanted to go say hello… but then again, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. From what they knew now, Kiri was tracking Midas with the intent to capture him. She and Kida had been searching for him purely for information, and now - somehow - had essentially ended up on his side. At least, Kida certainly was. Once someone’s honor was established, Destiny knew Kida would trust them and support them no matter what. Destiny reserved judgement. It was true that sending ninjas to warn rather than kill had been a point in his favor, but they still knew so little about the strange, powerful wizard.
Once everything was packed up, Kida checked over the ropes one more time, then glanced around the clearing. “I know you’re out there! Once we leave, feel free to untie him, but I’m warning you - do not follow us!” she called into the darkness. There was no reply - but then, could they really expect one?
Without another moment wasted, Kida scooped up her pack, and they took off flying into the darkness. The moon was out by now, just past full but still giving enough light to see, at least for Destiny’s cat eyes. They steered by the moon, keeping in a relatively straight line that would take them back to Anaxagoras. They spent the rest of the night in the air, continuing into the next day. With all the practice they’d had recently, it was becoming easier and easier, and they found they could fly farther and farther every day. They made it almost to lunchtime - with a few breaks in between - before they had to stop for a lengthy rest.
They found they were outside a small town when they stopped. They stuck to the outskirts, not wanting to draw undue attention. Since Destiny was the least remarkable of the two, with her plain black fur and simple clothes, she decided to slip in and purchase supplies. Although they were almost to Anaxagoras, they were running low on supplies, and Destiny was sick of travel rations. She bought two steaming hot roast beef sandwiches from they inn, along with several bottles of ice cold water, and a map. They had no idea where they were, after all, beyond a vague knowledge that they were more than halfway from Blowin to Anaxagoras. While Destiny had every confidence that they could make it back home - it was an instinctual knowledge for every ninja, or anyone else born there - if they ever wanted to go anywhere else, they would need the map.
After they had eaten the sandwiches, they took the remaining hours of the afternoon and evening to train, sparring back and forth in the forest with fists, then with swords. If anyone had seen them, they would have considered it dangerous, but Destiny and Kida knew each other. They knew each other’s fighting styles, strengths, weaknesses, and skills. It was not true combat that they were fighting. Rather, it was a sort of elegant, deadly dance, their swords whipping around each other, clanging together then sliding apart, under feet and over heads. Destiny was the acrobatic one, flipping and twirling around blows, occasionally even leaping over Kida’s head. Kida was aggressive in her fighting, striding forward with every blow, blocking and striking with powerful grace. There were no words exchanged as they dueled. None were needed. It was something they’d done dozens of times as kids, and growing up. It was how they’d first become friends, matched up to spar as young students in the dojo. Now that they were older it had become more and more of a competition, but neither was willing to truly push the issue and actually hurt the other, so the fight was a constant back and forth, give and take, advance and retreat, attack and defense.
After several hours, when the forest grew too dark to see, they finally gave it a rest, sinking to the ground panting and laughing. “That’ll never get old…” Destiny gasped, dropping her katana without bothering to sheathe it. Kida grinned and smacked Destiny in the arm playfully.
“Sure it will. It’ll get old when I finally beat you!”
“As if. You know I’ll be the one to beat you,” Destiny retorted. Their banter was only halfhearted at this point, as they were both exhausted. Kida was the first one to drag herself up onto her feet again.
“I’ll take the first watch tonight. You go get some sleep,” Kida said. As she didn’t have the strength to argue - nor the desire - Destiny willingly stood and staggered sleepily back to where they’d pitched the tent earlier. Within moments of laying down, she was once again asleep.
Destiny awoke to a scene that was so strange it took her mind a moment to realize she must still be dreaming. Even so, it felt real, from the cold, smooth floor beneath her feet to the thick, cloying smoke that stung her nose. Her vision was blurry at first, but as it cleared, the first thing she noticed was the brilliantly blue flame that burned in a wide ring around where she was standing. She recognized it immediately - it was precisely the same shade as the fire that the ninjas in the warehouse had disappeared through. It grew slowly brighter, or maybe it was her eyes focusing, and she began to notice dark figures standing outside the ring. They were dressed all in black, but in a much different fashion than she was. Where she wore a simple tank top and skirt, they wore kimonos and ghis, although a few were in pants. The one unifying feature was that they all wore masks that completely hid their faces. That sent a shiver down her spine. She only knew of one type of people that wore masks, and they were not the type that good ninjas associated with, or even acknowledged the existence of. Assassins. Those who killed for money. Those without honor.
There was one other thing she noticed. On their hands, each of them had a tattoo. It was a skull, with a sword passing through the mouth at an angle. A vine with roses twined around the sword. Their was a certain beauty to it, but it seemed oddly ominous.
One of the men stepped through the ring of flames, which flickered as he passed but did not seem to otherwise affect him. He approached her, and she noticed he did not wear a mask. He had powerful features, handsome but in an intimidating, almost cruel way. His voice was the same, low and sinister, sending a chill through her.
“Destiny Nokomis. We have chosen to approach you with an offer. We are a clan of ninjas, and we would like to invite you to join us. It will not be an easy path, but if you should choose to join us, we can promise you power beyond your wildest dreams. Power enough to never depend on anyone. Power enough to surpass anyone, to never be second best.”
Destiny’s instinct was to refuse on principle. Any ninja clan that had to keep to these kind of shadows was not one she wanted to be involved in. But there was that word. Power. The one thing she’d always lacked, and always craved. She was too quiet to admit it, but it drove her crazy every time Kida beat her, or condescended to her. To actually be able to be stronger than her friend… to be stronger than all of her friends. It was an intoxicating idea.
“Are you… honorable?” she asked hesitantly. The man’s smile did nothing to reassure her. It was a decidedly unpleasant look.
“We are. To a point. I would not say that we place honor above all, but we are more honorable than most. The ends do justify the means in many situations, after all.”
Destiny nodded her understanding. While the words were unsettling, she found she did understand. Although she had never run into such a situation, she could easily imagine some time when something had to be done that crossed the bounds of what was considered honorable. She weighed her next words carefully.
“What… exactly… must I do, in order to join you?”
“The path will not be an easy one. We will ask you to complete a task for us. You will not want to, it will go against everything you know and love, but it must be done.”
“Tell me.”
“You must kill your friend. Kida must die before the week is out.”
Destiny gasped in shock, and was about to respond. Before she could form the words, the vision began to blur and fade. Just before she returned to the peaceful darkness of sleep, she caught a glimpse of the man who had spoken returning across the flames to speak with another man, who was tall and powerful. He wore no shirt, revealing the twin dragon tattoos that spiraled down each arm, one red and one blue. The image burned into her mind, and she awoke with it in mind, the words of her task still echoing in her ears.
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