《Ralph》


 Chapter 1: Memories of the Past

    Date: June 14, 2027


    Ralph Barkson stared up at the ceiling of his apartment, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. He rolled onto his side with humph and turned his attention to the window, watching as the rain left trails as it rolled down his window, dripping off to pool somewhere below his cracked window. He heard birds chirping in the nearby trees as a cool breeze drifted in. He sighed before he rolled over to the edge of the bed and swung his legs. His bare feet touched the cold wooden floor before he scouted his feet around to find his slippers. He didn¡¯t dare to go bare foot in his apartment. The wooden floor had been splinting for the last few years and he was tired of picking splinters out of the bottom of his feet. He had complained to his landlord, but it didn¡¯t help. He knew the Landlord wouldn¡¯t fix the flooring because the apartment building was falling apart and he had been hearing rumors that Landlord just wanted to destroy the building, but according to Grandma Hilton in Apartment 114, the Landlord couldn¡¯t due to contracts with the Government and he was waiting his time to get rid of it.


    Ralph shook his head and left his bedroom, heading to the other room in his one bedroom apartment. He glanced over to the window in the living room. A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. The window held overnight. One of the gangs decided to practice their aim by throwing rocks at the windows on the back half of the apartment building until the local Police Force had enough and rounded up them for punishment. He was sure he saw them working as apart of the Community Services Cleaning Crew.


    He walked by the wall calender and paused when he glanced at it. The reason why he didn¡¯t sleep well. He was graduating the Academy, today! He finally finished basic training and be able to start on his path to become a respectable man, create his own clan, and create a legacy to be remembered by. He grinned, brightly, and grabbed the box of matches he had left on the counter top, the previous night, next to a candle. He opened it, pulled a match, and struck the match against the coarse side of the box. The sharp crack followed by a small burst of flame. He held it steady, watching the tiny flickering light dance as he lowered it to the candle''s wick. The flame caught, brightening as the wick absorbed it, and Ralph gently shook the match to extinguish the smoky tendrils curling from its tip. In the dim room, the candle¡¯s glow cast warm shadows across his face, softening the edges and filling the quiet space with a calm, amber light.


    He carried it to the Fridge. He opened the door and peered into it. A small light pop on. There wasn¡¯t much he kept in the fridge. The second hand appliance had been acting different. He remembered the other day, he had to replaced the cold food because the fridge¡¯s cooling system had stopped working. He had managed to fix it, but he didn¡¯t trust it. He reached into the fridge, grabbing the milk. He briefly wondered if it would be safe to use. It felt cold in his hand like it was the correct temperature, but he didn¡¯t know for sure. He decided to wing it. He hope he didn¡¯t spend most of the day, running back and forth to the restroom. That would suck on so many levels.


    He set the milk on the counter, shutting the door for the Fridge, and reached up to the cabinet. He didn¡¯t have doors on his cabinets because they weren¡¯t there when he moved in and he knew the Landlord wasn¡¯t interested in fixing the apartment for the price Ralph was renting for it. However, when Ralph moved a box of dry cereal, he saw a mouse dart through a hole at the back of the cabinet. He looked at the box of cereal and saw there was a big hole in the side of the box where the mouse had been chewed through it and pieces of cereal fell out of the box.


    He set down the candle and cereal box before he punched the counter top with a curse. Ralph knew he ran a chance of this happening, every time he bought a cardboard box. Mice chewed through it and ruin the food inside. He took a deep calming breath before he opened the fridge up and pushed the milk back in it. He turned, grabbed the candle and cereal box, before he walked back to his room to get ready. He threw the cereal box into the trash as he walked by. He could get something at work. He had enough money to do that. At least, he hoped he did. Payday was still a few days away and he was leaving the restaurant today. He sighed. It sucked being poor and an orphan.


    Rain poured over Raizen as he stood by the Memorial Rock for Clan Isamu. He ignored how close the rumble of thunder was, how bright the lightening flashed above him, as cold drops rolled through his soaked hair and down his neck, disappearing under his collar. His eyes didn¡¯t leave the rock. He already knew what it said by memory. It gave the list of names who were killed in the Isamu Massacre 14 years ago.


    The youngest member of the Isamu Clan had been 4 years old. Xenia, the youngest great granddaughter of the Elder of the Clan. She was supposed to have been an older sister in the fall.


    The Eldest was the Elder of the Clan, Aries, had been the eldest living member of the clan. He was an old fart, and surprisingly, still powerful at 106. He had been the one to kill the assassin sent to destroy the Clan.


    Raizen brought a hand up and ran it through his hair, remembering that night. He had been heading to visit his girlfriend at the time, Mulan. She was the 3rd daughter of a cousin of the Elder Aries, when the fight between the assassin and Aries had reached its highest point. It woke everyone on that side of town up, sending the police and the on duty ninja scrambling to reach the Isamu Compound. He had joined them, in hope, to get there in time to help or save his girlfriend.


    However, they were too late. Raizen had burst through the Compound doors as Aries delivered the final blow to the assassin. The Clan Elder died moments later while Raizen, the Village Police, and the On duty Ninja stared at the carnage. Later, when they were going through the bodies for a proper burial, they had found survivors. 12 children ranging from the age of 3 months old to 3 years old. They were hiding in the nursery behind a series of jutsu designed to protect and defend them. Xenia had been found several feet away from the protect nursery with a kunai sticking out of the back of her skull.


    Raizen shook his head. It had been 14 years since the Massacre. He had moved on, eventually settling down with another woman in the Village, but every year, the anniversary of the Massacre, he would visit the Memory Stone for the Isamu Clan. He had been the only one. The surviving children had been adopted into other clans, except for one or two, and raised with their new clan, never knowing their birth clan. In a way, the Isamu Clan had died out.


    Their compound still stood, in case, one of the orphans or a distinct relative found their way back home, but it was in disrepair. The Clan Meeting Hall¡¯s roof fell in 3 years ago from the lack of maintenance. Several of the Clan houses caught fire from over the years, maybe it was arson or the lack of care or Mother Nature reclaiming the land as her own, none of the villagers really knew. It didn¡¯t stop the stories from emerging about the Compound being haunted by the ghostly members of the slaughtered Clan.


    ¡°Good morning, Isamu Clan,¡± Raizen finally spoke. His deep voice rumbled from his chest as he addressed the Memory Stone. ¡°I see several of your homes are still standing. Mulan, your house was destroyed by a fire a couple months ago.¡± He paused. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here to give you all an update on the state of the Compound. The children who were 2 years old at the time of the Massacre, they are graduating from Basic Training, today. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know if any of them were members of the Clan or not. The adoption papers are sealed and under the careful eye of our Leader, Lord Jackson. He recently became the Leader of the Bark Village, roughly four months ago when Lord Thomas stepped down. So far, Lord Jackson¡¯s leadership has been promising. We are seeing an increase of missions from inside the Village and outside of our walls. Hopefully, it will be enough to increase our numbers after the last war we entered.¡±


    The last war the Bark Village had entered was 5 years ago and slashed their able bodied warriors to a quarter of what they used to have. They had been struggling to recover from the War. Thankfully, it only lasted a year. Their trading partner, the House of White Hall, had been attacked by an army across the sea, on the Mainland and the Head of the White Hall Family called on their vessels and trading partners for help. The Head of the White Hall Family even reached out to the Kingdom of Camelot for assistance, but the Kingdom chosen not to help them, even though, the White Hall House had been one of the founding Families and had the honor of an ancestor as a King of Camelot. Upon hearing the news, The Bark Village had answered the call, but they didn¡¯t realized how vast the enemy was and how unskilled they were when it came to Water Warfare.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°There is talk of one of the White Hall Heirs being married to one of our Clan¡¯s heirs when they reach adulthood,¡± Raizen went on, ¡°There are six to chose from. Bardock has four brats already, but three of them are triplets.¡± He laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sure he finds those kids to be a handful, but his eldest, Genesis I believe that¡¯s his name, could be a good addition to the Village. He does have a daughter, Valentina. She is 3 years old. The Village Elders have already expressed interest in her. The other two are a daughter of Clover House and a daughter of Morning Gale house. They are relatives of Bardock¡¯s. I¡¯m sure the Village Elders will be happy to have a daughter of the main White Hall Family or a branch to be married into a Clan.¡±


    He glanced up. The storm clouds were becoming visible, gray and dark, as the sun rose behind the clouds. Raizen wondered if the day will turn out clear. He turned his attention back to the Memory stone and bowed to it, showing his respect. He turned away from the Isamu Memory stone and headed out of the empty Compound. He had to get back home and get ready for the day.


    This afternoon, he would be assigned his 3rd team of teenage ninjas since he reached the decision to take on students instead of leaving the village all of the time. His wife appreciated that, knowing he would be close for the next three months, in the last stage of her pregnancy. He was sure he would be in the Village for majority of the next year, making sure his students would be able to take on a high ranked mission if it became necessary. He knew from personal experience, a simple D ranked mission could easy become a A, S, SS, or a SSS ranked mission when the right circumstances. It sucked when a C ranked mission became a SS due to the mission objectives changing in mid-mission. Really, it was just a bad day thinking it could be an easy D ranked mission and the objectives changed to a A or higher. He wanted to make sure his students would be smart enough to know when to hid, when to retreat, and when to fight their way back to the Village, to help. Raizen sighed. If his own teacher had taught Raizen and his two teammates that concept, he was sure his teacher and teammates would be still alive to that day.


    Raizen shook his head, sending rain droplets everywhere as he stepped out of the compound and opened up the bamboo umbrella his wife got him. The rain immediately stopped pouring on him, but poured off the edges of the bamboo umbrella. He needed to stop living in the past. He had a bright future ahead of him. He had a wife, got a child on the way, and will be taking on a team of students in the afternoon, once the graduating ceremony was held. Life was going good for him. He eyed one of the recently opened restaurant. He frowned, thinking. That restaurant was the same one his wife loved. She had been craving their foods for a couple days. He just didn¡¯t have the time to swing by and grab her a couple meals from there. He smiled. She would love it if he did bring home a couple breakfast dishes from there.


    He glanced up and down the street, out of habit. There wasn¡¯t traffic this early in the morning. Many of the businesses were still closed until daybreak. He crossed the muddy street. He wondered, briefly, if the Bark Village would ever invest in stone streets or not. The Village Elders had better things to worry about then the state of the streets or at least, that¡¯s how the argument would go, in Raizen¡¯s mind. He knew with the amount of students graduating this year, there should be almost 20 teams, maybe 25 teams created. It would more missions will be needed to help those teams to gain experience. Raizen shook his head again. He chuckled to himself as he reached the covered porch and closed the umbrella, shaking it to get the majority of the water off it before he walked into the restaurant. He placed it beside the front door and walked in.


    A chime sound rang out, announcing his presence. A flash of annoyance darted through Raizen and he pushed it away. He knew the chime worked to alert the business owners that there was a customer, but at the same time, a ninja needs to have stealth. He witnessed a teenager raise his head from his place at the prep table and waved at him.


    ¡°Oi, Old Timer!¡± the teen turned around and called out, ¡°We got a customer!¡±


    ¡°I heard, Ralph,¡± the business owner walked out of a small office and came toward Raizen. Raizen¡¯s eyes darted over the owner who kept his hands in sight. As far as Raizen could tell, the owner didn¡¯t have a weapon on him. ¡°Good morning, sir, what can we get you?¡±


    ¡°I would like 4 of your breakfast specials,¡± Raizen smiled at the owner, ¡°To go.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± The owner wrote the order down and called over his shoulder to the teen boy, ¡°You got that, Ralph?¡±


    ¡°Four of the breakfast specials, to go?¡± Ralph recited back, not looking up from his work by a counter.


    ¡°Yup,¡± the owner replied.


    ¡°Yeah, I got it,¡± Ralph answered. The Boy turned away to gather ingredients from a nearby shelf, still in sight of Raizen, before he turned back to the table and started to work on the breakfast specials. ¡°You are going to miss me when I leave for school today, old man.¡±


    ¡°No, I won¡¯t,¡± The owner shot back, ¡°the job will be actually peaceful instead dealing with your hormonal ass.¡± Ralph sent a glare at the owner. ¡°And stop glaring at me. If you have time to glare, you have time to work.¡± Ralph, this time, rolled his eyes.


    He kept up the banter, unknowingly giving Raizen some key information about the boy. until the breakfast specials were done and packed up in brown bag. He walked around the prepare table to the counter and presented Raizen, his meals.


    ¡°Hope you have a good day, sir,¡± Ralph gave Raizen a wide smile.


    ¡°You too,¡± Raizen nodded and walked out of the restaurant. He reached down, grabbing the umbrella and opened it before he stepped out into the muddy street, heading home. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at the restaurant, thoughtful expression. That Ralph, he could be one of the graduating ninja. He had spotted a ninja pack, sitting in a corner, close to the back of the restaurant. He gave the restaurant a half grin, ¡°Good luck, Ralph, on your journey.¡±


    Back inside the restaurant, Ralph sighed as he grabbed and wiped down the food preparation table. His thoughts turned to what today was as a pridefully grin slowly spread across his face. He was graduating from the Ninja Academy of the Hidden Bark Village, finally, after nearly 8 years. He tossed the washcloth back into the bucket. It landed with a splash, sending some water over the sides and on the counter top. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was almost 7, the time he got off. He turned his attention back to the table. He took a deep breath as his mind drifted back to the reason why he felt nervous.


    Assuming he was able to graduate from the Ninja Academy, he would receive his ninja headband. He would finally start on his road to become the Leader of the Hidden Village. He will be able to start creating a name for himself, instead of being known as a Child of Bark, a bastard, an orphan. The familiar rush of rage went through his veins.


    Ralph never knew his birth family. He did try to gain access to those records, but since he was under age when he tried, he was denied. He hoped to try again once he had some of the money he would get from the various missions. The problem he didn¡¯t know when that will be.


    When the instructors went over the pay grade in the Academy, he would only get 5 coppers per mission. That was not a lot. It would mean if he was able to, take on more missions then the team related ones or keep his job and drop down to part, assuming he was allowed to. The fact he was an orphan wasn¡¯t doing him any favors. The Village¡¯s orphanage had requested him to leave three years ago, when he was 13, citing they didn¡¯t want to support a ninja who would fill up the orphanage with more orphans. The account he was given by the Village for the Orphans had dried up a couple years ago, shortly after he had managed to find himself an apartment in the worst part of the village and got himself a bed, some blankets, and the various ninja supplies he needed for his basic training. He considered himself lucky that he had gotten the job working in the restaurant. He knew the other orphans who chose the Ninja path weren¡¯t so lucky and they ended up in the Gray District, fighting to survive.


    Ralph shook his head. He would worry about how his account would react to his change of employee when it came to it. He had worked hard, picking up extra shifts in the past few months in order to save up for the change of income. Hopefully, it would help until he was able to start earning more money. He gathered the ingredients he had prepared for the day and took them to the cellar where the rest of the perishable food was kept.


    ¡°Hey, Ralph,¡± the manager spoke up when he came out of the cellar. He looked up and a piece of his grayish silver hair fell into his sight. He reached up and tucked it behind his ear.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Ralph answered, walking over to the manager.


    ¡°Grab yourself a hot meal before you head out,¡± the manager jerked his thumb at the work station, ¡°It¡¯s my treat. Think of it as a way to say thank you for all the hard work you have done in the past three years and my way saying I will miss having you around.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s eyes widened. Usually, when he got a meal from the restaurant, he got 50% off of the price. He grinned brightly, saying, ¡°Thank you!¡± he paused, ¡°But don¡¯t worry, sir, I promise to drop by every so often to get one of your famous Chili bowls.¡±


    The managed chuckled, ¡°I hope so.¡±

 Chapter 2: Forming the Team

    Ralph walked out of the school, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the bright mid-day sun. His eyes adjusted as he went to the tree he claimed as his, years ago. He glanced around the courtyard of the Academy. It was full by families who came to congratulated their child for completing the Academy. He ignored them all. He reached the bottom of the tree and leaped into it. He sat down on the branch with his back to the trunk and crossed his arms over his chest, watching his classmates greeted their families with wide grins. He frowned at them. There was no one there to greet him, No one to say congratulations on graduating, or inform him how proud they were of his achievements. He sighed. He knew what this graduation would be like. It was like this when he finished grade school and the option to become a ninja, a member of the police force, or member of the merchant class. He turned his gaze away from the happy families.


    Tonight, he would have his own private celebration. He planned to buy some cake from the pastry chief. That would be nice. He had been saving up for that treat. He licked his lips in anticipation. He wondered if Mr. Ramsey would have the chocoberry cream cake, again. It was a mix of Chocolate and Strawberry cake with cream added in. He hummed in delight, closing his eyes, already imaging how the cake would taste. Maybe if he could swing it, he could grab some ice cream, too, from the grocery store, the one on the corner by his apartment. He frowned as he thought about his fridge. On second thought, he might forced himself to keep the smaller sizes of ice cream, so he didn¡¯t waste it all if his fridge went out again. He didn¡¯t know if he could afford to replace the cooling system in the fridge again if it stopped working. He couldn¡¯t afford to get a new fridge. He hoped he could start saving up to get another apartment soon. Maybe, he could get that new utility the grocery stores and most of the powerful clans had - electricity. It would be nice to have reliable source of heat during the winter months and cool air during the hot summers.


    He tilted his head back and it thudded against the trunk. He stared up into the clear blue sky, thinking about his future career. The path of a Ninja would be hard. He had heard stories from various veterans complain how hard the job was on some days, how easy it was on other days, the battles they had fought, the friends they were forced to leave behind, and how some nights they don¡¯t get any sleep due to the hunting memories. He also knew the path of a Police Officer wasn¡¯t easy either. They dealt with the aftermath of the Ninja who snapped. That was never pretty.


    On the surface, the merchant class would the safest option. In reality, it wasn¡¯t. The Merchants were often the victims of crimes. He didn¡¯t know how many times he had to defend the restaurant he worked at in the early mornings hours from would be thieves or other idiots trying to pull one over on his boss. He never killed any of them, but he did hold them off until the police force arrived.


    He sighed, hearing the bell ring. It was time to go back to class and figure out which team he would be placed on. The break felt too short. He glanced at the courtyard. It was packed. It would take a bit before the courtyard would clear out from families leaving and the newly minted ninja to settle down enough to return to the classroom. The team assignment process would take up 3 hours, he guessed from the amount of teenagers graduating, this year. He knew this class had a lot of clan heirs. He jumped down from the branch, thinking about the Clan Heirs.


    There were almost 60 different clans in the Hidden Bark Village and half of them had heirs graduating today to become ninja. Of course, there were the protected clans. The protected clans were families who sought protection from a big clan. He didn¡¯t know how many protected clans had heirs ready to join the ranks of Ninja, but he did know there were 5 protected clans heirs in his class.


    He walked by a civilian family. He overheard the mother trying to talk her son out of working as a ninja, claiming he would have to kill people and he won¡¯t have a normal life. He just shook his head. There were many civilians families who believed the same thing. They were right. Ninja were hired mercenaries and they did kill people, but Ninja did have a normal life for the most part. Maybe this family was the exception where they preferred their kid to be apart of the Merchant Class. He overheard other civilians families expressed how proud they were of their child graduating from Ninja Basic Training.


    Ralph joined the stream of his follow classmates heading back into the school building. He walked with the crowd, his hands in his pockets until he reached the over sized room his graduating class was ordered to report to after they told their families the good news. He went to the random seat at the back of the classroom and waited, watching as the rest of the graduating class took their seats and listened to the random chatter, wondering who will he get put on a team.


    In the classroom discussion over the formation of a Ninja Team, Ralph learned there was two males and a female with their teacher as a random. It was obviously with so many clan heirs in the graduating class, his team will have one. The Clan Heir could be a female. There was almost 20 teenage girls who were clan heirs. His eyes darted over to the list on the board where it gave the list of students in the class, starting from the ones who did the best in each subject down to the worst. He hovered in the middle of each of the subject. He kinda planned on that. He didn¡¯t want to show off his knowledge or skills yet.


    The female name sitting at the top of each subject was Kikyo, the heiress of the Orion Clan, and second place was Abasi, the eldest son and heir of the Nara clan. Ralph knew they would be put on a team together. However, he didn¡¯t know who would their third member. He mused it might be one of the other orphans he grew up with, Thomas. Ralph didn¡¯t know how he had managed to survive this long. Thomas had been struggling with the various subjects the ninja class had to learn. Ralph had personally thought Thomas would have dropped out and went to the Police Force or the Merchant Class to earn a living. Apparently, not. Either way, Ralph hoped Thomas managed to survive his missions and achieved what he wanted out of life.


    Their teacher stepped into the room with a large rolled scroll. He walked to the podium. Ralph straightened up in his seat. His heart pounded in his chest. It was time for him to know which team he would be assigned to. The teacher unrolled the scroll and called out a loud voice, ¡°When I call out your name, please, remain seated. Your teacher will be here to collect you shortly. Team 1 is Dustin Carpenter, Mary Cook, and Curt Urameshi. Your teacher is Kanya Flora.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s leg bounced as he listened for his name to be called. He barely kept still in his seat when he heard, ¡°Team 17 is Ralph Barkson, Lilian Sakura, and Enzo Smith, led by Raizen Watanabe.¡±


    Ralph froze. Raizen Watanabe? That name sounded familiar. He frowned, thinking about where he had heard that name. Raizen. Ralph hummed as he ignored the rest of the names being called out. Raizen. Wasn¡¯t he the ninja who singled handy took out a battle squadron in the last major war? Raizen had earn the title of War Demon in the aftermath of that battle. If so, that would be awesome.


    A loud knock on the door echoed through the classroom. Everyone fell silent as they turned their attention to the door. It slid open. A woman with dark brown hair stepped into the room and called out, ¡°I¡¯m here to collect Team 1. I¡¯m Kanya Flora.¡±


    Ralph watched as the team members stood up and walked toward her. They disappeared through the doorway. It was time for another round of his past time - Hurry up and Wait. He turned his thoughts to the other members of his team - Lilian Sakura and Enzo Smith.


    Enzo Smith, Ralph thought, was from a civilian family. There were two or three other Smith Families within the Village who worked as Blacksmiths so Ralph wasn¡¯t for sure which Smith family Enzo was from. He got above average grades on the various tests and mock missions they had to pass during the Academy¡¯s basic training. Enzo came from The Blacksmith family, specializing throwing weapons. Maybe if Ralph was lucky, he could get a discount from the Smith family for shopping there with their son. Of course, he knew better to count on it.


    Lilian Sakura, on the other hand, had a lot of information on her. She was the Heiress from the one of the most powerful Clans within the Bark Village with 6 to 8 protected clans under their umbrella. Lilian was the 5th smartest young lady in the class. Ralph didn¡¯t know much about her. She lived on the far side of the Village from him and the only time he had interacted with her was during the mocked missions and other class activities.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Meanwhile, in a large meeting within the Government Tower, Raizen groaned, silently, as he was assigned his team. He really didn¡¯t want to take on a team, but he wasn¡¯t given a choice. When the Village Elders noticed they would have a huge problem on their hands if they didn¡¯t get ahead of it, The Village leader ordered 5 years ago that all available ninja was to take on a team. Plus the pay was good. The Team Building assignment was a B rank mission so the pay was higher then it used to be consider to be a long term D rank mission.


    On top of that, his wife couldn¡¯t work anymore with their little one on the way and the village made it so the pregnant women made the choice to stay home once they hit their last three months of pregnancy straight through the time their child reached 9 months of age. They got paid to do that. Some of the women after that choose to re-enter the Ninja force after a three month period of training. There were some women who re-purposed their skills in helping other working mothers in babysitting the kids.


    Even now, it still took Raizen by surprise how tight knit the village community was, especially the Clans with their networking skills. It used to be feuds between clans over the smallest things like whose restaurant was better or clothes was better made. After the last major war involving the White Hall Family, the closest alley of the Hidden Bark Village, they had to band together and rebuild. Many women didn¡¯t like the fact, once they turned 18, they were forced to have at least 3 kids during their prime years, but they could take their time in fulfilling that mission.


    There were a few cases where a woman would end up leaving the village for an extended period of time and returned with orphans. Hell, he personally been on missions where he found some street orphans cast out of their homes for one reason or another and he gave them the option of returning with him and having a family. They jumped at the chance of having a family and able to learn the same skills he had.


    However, if the orphans didn¡¯t have the unique ability to get the skills every Ninja had, they still had other opportunities like entering the Police Force or working in the Merchant Class. There were cases like that among the orphans he had brought back to the village. What wasn¡¯t known to the general ninja population was the bonus involved if there were orphans brought back to the village because it would open the door to killing innocents with children or kidnapping children. The orphans, if brought back to the village, had to agree to a session with the village therapist: a member of the clan with unique ability to mind-walk or a truth teller clan member - to see if the orphan was really an orphan or a victim in a greedy ninja¡¯s plans for extra money. The Village Elders and the Leader tried to work every possible angle in order to make things as clean as possible. Raizen knew there were a case or two where a ninja did return with two orphans and after the therapy session, the ninja was arrested for unjustified killing or kidnapping and disappeared. He had a rough idea on where the guilty ninja went - the underground prison. He didn¡¯t know what happened there, but he really didn¡¯t want to know either.


    He shook his head, clearing it of those thoughts. He looked at the folders he was handed, noticing he would be teaching a clan heiress, a civilian, and an orphan. He opened the first folder. It was the Clan Heiress, Lilian of the Sakura Clan.


    Raizen frowned as he thought of what he knew of the Sakura Clan. They were originally Tea Makers. He opened the folder and saw he was right. The Sakura clan were Tea Makers before they became a more prominent clan of the Village. Lilian was the great-granddaughter of the Elder who helped bring the Clan into the Bark Village three decades ago when they arrived on this side of the barrier. They were from an small island from the coast of Japan, on a vacation when they crossed. Raizen¡¯s eyes widened. Lilian was the 3rd generation immigrant from the Outside World. That was really interesting. The Bark Village doesn¡¯t get immigrants from the Outside World, usually. Most of the time, people would go to the nearest village and end up staying there once they figured out what happened to them. If the Sakura Clan was able to settle in the Bark Village, it meant they found a portal near the village and came across a patrol before they were led to the Hidden Village.


    The Sakura Clan quickly became intro graded within the Village and helped create the Sakura district by offering just more then Tea Houses. Granted the Tea Houses became highly popular over the years, but the expansion of the Clan allowed them to grow at much faster rate. Both of Lilian¡¯s parents were ninja. Lilian¡¯s father was 2nd generation ninja while her mother¡¯s bloodline had been in the village for centuries.


    Raizen scanned the rest of Lilian¡¯s profile. She appeared to be in the average range of the class, only excelling in the Kunoichi arts, once she learned the importance of the skill. He closed her file before he opened the next one - Ralph Barkson. He blinked once he saw the picture. A smirk crossed his face. It was the teenage boy from the restaurant and read over the profile the teacher provided. He knew what Barkson meant.


    Ralph was an orphan who never got adopted. Barkson was the common name of all orphans who never found their forever family and some of the Barksons and Barkdottirs consider themselves to be family, tied together by the fact they are orphans, forced to rely on their skills to survive, and were more willingly to help one another instead of the clan families. Ralph was no doubt forced to leave the orphanage when he was 13 when he entered Ninja Training. The orphanages were more willingly to help the future members of the Police Force or the Merchant class ¡ª which was stupid in Raizen¡¯s opinion. The Ninja work force had more benefits for an orphan then the Police Force or the Merchant Class, but he knew to each, his own.


    The new team leader let out a sigh, thinking about Ralph and the other orphans. The policy in place for the last 14 years involving expanding the family hurt the orphans didn¡¯t have relatives to go to when something happen to their parents. Plus, it didn¡¯t help them when ninja returned with new orphans. Those new orphans found new homes at faster rate then the rest of the orphans. He hoped the policy involving women to have 3 kids would change soon. The team he was suppose to start training today would be forced to start training their own teams when they reached 20. He sighed. The last major war the Village helped the White Hall House in, they were still recovering from that. He hoped it would be a very long time before the Village would be dragged into another war, helping the White Hall House to win. He hated dealing with the Village politics.


    Raizen went through the rest of Ralph¡¯s profile, quickly noticing there was a pattern to his reports. At the beginning of each year, he would do extremely well then start to back off, causing his grade to slip and sit in the middle of the class for most the school until the last couple months where his grade would raise. Ralph was smarter then he was trying to show, playing the grading system where he would have the look of being average when he was not. Raizen¡¯s smirk grew more pronounced. That was very ninja like.


    He closed Ralph¡¯s profile and went to the last student, Enzo Smith. He knew of a Smith family. They lived in the same district as him and his wife did. Maybe it was the same one. He glanced at the picture and he frowned. He usually remembered the folks he lived nearby with, but this Smith kid was different. Maybe he lived in a different district. Enzo Smith¡¯s parents were civilians, apart of the Merchant class, and in fact, just like his family name suggested, were blacksmiths. They lived on the edge of town where majority of the trade traveled through. That was a smart move for this Smith family do, trying to get most of the foreign trade.


    Enzo¡¯s grades were below average. That was expected, given his family¡¯s class. However, when it came to weapons, he excelled. That was also expected. He was probably ordered by his father to make sure the weapons were in working condition by trying them out in various actions. He could be a difficult student to train, coming from a civilian background.


    Raizen snapped the folder shut and held them in his hand as he waited for the order to leave the Assignment room. The rest of the Teacher Team stood, still looking over their team profiles. Some of the team was new to the teaching role. They only been out of training themselves for the past year or two. Usually, the Village Elders would have waited another couple years before requesting them to take teams, but once word spread that the gradating class was 60 strong, they all knew the Village Elders had to do something.


    Running footsteps alerted the Ninja in the room to their visitor before they burst into the room. The new Ninja¡¯s face was red and panted, heavily, clutching the door frame. Raizen raised an eyebrow. Apparently, this ninja needed to revisit the training grounds if he was out of breath. Most ninja wouldn¡¯t have been out of breath until they reached the hour point of fighting.


    ¡°Fight in the Urameshi Distrinct,¡± the Ninja managed to get out. Everyone tensed. The Urameshi were known to enjoy a goof fight when they could. Raizen just hoped it wasn¡¯t those three again. ¡°Zack Urameshi, Alexander Urameshi, and Samuel Urameshi are fighting, again.¡±


    ¡°FUCK!¡± Kakashi Urameshi cursed and darted out of the room. Raizen burst out laughing. He knew the three newly minted adult ninja without a team would have all kinds of problems. He had trained Alexander Urameshi up until 2 months ago and that boy was always looking for a good fight. He made sure Alexander didn¡¯t meet his cousins unless it was on a fighting mission. They would have been a great help during the war. It was shame they weren¡¯t born before the war happened. Hopefully, they survived until the next one.


    It seemed like Kakashi was supposed to be keeping an eye on them until they get sent on their own missions. Maybe he should have warn Kakashi to drag Aqua, Alexander¡¯s teammate, with him when he went to break up the cousin fight. She would be a great help with that task. Better Kakashi then him, Raizen smirked as the Teaching Team was dismissed.

 Chapter 3: The Urameshi Clan

    Ralph stared at the clock. It had been a hour since the Training teacher had announced the team formations with their instructor. The Training teacher already left the room. He glanced around the room and noticed majority of the teams were still waiting for their teacher to show up. He turned his gaze to the nearby window.


    Black smoke rose in the distant, coming from the edge of the village. Ralph frowned. He thought he spotted a stream of flames shooting up into the sky. The flames twirled into a twister. He let out a whistle as another classmate, Klaus, uttered, ¡°Whoa!¡±


    Klaus¡¯ statement echoed around the room and Ralph knew the rest of the class attention was drawn to the window.


    ¡°It looks like some sort of fight,¡± someone commented. Ralph glanced to the speaker. It was that Enzo Smith fellow he was supposed to have on his team. Enzo narrowed his brown eyes as he studied the twister. ¡°It might be in the Draco District.¡±


    The Draco District? Ralph thought it would be closer to the Urameshi Compound. However, the Draco District butted up against the Urameshi Compound. He glanced around for Curt Urameshi, but he remembered Curt already left with his team. He frowned, wondering if Curt and his team was anywhere close by that area. From the limited interaction with Curt, he knew the another teen was close to his family, praising a member of the Urameshi Clan for something.


    Ralph was sure the other day, Curt was telling everyone who would listen that his one of his older cousins, Clover, had given birth to her 9th child and spent more time yelling at her husband, William, to stop getting her pregnant every time he came back from a long term mission. Curt also commented there was a bet going around to see how many kids Clover would have before she cut William off.


    There was another Urameshi in the class, Ralph remembered. He turned to find the dark haired teen boy, but a soft breeze informed him that Zack Urameshi already left the classroom. One of Zack¡¯s teammates, Sakda, cursed and ran out of the room with their female teammate, Elvria, hot on his heels.


    ¡°Apparently, it is closer to the Urameshi Compound then we thought,¡± another classmate commented as a loud boom echoed from the direction of the Urameshi Compound.


    ¡°Well,¡± someone - a girl from the sound of her voice - started, ¡°It may mean we will get stuck cleaning up after the Urameshi Clan.¡±


    ¡°I heard my brother complaining about the amount of missions involving that Clan,¡± Kiba of the Inu Clan commented, ¡°They were always getting into a fight with one another or challenging another clan to fight over stupidest things.¡±


    ¡°We could look at it this way,¡± Ralph spoke up, ¡°It could be easy money.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± Kiba admitted, ¡°My brother said that, too, but it got repetitive when he got assigned the clean up mission for the 18th time in a month, even though he should be doing the Rank C missions instead of the E or D missions.¡±


    Ralph nodded in understanding. His graduating class was the largest in 14 years. The Village Leader, basically, ordered after the last war when their numbers were their lowest, every woman above the age of 18 and was able to bare children would get a nice sum of money to have at least 3 kids, get paid maternity leave for 1 year, and a bunch of other benefits for them. As a result, the village had been experiencing a huge baby boom for the last 11 years. Next year, the graduating class was going to be bigger by 20 then the following year, almost double the class size. The next problem would be the amount of teachers able to take on the graduating students. It could possible mean before he was 20, he would be required to take students. He sighed.


    He watched the fight in the distant, half-interested. It could be a simple fight between the members of the Urameshi clan or an Urameshi started it with anther Clan and it just got out of hand. Of course, there were three cousins who enjoy fighting each other. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t them. If it was the Urameshi devils, they would bring half of the ninja force to them in order to stop them.


    A familiar sensation of bee buzzing right beneath his skin, around his shoulder blades. Someone was watching him or at least the group. He half turned, trying to act like he was going to engage the classmate right to next to him in a conversation, but he turned his gaze to the doorway through the corner of his vision.


    In the doorway, there were three ninja - a red headed Kunoichi stood between two male ninjas. One of them was familiar to him. The other two was not.  It was the same gentleman who came to the restaurant this morning to order food, the breakfast specials. If Ralph remembered correctly, it was 4 of the breakfast specials. The gentleman had long blond hair, flowing down his back into a thick braid. He had a yellow and brown head band holding back his bangs, out of his face. He was dressed in the traditionally ninja attire as a Hidden Bark Village Ninja with the vest of a full trained ninja.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he stepped into the classroom. Majority of the class jumped as a result. ¡°First of all, all of you should have been aware we entered this room. We have killed every one of you before you could have stopped us.¡± He glared at the class.


    ¡°But,¡± one of Ralph¡¯s classmate protested, raising a hand toward the huge dust cloud in the distant.


    ¡°No butts,¡± the Kunoichi barked, ¡°Raizen was right.¡± She ran a glare over the class.


    Ralph blinked when the Kunoichi named the blond as Raizen. He should have known. Raizen was a customer at the restaurant at least once a week since his wife announced she was pregnant, asking for the same thing, depending on what time of day. Ralph felt giddy as he remembered some of the stories Raizen told Boss man when he had the extra time to stop and chat about a few things. He, personally, couldn¡¯t believe what Raizen had experienced on missions. Of course, the full trained ninja couldn¡¯t tell all of the details, but he was able to gloss over some of the minor. It fueled Ralph¡¯s dreams and desires of being a full trained ninja.


    ¡°We are here to collect our teams,¡± the third Ninja stated, ¡°Team 19, I¡¯m David and you are with me.¡± He turned on his heel and walked out of the classroom. Ralph was shoved to the side as Team 19 hurried after their teacher.


    ¡°I¡¯m Gwen, the Instructor of Team 14,¡± the red head Kunoichi announced, ¡°Please, follow me.¡±


    ¡°As for me,¡± Raizen said, ¡°I will be training Team 17. Could you please come here?¡±


    Ralph moved forward as Lilian stepped away from the crowd and Enzo brought up the rear. They stopped in front. Ralph glanced at Lilian who stopped on his right. She tried to hide her excitement, but her lips twitched uncontrollable. He glanced to his left where Enzo stood. He looked nervous, but it was the excited nervousness. They were ready to start their training to become ninja.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Raizen acknowledged the team, ¡°I will be taking Team 13 with me as well. I will escorting you three to your teacher. He is currently¡­¡± he paused, glancing toward the window. Ralph felt a piece of led land in his stomach. ¡°Trying to stop a fight between his cousins.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°He¡¯s an Urameshi?¡± Klaus almost shouted.


    ¡°Yes, he is,¡± Raizen smirked, ¡°I hope you can survive the fighting nature of the Urameshi Clan.¡± Silence spread across the classroom. ¡°Come on, Team 13, you are burning daylight.¡±


    Ralph sensed Team 13 joined them. Raizen turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The former restaurant worker glanced at Team 13. They looked like death had came early.


    Ralph was glad he was not assigned to the Urameshi Teacher. Team 13 and 17, led by Raizen, arrived on the edge of the Urameshi district. He tried to see what was happening, but he couldn¡¯t. There was a large dust cloud covering the district. He could hear some insults being shouted. He wasn¡¯t able to make them out.


    ¡°RAIZEN!¡± Ralph heard someone yelled his teacher¡¯s name. The blond spun on his heel, his braid nearly hitting Ralph in the head, but the younger ninja ducked in time. ¡°Why didn¡¯t anyone come and get me?¡± An orange haired Kunoichi stopped in front of Raizen with her hands on her hips, giving Raizen a glare.


    ¡°I wish I could tell you, Aqua,¡± Raizen commented, ¡°But I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear about this fight?¡± Aqua shot back, ¡°Those idiots are going to destroy the district if they are not stop.¡± She turned to the dust cloud.


    ¡°Fireball Jutsu!¡± a large fireball flew up out of the dust cloud. The heat washed over the two team of ninjas. Lilian took a step back. Enzo cocked his head to the side. Ralph tilted his head back to watch the fireball soar into the sky. He heard Hiei, a member of Team 13, whistled, impressed. Jasmine looked like she was re-thinking her decision of walking the Ninja path. Klaus was pale and stared wide eyed at the large fireball as it disappeared into the sky.


    ¡°Wind Twister!¡± the dust cloud twisted around, forming a twister. Ralph¡¯s jaw dropped as he watched and felt the wind tried to pull him forward. The two Kunoichi grabbed a hold of one of the ninja. Klaus stumbled forward. Enzo grabbed him to hold him up as they fought against the increasingly strong pull of the wind. The loose debris was sucked up by the swirling winds and spun around the twister. Ralph stared as the twister tightened up, revealing three figures at the base of the swirling winds. The wind grew stronger. Ralph felt his feet slid and grabbed Raizen¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Stop using ninja magic ticks and fight like a real man!¡± someone roared from the base of the dust cloud.


    ¡°If you are going to do something, Aqua, I would suggest you do it, now, before they destroy this part of the village and move on to the rest of the village,¡± Raizen said. He moved his hands in a series of hand signs and went to one knee as he slammed his hands onto the ground, ¡°Earthen Wall Jutsu!¡±


    An earthen wall rose from the ground, stopping around Raizen¡¯s shoulder height. Ralph fell into it, feeling the suction of the wind stop. He sat down with his back to the wall. The other junior ninja joined him. They looked at each other.


    ¡°What can she do?¡± Jasmine asked.


    ¡°A lot,¡± Raizen said, watching the fight. Suddenly, he ducked behind the wall, ¡°Don¡¯t get up!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Hiei asked, looking up at Raizen. He glanced over the wall. His eyes widened and dropped down, curling up in a small ball.


    ¡°Ice Wonderland Jutsu,¡± Aqua¡¯s voice rang out. There was a loud burst of icy air. Ralph shivered at the huge temperature drop. There was silence before there was sounds of items dropping to the ground.


    Ralph glanced at Raizen. His teacher took a sigh before he slowly raised on his knees and peered over the wall. Ralph waited to see what Raizen would do. Raizen held up his hand in front of his chest and the wall crumbled. Ralph let out a small cry of surprise and fell backwards, landing on his back. He stared up into the sky.


    Grey clouds drifted through the air. The air was crisp like a winter morning. Ralph could have sworn he saw a snowflake or two floating in the air. He sat up and twisted around, crossing his legs, turning his attention to what Aqua did. His jaw dropped and eyes widened before he shook his head in amazement and slowly stood up.


    Aqua had turned the Urameshi district into a icy wonderland. Sunlight reflected off the ice in a blinding away. Ralph saw three ice statues standing in the middle of the chaos and he spotted a dozen more statues standing around. He glanced at Aqua.


    The Kunoichi with the orange and black hair stood with a bo staff resting on her right shoulder, her left hand on her hip. She stormed to the three statues in the middle and glared at them. She raised her voice as she addressed, ¡°You morons! Are you trying to destroy the Village? Save that kind of fight on your mission!¡± she slammed the bo staff against the statue on her right. The ice broke and a black hair man with a straw hat fell to the ground. She turned her attention to the statue in front of her. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed in you! You three know better then to start fighting like that within the village.¡± The bo staff slapped the statue causing the ice to break. The black and blond man landed on his knees, looking up at Aqua with a loving look on his face. ¡°I swear you three are more trouble then what you are worth.¡± She twisted her bo and slapped the staff in the mid-section of the last statue. The black haired with a light green tint man scoffed, glaring at Aqua before he turned on his heel and walked away.


    The straw hat ninja stood up and placed the straw hat on his head as he grinned, ¡°That was a good fight.¡±


    Aqua buried her face in her hands. Ralph shook his head. That was the power of the Urameshi Clan. They loved a good fight.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raizen spoke, ¡°Now, that is taken care of. Aqua!¡± the orange and black haired woman turned to him, ¡°Thaw out the rest of the statues. One of them is Kakashi. He needs to teaching his team today.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master Raizen,¡± Aqua chirped.


    Raizen turned to Team 13, addressing them, ¡°Team 13, your teacher is around here somewhere. Tell Aqua I ordered her to help you.¡± Hiei opened his mouth to protest, but Raizen glared at him. The newest adult ninja deflected and nodded with a soft, ¡®Yes, Sir.¡¯


    Raizen turned to Team 17 and stated, ¡°Follow me. We are heading to Training Field 15.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s jaw dropped. Training Field 15? That was reserved for the fully trained ninja. He knew the teachers used that in the mornings before school started. The reason why he knew that one - he followed them one morning instead of going to work. Granted he called off the night before due to the amount of homework he had gotten that week, staying up majority of the night to do it then he had finals the next week. Luckily, the boss understood the reason he gave and didn¡¯t complain about the work Ralph missed. Of course, it was a rare occasion that Ralph did call off.


    He had watched the teachers go through training he wasn¡¯t taught at school. When he asked about it later, he was given an answer he didn¡¯t like. His Teacher he would be assigned to would teach him more. After all the school teaching was just basic training, teaching the next generation just the basics over the years, building on what they learned in the first year until they reached the third year.


    He glanced at Enzo who looked confused. Enzo asked, ¡°What is Training field 15?¡±


    ¡°Training Field 15 was where the teachers warmed up before school started,¡± Ralph answered, almost bouncing on his feet, before Raizen could. He glanced up at his new teacher. He winced. ¡°Sorry, sir.¡±


    ¡°Na, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Raizen rolled his eyes. ¡°It is refreshing to see someone excited about training.¡±


    ¡°What will you teach us today?¡± Ralph asked, almost bouncing on his toes, nearly running into Enzo.


    ¡°Whoa, chill, dude,¡± Enzo stepped to the side, ¡°There is no need to be this excited over some training field.¡±


    ¡°I for one, agree with Mr. Smith,¡± Lilian said, formally, ¡°the Sakura Training field will be much more suited for my training. I have been to training field 15 and it is nothing special about them.¡±


    Ralph stopped and looked Lilian with a raised eyebrow.


    She needs to loosen up.


    ¡°Still,¡± Ralph argued, ¡°It is our first day as ninja, out of basic training!¡±


    Raizen laughed, throwing his head back. Ralph looked at him, puzzled. Raizen looked at the trio, commenting, ¡°If you feel that way, I will see you at Training Field 15. If you are not there, within the next 30 minutes, I will send you back to the Academy for more basic training.¡± Raizen vanished from sight.


    ¡°WHAT!¡± Ralph yelped. He glanced at Lilian and Enzo. They stared at the spot Raizen just stood with wide eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going back there!¡± Ralph dashed off, heading to Training Field 15.


    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Enzo called out.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going back to the Academy!¡± Lilian cried out, ¡°My family would kill me if he did that!¡±


    Ralph glanced over his right shoulder to see Lilian running to catch up. He saw Enzo keeping pace with him when he glanced in the other direction. He looked ahead. His eyes widened and he was forced to jump over a cart full of cabbages. Lilian flipped over the cart and landed in a crunch. However, Enzo didn¡¯t have the reaction time necessary to dodge the cart. Ralph cracked a grin when he heard, ¡°MY CABBAGES!!!!¡± as the cart full cabbages thudded to the ground.

 Chapter 4: : Lunch Time Conversations

    Ralph panted as he collapsed on to the training field, landing on his back. Lilian sat down next to him while Enzo knelt, trying to catch his breath. They had dashed across town as fast as they could. Ralph considered it pure luck that they had made to the Training Field 15 within the time limit. The Urameshi district was on the far west side of town while the Training Fields were on the out skirts on the Eastern part of the village. Usually, it would be a hour walk. A mild run would cut it down to 45 minutes. They pushed themselves to make it to the Training field 15 in 30 minutes.


    Raizen lend against a tree and looked at his pocket watch, tsk-ing, before he commented, ¡°I thought I would have to send you three back for another year of training.¡± Ralph closed his eyes, breathing hard as he listened to Raizen. His throat felt raw. His mouth was dry. He should have packed some water in his bottle. ¡°However, you made it with a minute to spare. I would like to say I¡¯m impressed, but I¡¯m not. You three need to work on your endurance.¡± He paused, eying them. ¡°We will start working on that after lunch.¡±


    ¡°After lunch? ¡° Enzo asked, his voice was raspy. ¡°I thought we weren¡¯t start our ninja training until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps with another teacher,¡± Raizen admitted, ¡°I¡¯m different. We are going to start it today. I want to see how you three on your skills on weaponry, stealth, and jutsu; testing your knowledge on various topics, etc.¡±


    ¡°Are we going to be starting missions, soon, then,¡± Lilian asked, breathlessly.  There was a note of excitement in her tone.


    ¡°Rank E and D, only,¡± Raizen stated. Lilian wilted and pouted. ¡°But that won¡¯t happen for another week, maybe longer, could be less, depending the progress you make and what kind of skills you already have.¡±


    Ralph sat up and twisted around to face Raizen, glancing Lilian. He didn¡¯t think she would be eager to start missions, already.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Raizen said causing Ralph to turn his attention back to him. ¡°We are introduced ourselves: Name, age, Elemental Affinity, Purpose for being a Ninja, and First Kill.¡± Ralph blinked. That was unusual list of questions. ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± Raizen announced, ¡°My name is Raizen Watanabe. My age is 34. My Elemental Affinity is Earth, but I can do the other elements. My purpose of being a ninja is none of your business. My First Kill is yes.¡± He hummed as Ralph tried to process the information provided. It wasn¡¯t a lot. ¡°You, girl. You introduced yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lilian replied, ¡°My name is Lilian Sakura. You may call me Lily. I¡¯m 15. I don¡¯t know my elemental affinity. My Purpose for being a ninja is the desire to help my family and village where I can. My First Kill is yes.¡±


    The last response caused Ralph to look at her with surprise. Raizen didn¡¯t look surprise, but he nodded.


    ¡°Yes, I remember the Clans sent their heirs to some sort of networking event,¡± Raizen commented. ¡°I assume you had your first kill there.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lilian replied. She looked down into her lap, remembering. ¡°It was an forest creature called a Fawn.¡±


    Raizen blinked, ¡°A Fawn? Well, then, that one is surprising. I thought it would be a squirrel or a deer.¡±


    ¡°That was the plan,¡± Lilian explained. She looked up at their teacher before she went on, ¡°But we were attacked by one of the local tribes of Fawns and we didn¡¯t have any of the older and more experience ninja to help us. Majority of the Clan heirs took their first kill that day.¡±


    Raizen nodded. ¡°How old were you?¡±


    ¡°13,¡± Lilian looked glum, ¡°The youngest of the Heirs was 8.¡±


    Ralph felt horrified. A 8 year old already had their first kill? He wondered which clan allowed that to happen. There was a reason why the ninja training age was 16 and not any younger, despite the fact, the Village needed ninja.


    Their teacher nodded in understanding. Ralph felt his gaze upon him before Raizen said, ¡°You with the gray hair. In the middle. You are next.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Ralph Barkson. I¡¯m 16. I don¡¯t know my elemental affinity. My purpose for walking the ninja path are to gain respect from the village and crave out a piece of the village for myself and the future wife and children I will have one day, protecting them and the village with my life if it calls for it. My First Kill is nope,¡± Ralph answered the questions.


    Raizen nodded and pointed at Enzo, ¡°Last one.¡±


    ¡°My name is Enzo Smith, 16 years old. I have no clue on my elemental affinity. As for my purpose for becoming a ninja, I want to improve my status within the village, for others to stop looking down on me, and do something meaningful then just make weapons and working as a blacksmith like my father. My First Kill is no,¡± Enzo looked starry eyed as he listed off his purpose of being a ninja.


    Raizen looked at him for a long moment before he nodded. ¡°Alright. Since we got to know each other a little bit, we adjourn for now,¡± he said, ¡°We will meet back here after lunch, say about 1 o¡¯clock. We start our training by testing your knowledge, figuring out your affinity, and working on increasing your physical endurance. I¡¯m sure there will be more add to the list when we come across it, but I have a rough idea what I am working with.¡± He looked at them. ¡°Until then, Cheerio!¡±


    Ralph saw pieces of bark fall to the ground as Raizen vanished from sight.


    ¡°Since we are dismissed for lunch,¡± Lilian stood up and looked at her teammates, ¡°I will see you after lunch.¡± She turned and walked away.


    Ralph and Enzo glanced at each other before they turned to look after Lilian. Ralph called out, ¡°Hey, do you want us to walk you back?¡±


    Lilian paused, glanced over her shoulder, and stated, ¡°You to up.¡±


    Ralph hurried to his feet while Enzo jumped up. They hurried to caught up with Lilian. Ralph tried to start a conversation, ¡°I know this great restaurant we could get lunch at.¡±


    Raizen watched as his new students left the training field, leaving together, but they went their separate ways once they reached the village. He doubt they would return their home for lunch. Enzo lived on the far side of the village, Lilian lived in the Sakura District, and Ralph stayed in the worst part of the village. If they kept to their routines when it came to lunch, they would find a suitable restaurant within each of their budgets. He smirked.


    Lilian¡¯s allowance for doing household chores and other things to help her mom would have cut to mere coppers, instead of the  gold pieces she was used to getting. It would be interesting to see her reaction when she realized her allowance had been cut as she entered the Ninja force. If she didn¡¯t make the choice of entering the Ninja Force, choosing to be a kept wife for a suitable husband, she might have been able to keep her allowance until her parents found her a husband, then it would be the husband¡¯s responsibility to give her allowance for the things she sought to do to fill her days, doing. Of course, she would be in charge of her new husband¡¯s household.


    He sighed as he bounced from tree branch to tree branch, keeping his students in sight. From Lilian¡¯s profile, she would not like that aspect. Maybe that¡¯s why she chose to enter the Ninja Force, instead of focusing on the future of a Kept Wife. He knew from experience, there were some women who didn¡¯t mind that and filled their days with arranging play dates with the various families they had connections. He glanced to the sky.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    His own wife talked about doing that once she retired from the Ninja Force or during her maternity leave while she adjusted to motherhood. A crocked smile pulled at his face. He was going to be a Father. He glanced down at the teenagers he was put in charge of. He was not looking forward to when his own child was old enough to walk the path of a Ninja.


    Raizen shook his head and turned to focus on listening to his students as they entered the village. He paused, waiting to see which direction they would be taking. He heard Lilian comment that she was going to part way with them at the fork. Apparently, she had already planned to meet up with the other Kunoichi in their class over lunch. He raised an eyebrow as Ralph¡¯s shoulders slumped in response, but he hid any disappointment he felt when he spoke about meeting up after lunch. Lilian nodded in response.


    A strand of his blond hair fell into his face. He pushed it behind an ear, watching the trio split up. Ralph and Enzo talked animatedly about whatever topic they agreed upon and Lilian walked in the other direction. He hummed, recognizing a problem already. Lilian was not used to dealing other ninja of non-clan status outside the classroom. He got the feeling she only respected him due to the fact he was a higher rank then her, but when it came to the status of Clanship, she probably look down on him. Hopefully, he was wrong. He glanced to Ralph and Enzo to see them walking into a small restaurant and made his decision.


    Raizen hopped from the tree branch onto the roof of a nearby building and walked along it, following Lilian. She didn¡¯t bother looking around to see if someone was following her or not. He made a mental note about teaching situational awareness. He continued to follow her until she reached the grill restaurant called The Yukihira Grill. He shook his head.


    The Yukihira Grill was one of the most expensive grills in the Bark Village, often catering to the rich whenever they stopped by the Bark Village. Raizen only ate there three times in his life and while it was worth the price, it was a rare treat for himself and his wife. He wondered how Lilian was paying for it. He tried to remember what her profile said about the various family members she may have within the Grill and drew a blank.


    Raizen jumped down from the roof top in an alleyway. He tried to avoid landing in the road when he could. He didn¡¯t like causing problems for the merchants when he could avoid it. He walked out of the alley, heading to the grill. He winced, knowing his lunch was expensive, instead the usually ramen noodles he prefer to have on his lunch. His wife would be cross with him as well.  It might be best if he remembered to bring home of the Yukihira Grill for her. That might help to lesson her ire.


    He walked into the grill and was greeted by the hostess. He nodded at her, saying, ¡°It is just me.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Booth or table?¡±


    ¡°Prefer a darken booth, near that kunoichi,¡± Raizen pointed at Lilian¡¯s back, ¡°And don¡¯t inform her of my presence.¡±


    The hostess¡¯ eyes widened before she nodded, in understanding. She looked down at the podium, for a long moment before she commented, ¡°Why are you following Miss Lilian, Mister Ninja?¡±


    Raizen cocked his head to the side, debating on how to handle this. He wasn¡¯t usually questioned by a member of the merchant class. He decided to wing it, ¡°She was assigned to my team, today, and she decided to eat here without her teammates.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°I see,¡± the hostess said, ¡°In other ways, you are trying to get to know her without her knowing.¡±


    ¡°In a round about way, yes,¡± Raizen said, seeing Lilian sitting down at a table with other young women he recognized. It was the other Clan heiresses.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the hostess relaxed, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t hurt Miss Lilian.¡±


    He saw his chance and asked, ¡°Why do you address her as Miss Lilian?¡±


    ¡°Her Aunt is the co-owner of the Grill and the Wife of the owner,¡± the hostess stated, ¡°As result, there are a lot of us protective of her, despite us being untrained in the Ninja arts.¡±


    So there was a family connection to the Grill. It would mean Lilian could get a major discount whenever she ate here. He nodded, ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m just following her to see why she made the choice in eating without her teammates.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± the Hostess said, ¡°Please, follow me.¡± She turned to walk from the podium, heading to  a booth close to Lilian¡¯s table, but far enough away and in a darken space where Lilian couldn¡¯t see him unless she decided to walk by or he had to get up to use the restrooms. ¡°Your server will be out, soon.¡±


    Raizen nodded as he took his seat, sitting with his back to Lilian. It wasn¡¯t long before the teen girls were gossiping about their teachers. Most of the voices he didn¡¯t recognized, but whenever Lilian spoke, he focused on her voice. There were some complaints of the teachers putting off their training until morning and they wouldn¡¯t able to go on missions for the earliest two to three weeks. Apparently, majority of the teachers wanted to see what their students could do and the Kunoichi didn¡¯t like that.


    ¡°At least you have rest of the day off,¡± Lilian started, ¡°I have to start my training today after lunch.¡± She fell silent. Raizen presumed she was eating her food while it was still hot.


    One of the other kunoichi, she looked like she could be apart of the Orion Clan with her black hair and brown eyes, snorted, ¡°Be glad. You are going to be ahead of us when it comes to getting missions. My teacher, Arwydd, told us she thought we weren¡¯t be ready for a higher mission then E for a month or two.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Kakashi told my team he didn¡¯t think we were able to handle anything he gave us for a while,¡± there was a pause, ¡°He said he wanted to make sure our endurance will hold out against him before he would allow us to take any mission.¡±


    Raizen held back a laugh. That was the Urameshi for you. That clan enjoyed a good fight and was not afraid to tell you if your endurance sucked or was going to get you killed in the heat of the battle. The waiter came by and took his order. He held a pitcher of clear liquid and he pour it into a wooden cup already on the table. Raizen waited until the Waiter left before he used his spiritual energy to see if the liquid was tamper with in anyway. It wasn¡¯t. He took a small sip to discover it was water. He slowly relaxed. He was being too cautious, but he argued with himself over it, saying it was installed in him for the days of being surrounded by the enemy, not knowing who to trust, or if he would make it back home in one piece.


    The kunoichi kept going on, complaining about their teachers already. They were going to be in a rude awakening when the teachers start getting serious. He might have to whisper a few things in their ears about what was being said from the kunoichi. He would have to find time to drop by and watched those training sessions.


    ¡°I think Raizen,¡± Lilian spoke, ¡°said something about testing our knowledge, figure out what our affinity was, and endurance. I don¡¯t remember if he said anything else, though.¡± There was a pause before she continued, ¡°I hope the afternoon training session doesn¡¯t go past dinner time. Mother wants me to meet the son of another clan tonight. I think she wants to have me married off soon or at least in a betrothal before I turn 17 since I am out of the basic Ninja training, now.¡±


    ¡°Can you blame her?¡± another kunoichi stated, ¡°We are still dealing with that annoying law, saying once we turn 18, we have to produce 3 kids.¡± There was the noise of a chair scouting against the floor. ¡°I¡¯m not ready to have kids.¡±


    Someone else spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I even want to have kids.¡± A pause, ¡°At least, now in this village.¡± Raizen felt a chill slide up his spine. ¡°This village is nothing more then the dogs of war for the White Hall Family. Look at what happened the last time they summoned us for their war. We got slaughtered.¡±


    ¡°Shhh!¡± another young woman said, ¡°Selma, don¡¯t speak like that. You don¡¯t know who could be listening!¡±


    Selma Baker of Team 10, learning under Eres Roll, the eldest daughter of the Baker Clan. Raizen raised his cup to his lips. The Baker Clan served both the civilians families and the fighting force of the Bark Village through the numerous years of the clan living in the village. They were known for their delicious baked goods, in fact, they held a monopoly over the baked goods. He didn¡¯t know if there was any deaths of the Baker Clan during the Last War or if they have an connections outside the village in the nearby kingdoms. He made a mental note to inform Eres to keep an closer eye on Selma Baker. He hoped it would be something Selma would grow out of soon before the Black Hands found out about her questionable alliances.


    He sighed. He glanced at the bill. He felt ill to his stomach. 15 gold pieces. He grimaced as he pulled out his coin purse and paid for the meal, leaving another gold coin as a tip. He stood up and left the restaurant. He still needed to check on his other two students.


    It didn¡¯t take Raizen long to find Ralph and Enzo at the Bark Village¡¯s famous ramen stand. He sat on the edge of a nearby rooftop, watching them. The two teens appeared to be getting along. He focused his spiritual energy on his hearing. He smirked. They were talking about the possibility of upcoming missions, how soon they will be able to leave the village to see what was going on in the Kingdom, and what kind adventures will they experience while on the outside of the village. Raizen chuckled. It was refreshing to see someone talking about that.

 Chapter 5: Elemental Affinities

    Ralph burped as he walked down the road leading to the training fields. He stretched his arms above his head and relaxed. He had returned to his previous job to grab lunch. He forgot to pack his, again. Lucky, his old boss was kind enough to put in his open tab until he received his first paycheck. Hopefully, it would be soon. After the bills he paid the other day, he barely had enough to do laundry, let alone food. He sighed. Inflation was a pain to deal with. He didn¡¯t understand the basic economic state of the village, but he witnessed the raise of prices throughout the village. He hoped Team 17 would be able to start on D ranked Missions, soon. That would be an incredible help to get some food for the week.


    ¡°Hey, man,¡± Enzo said, walking next to him, giving him crocked grin, ¡°Thanks for lunch.¡±


    ¡°Anytime,¡± Ralph shrugged, trying to ignore a flash of heat in his face. He wasn¡¯t used to getting any thanks. Most of the time, the Barksons and Barkdottirs don¡¯t get thanked for anything. It was the opposite in fact, they were usually run out of a neighbor when something went wrong. Ralph had experienced that more then once. He had to move to the worst area of the Village, the last time it happened. He was lucky he kept his coin purse on him instead of storing it under the loose floorboard in his bedroom. He turned his attention ahead of them. His eyes roamed over the various faces and the back of the heads of the villagers until he spotted Lilian walking toward the Training Fields. He grinned. He threw his arm up and waved, calling out, ¡°Lilian!¡±


    The teenager paused and looked back at Ralph. At first, Ralph thought she looked upset, but the expression disappeared fast enough where he might have imaged it. He blinked, staring at her for a long moment as he slowed down to a stop. He titled his head to study her, sensing there was something wrong, but he didn¡¯t know what. She didn¡¯t look as lively as she did before going to lunch. Maybe she got some bad news or ate something bad, he figured.


    ¡°Wait for us!¡± Enzo called out when Ralph didn¡¯t finished his thought. The son of the blacksmith hurried forward. Ralph shook his head before he followed.


    ¡°So, how was your lunch?¡± Ralph asked, once he got nearer.


    ¡°Pleasant,¡± Lilian spoke evenly, ¡°What about yours?¡±


    ¡°Oh man, you totally missed it, Lily,¡± Enzo started. Ralph noticed Lilian winced when Enzo called her Lily instead of Lilian, ¡°We had lunch at the most wonderful restaurant.¡± He rambled on, talking about the lunch until they reached the edge of the training field. Ralph added in his input where he thought it was appropriated while Lilian nodded. He didn¡¯t know if she was giving the impression she was listening or if she actually was.


    Ralph spotted Raizen, their teacher, standing under a tree on the far side of the field, holding something in one of his hands and a water skin in the other. He cocked his head to the side. He held out his arms to stop his teammates. Enzo gave him a puzzled expression and Lilian glared at him. He winked at them, whispering, ¡°Our teacher isn¡¯t paying attention. It¡¯s not very ninja like, is it?¡±


    Lilian¡¯s eyes widened. She glanced toward Raizen who turned a page, commenting, ¡°An unaware ninja is open to an attack.¡±


    Ralph nodded, glancing at Enzo.


    ¡°A sneak attack?¡± Enzo whispered.


    ¡°Might as well,¡± Ralph said, ¡°It will be good to see where we stand against him.¡±


    ¡°We will get our butts handed to us,¡± Lilian agreed, ¡°But it could help us in the long run - to see where we need to improve.¡±


    ¡°He will have the advantage over us,¡± Enzo argued, ¡°He, not only has experience, but an arsenal of jutsu under his belt.¡±


    ¡°And maybe you should focus on planning a sneak attack before the victim is in your line of sight,¡± Raizen¡¯s amused voice rang out, right behind Ralph. Ralph¡¯s eyes darted up to where he had last spotted Raizen standing at to see he had moved. He twisted. Raizen gave him a smirk. ¡°Good try, though. Assume, the next time you want to try something like that again, your target is aware of your presence and start sneaking up on them a few hundred more away.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the trio said. Lilian pouted, crossing her arms. Ralph stretched the side of his head. Enzo looked like someone told him that Christmas was cancel that year.


    ¡°Anyway, how was your lunch?¡± Raizen changed the subject.


    ¡°It was good,¡± Enzo commented, bouncing back, ¡°Ralph showed me this awesome restaurant stand close by. Apparently, he used to work for the owner.¡± He waved his hands about as he told the team about his experience at the restaurant stand.


    Ralph looked to the side, feeling embarrassed. He usually didn¡¯t have many friends to brag about him or the places he visited. He glanced at Enzo, then at Lilian before he cut Enzo off, ¡°So, Lilian, how was your lunch?¡±


    ¡°It was good,¡± Lilian shrugged, ¡°Just a bunch of the Kunoichi from our class met up and talked about our team assignments.¡±


    Ralph nodded. He turned his attention back onto Raizen. His teacher closed his book with snap. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lilian straightened up and Enzo¡¯s arms fell to his sides. Raizen spoke, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to sit down. You might want to as well since I¡¯m going to be testing your knowledge over mission ranks, first.¡± He ran his eyes over the trio as he sat down on the training field, ¡°What is a E-rank mission?¡± He hummed, watching the trio as they followed his lead. Lilian raised her hand. ¡°Enzo.¡±


    Enzo let out a sigh before he answered, ¡°An E- rank mission are reserved for the Ninja, still in basic training, but Novice rank, like ourselves, are able to request such missions. These missions are usually community based missions like gathering the trash during important events, providing security during those events, cleaning the local parks, etc. The E-rank missions are designed to teach and improve teamwork qualities within the next generation of ninja, problem solving skills, and possible deal with the unexpected if something should happen during a mission.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± Raizen gave him a smile. ¡°Ralph, explain what is a D-rank mission.¡±


    ¡°D-rank missions are a step up from the E-rank missions,¡± Ralph started, ¡°The D-rank missions are simple and done within the villages walls. Like the E-rank missions, they are community based, ranging from various acts of Community Service, to everyday needs of our elderly. Due to the increase number of our villagers, the D-rank missions are able to be done 2 to 3 times a day if requested to do more. They are done by the Basic training ninja and Novice ranked Ninja with supervision to the Master Rank.¡±


    Raizen nodded, ¡°Lilian, how soon can a novice ninja do a E or D rank mission by themselves?¡±


    ¡°Depending on the teacher,¡± Lilian answered, ¡°In most cases, an E-rank mission can be done unsupervised by a Novice Rank Ninja within a couple months of archiving the rank of Novice while a D-rank mission is done within 6 months of reaching the rank.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Raizen nodded, again, before he commented, ¡°The D rank missions can be done in the farmlands and the forest within a mile of the village as well.¡± Ralph winced. He knew that. He just forget to voice it. He hoped it didn¡¯t affected whatever Raizen was testing them on. Raizen hummed, ¡°What is a C rank mission?¡± he ran his eyes over the trio before he called, ¡°Ralph.¡±


    ¡°A C rank mission is a mission done outside of the Village boundaries and are done by the Apprentice rank ninja and above,¡± Ralph paused, thinking. He hoped he didn¡¯t forget anything. ¡°The C rank missions are dangerous because we might have to deal foreign ninja, enemies of the state, and other unknown dangers, depending on the location of the mission.¡±


    ¡°Lilian, give me an example of a C rank mission,¡± Raizen stated.


    ¡°An escort mission to the Kingdom Capital,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Enzo, another example of a C rank mission,¡± their teacher said.


    Enzo sighed, ¡°A Sabotage effect by a member of the Camelot Court to gain favor with the Ruling Family.¡±


    ¡°Ralph, what is the difference between a D-rank and a C-rank mission?¡±


    ¡°You mean beside the fact there is a good chance we will have to leave the boundary of the village,¡± Ralph gave a crocked smile. Raizen cocked an eyebrow at him. ¡°The differences are the difficulty and what we are hired to do.¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Raizen gave them a smile. ¡°What is the highest mission you will be able to go on, right now?¡± He paused, looking them over, ¡°Enzo?¡±


    ¡°D-rank,¡± Enzo replied, ¡°Until we reach either become Apprentice ranked Ninja or spent a month as a novice, then we have the ability to do C-ranked missions with you, at your discretion.¡±


    ¡°And how long will it take you to reach the Apprentice Ninja rank,¡± Raizen asked, ¡°Lilian?¡±


    ¡°It depends on how well we do in the apprentice exams,¡± Lilian answered, ¡°They are held every fall and spring.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Raizen gave them appraising look. ¡°How do you tell the different ninja ranks apart?¡±


    The trio glanced at each other, waiting for him to call on one of them. For a long moment, Raizen didn¡¯t and Ralph spoke up, ¡°By their vests. Apprentice are given a tan vest when they reached that rank, the Masters have a darker tan vest while the Grand Masters have brown vest.¡±


    ¡°What kind of vest does the Black Ops have?¡± Raizen asked.


    That question stumped Ralph. It was one not asked during the Ninja Basic training. He wasn¡¯t for sure if he ever seen a Black ops vest, assuming they had one. He glanced at Enzo. He looked puzzled as Ralph felt.


    Lilian, however, rolled her eyes and answered, ¡°It depends on what mission they are undertaking. Most of the time, they can not announce they are a member of the Black Ops force because they might have personal enemies who are undercover and are not afraid to use loved ones against them in an effect to get revenge or harm the Black ops agent in any way.¡± She paused, ¡°Most of the time, only the spouse of a Black Ops agent is aware their loved one is a Black Ops Agent or not, due to the secrecy of the missions the Black Ops agents take in order to protect the village.¡±


    ¡°That is true,¡± Raizen stared at Lilian for a long moment with a guarded expression. Ralph¡¯s eyes darted between them as he got the feeling there was something more going on then he was allowed to know. ¡°Alright!¡± Raizen changed his tone. He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a small stack of papers, no bigger then the index cards Ralph had used to study for the final exams. ¡°Now, we are moving on to figuring out which elemental affinity you have.¡±


    Ralph smiled. He had been wondering about that since he heard about it. It would be really awesome if he had an Earth affinity. He would be able to use the ground like slid, sliding everywhere he went. Maybe a Water affinity. It would be neat way to cool off during the hot summer days coming up. Let¡¯s not forget about the fire element. He won¡¯t have to worry about being cold on the icy winter nights if he had the ability to create a small fire in one of his stone pots. Of course, he couldn¡¯t discount the ability of air. A cool breeze on the hot day or a long day of training would feel great on his skin. He sighed.


    ¡°Now, how many elements are there?¡± Raizen asked causing Ralph to snap out of his day dreaming.


    ¡°4,¡± Enzo answered.


    ¡°You are half right,¡± Raizen pointed at Enzo. He glanced between the trio before he settled his gaze onto Lilian, ¡°Lilian?¡±


    ¡°8,¡± she replied, ¡°Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Life, Death, Light, and Dark.¡±


    Ralph blinked. Life, Death, Light and Dark were considered elements, too? He frowned. He must have slept through that class or it could have one of those days where he was too sick to get out of bed during those winter months.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Raizen said. He handed the trio three sheets of the paper he held. ¡°These are elements sheet. They are used to test for your elemental affinity. Now, using one of the sheets, focus your spiritual power onto it.¡±


    ¡°spiritual power is the power we use when we combine our physical energy with our spiritual energy,¡± Enzo stated.


    ¡°Right,¡± Raizen nodded, ¡°As for an example -¡° He held up a sheet and it crumbled up before it shook slightly, and something grew out of it. ¡°I have the Earth and Life elemental affinity.¡±


    ¡°Cool,¡± Enzo breathed. Ralph nodded, staring wide eyed at Raizen¡¯s hand where the sheet of paper was.


    ¡°Now, you try,¡± Raizen suggested.


    Ralph took a breath and summoned his spiritual power. He pushed it into one of sheets. The sheet of paper started to smoke at the edges before it crumbled up then it brightened. He blinked in surprise. He glanced at Enzo whose paper held the appearance of being wet, but smoked at the edges. He turned to Lilian. Her paper had turned gray before it was cut in half and lost all color, becoming the darkest black Ralph had ever seen.


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Raizen mused. ¡°Ralph, try your affinity again.¡± Ralph took another sheet of paper and repeated the process. They watched as the second sheet smoked at the edges, crumbled up, and brightened. ¡°It would appear you have the affinity for Fire, Earth, and Light elements.¡±


    Ralph blinked. He didn¡¯t think he would have three different elemental affinities.


    ¡°Enzo,¡± Raizen called out, ¡°Again.¡± Ralph watched with amazement as Enzo went through the process again and his paper was the same - wet and smokey edges. ¡°Water and Fire. That is an interesting combination. Two polar opposites. You will have trouble, using those elements together, but once you master them, you will be a powerful ninja.¡± Enzo beamed.


    ¡°Lilian?¡± Raizen said. Ralph turned to face the only female on the team and blinked at the expression on her face. She was pale, solemn, and accepting.


    ¡°Death, Air, and Dark,¡± she intoned. ¡°I got the Death affinity from a distant relative, Air from my mother, and Dark from my father.¡± There wasn¡¯t a note of excitement in her voice as she explained her affinities.


    ¡°Right,¡± Raizen said, slowly. Ralph glanced at him with an raised eyebrow. ¡°Moving on. I think we have learned enough here today. We will meet at the Government tower at 7 o¡¯clock for our first mission.¡±


    Enzo and Ralph gasped. Lilian jerked back. She found her voice, first, ¡°I thought you said we weren¡¯t have a mission for a while.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more like it¡¯s at my best judgment,¡± Raizen countered, ¡°And I found the best teacher is life herself. You see, Life won¡¯t teach you a lesson then test you. It¡¯s the opposite. She will test you and you will either learn a lesson or you won¡¯t. Depending on the test, you could get lucky and make it out on top or lose everything and end up in a big trouble.¡± Raizen stood up and dusted off his hands before he waved at them and vanished from the spot he stood.


    ¡°I would like to know how he does that,¡± Ralph grumbled.


    ¡°That would be an excellent skill to have whenever I get into trouble with my parents,¡± Enzo agreed. He sighed and looked up at the sky, ¡°I might as well get home. I am sure my dad will need an extra pair of hands in the smithy tonight.¡± He glanced at Ralph and Lilian, ¡°I overheard my dad complaining about a large order of swords for the White Hall Estate, something about building up their forces over the next two years or so.¡± He stood up.


    Lilian stood up, slowly, and mused, ¡°King Luke of House Drake. His time as King will be up within the next three years.¡±


    ¡°Lovely,¡± Ralph commented, getting to his feet, ¡°It means we may have to go to war again, on the behalf of the White Hall Family, depending on which side they side on.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Enzo said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m off. See ya tomorrow!¡± he walked off, heading back to the Merchant part of the Village.


    Ralph glanced at Lilian who still looked upset before he asked, ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lilian said, schooling her face into a neutral expression, ¡°I probably should be getting home as well. I have to work on some chores. See you in the morning, at the Government Tower.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Ralph watched her go, trying to ignore the feeling growing in his stomach. There was something else eating at Lilian, once she figured out her affinities. Death, Air, and Dark. It was an interesting combination. He might have to do some research on it, but it would have to wait until he started to earn money again. Getting any research book wasn¡¯t cheap and besides he wanted to understand his own affinities. He started to walk back to his run down apartment with a grin on his face. He was on his path on becoming the Leader of the Village.

 Chapter 6: Mission Time

    Ralph cursed as he climbed the fire escape ladder attached the side of his building. He couldn¡¯t believe he overslept. His feet made a rhythmic pounding noise as his hands slid up the sides of the ladder. He didn¡¯t understand why he overslept. His teacher, Raizen, didn¡¯t push them in their afternoon training, but just questioned the team in their knowledge, even though they did try to attack him when they first arrived back at the Training Field. It didn¡¯t work, of course.


    Maybe it was another reason. Since he quit his other job, he didn¡¯t have to get up early in the morning to work and thought it was his day off. Maybe it was something else. It didn¡¯t matter. He grabbed the edge of the rooftop and hauled himself up over the edge, rolling over the lip, landing on his feet, and running across the flat rooftop. He was running late. He reached the far edge of the rooftop and jumped across the alleyway, heading to the mission desk room at the bottom of the Village Government tower.


    Ralph panted, reaching the last building before the governmental tower at the center of the Village. He dashed across it, reached the edge, and threw himself over it. He watched as the ground approached. He relaxed his feet and legs before he landed and crunched. He didn¡¯t stay put. He knew the energy would rebound up his legs if he didn¡¯t move on. It would be extremely painful, too. He looked forward and cursed. The cabbage vendor wondered straight into his path.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± the cabbage vendor cried, finally seeing Ralph, waving his hands wildly. Ralph drove through the space between the cabbage and the rooftop of the cart, completely missing the cabbages. He extended his arms and his hands slapped against the dirty road before he flipped backwards, landing on his feet. Ralph sighed and ran on. ¡°Thank you for not destroying my cabbages!¡±


    Ralph waved a hand over his shoulder. He heard it a moment later. The familiar crashing sound of the cabbage cart. He turned, sliding to a stop, looking back. The Cabbage vendor stared at the cart as one of Ralph¡¯s classmates, Koga Wolfbanes stood up from what remained of the cart. Ralph shook his head. Koga was back at it, again - running around the village during the early morning hours like manic. He claimed it was endurance training.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, please forgive me,¡± Koga bowed at the cabbage vendor then he dashed off. ¡°I have to get back to training.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s eyes widened. He would be expected to help pick up those cabbages. He glanced toward the tower door then at the cabbage vendor. He didn¡¯t want to be any later then he already was. A thought darted across his brain. He would have an excuse if he was late - he was helping the cabbage vendor with his cabbages. It would be classified as an unpaid mission if the higher ups desired to call it that.


    He made his decision and jogged back to the cabbage vendor. He bent his legs and grabbed the edge of the roof of the cart. He sucked in a breath and lifted up the cart. He managed to waist height before he had changed his hand position, holding onto the pole connecting the roof to the main cart, and walked the cart up back onto its wheels. He watched as it rocked a bit. He turned to the cabbage vendor, noticing he was starting at him in shock.


    ¡°What?¡± Ralph asked.


    ¡°You are the first person who stopped to help me,¡± the cabbage vendor stated.


    Ralph blinked in surprise. He always thought other ninja or at least the civilians would stopped and helped the cabbage vendor.


    ¡°Whenever this happens,¡± the cabbage vendor waved his hand toward the cart and the cabbages on the ground, ¡°No one ever stops to help me out. I usually lose a few hours of work as a result.¡± The vendor looked like he was about to cry.


    ¡°Well,¡± Ralph wasn¡¯t for sure how to handle this situation. He looked side to side, looking for some help. He didn¡¯t get any. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but I need to get going. I¡¯m running late for a mission.¡±


    The Cabbage vendor nodded in his head and bowed, saying, ¡°Thank you, again, for the help.¡±


    Ralph twisted on his heel and darted to the door at the Government Tower. He reached it, opened it, and stepped inside the tower. At first, Ralph couldn¡¯t see anything, but darkness as he left the bright sunny morning. As he continued walking, his eyes adjusted and he was able to spot Raizen, standing to one side of the room, reading his book; Lilian glaring at him, her arms crossed over her chest; and Enzo lending against the wall behind him, his eyes closed. He walked over to them and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being late. I had to help the cabbage merchant, pick up his cabbages.¡±


    ¡°Huh-uh, sure,¡± Lilian¡¯s tone informed Ralph she didn¡¯t believe him. ¡°Nice story, Barkson, but I don¡¯t think anyone will stop and help the Cabbage Merchant.¡±


    Ralph felt Raizen¡¯s gaze on him and turned to face his teacher. He raised his eyes to meet Raizen¡¯s eyes. Neither said anything for a moment before Raizen nodded. ¡°Anyway, Enzo!¡± the Team 17 teacher called out and Enzo straightened up, looking startled until he realized where he was and what he did, his cheeks turned red. ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Enzo replied.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Raizen nodded, ¡°Please, follow me.¡± He turned away from the trio. Ralph hurried after him. Lilian fell into step, walking on Ralph¡¯s right side. Enzo appeared on Ralph¡¯s left side. They went down a long hallway, following the curve of the Government building until Raizen stopped at the end of a line, forming. Ralph peered around his teacher and sighed, seeing the 20 deep ninja. He didn¡¯t think it would be this bad. Maybe these ninja wanted to picked up some extra money to help them out at home.


    ¡°I guess we are at the end of the Line for getting a mission,¡± Lilian said. She didn¡¯t sound too pleased.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Raizen said, ¡°Hopefully, you brought a book with you or something to keep yourself occupy for the next hour. We will be waiting a while.¡± He lend against the wall and pulled out a book. He opened it to a saved page and started reading it. Ralph glanced at the title and blinked in surprise. The book Raizen held was called ¡®Raising your child to be a responsible Adult¡¯.


    ¡°I guess you are married, Sir,¡± Ralph started, ¡°When is your wife due?¡±


    ¡°In December,¡± Raizen replied, not looking up from his book.


    ¡°Do you know the baby¡¯s sex, yet?¡± Lilian asked. There was a gleeful note in her voice.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Raizen said, ¡°We won¡¯t find out until July or August.¡±


    ¡°Have you thought about any names?¡± Enzo asked, sounding just as excited as Lilian sounded.


    Ralph glanced between them. He didn¡¯t understand why they would be excited about a baby. He kept silent as Lilian and Enzo showered Raizen with questions about the nameless baby and Raizen answered the questions the best he could until they stopped asking him for information.


    Ralph¡¯s head fell toward his chest. It had been a hour since Team 17 joined the growing line of the ninja who were getting a mission. He jerked his head up when an excited yell echoed down the hallway. He pushed away from the wall and peered down the hall as the excited voice drifted closer.


    ¡°Yahoo!¡± It was a young man from the deep tone of his voice, ¡°We finally got a mission outside the village.¡±


    There was a series of chuckles.


    ¡°Calm down, Anakin,¡± A gentle voice followed the excited declaration, ¡°We¡¯re just leaving the village for the night.¡±


    ¡°Still,¡± Anakin protested, ¡°We haven¡¯t left the village for any reason, Padme!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± another voice rang out, ¡°We have been Apprentice Ninja for almost a year and this is our first C-rank mission.¡±


    ¡°I wonder whose fault is that,¡± Padme drawled.


    ¡°Now, you three,¡± a much deeper voice could be heard before the team appeared, ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to fight. We have to pack for the mission.¡±


    Ralph recognized the Master ninja when he appeared by reputation more then appearance. It was Quill of the Rogers Clan. He had sent majority of the team he had been to trained back to Basic Training until something happen with his current team and they managed to persuade Quill into forming the team.


    Ralph saw them. It was hard to miss them, due to their unique characteristics. He watched them as they approached.


    Quill cut a path down the hallway, his students following him. Quill was a tall man with a broad shoulders. His brunette hair pushed back, behind his pointed ears as his brilliant blue eyes stared a head. A hilt of a broadsword sticking up over his right shoulder. He wore a dark tan vest, half hidden by the brown coat.


    Behind Quill, a curly black haired teen male followed, almost bouncing on his feet. A wide grin spread across his face. His hazel eyes sparkled with excitement. It was safer to assume to say this was Anakin from the way he was acting. A necklace with the symbol of the Hunter clan swung on his neck, bouncing off his chest. He wore a tan vest; meaning he was an apprentice ninja; over his cameo clothes. He was shorter then Quill, but taller then the blond female and roughly the same height as the third male on the team.


    Following Anakin, the female apprentice looked amuse at her teammate¡¯s antics. Her blond hair was braided, up and close to her head. Her chocolate brown hair were warmed as she looked at Anakin. She wore various shades of brown with a tan vest. Ralph knew this was Padme of Burns Clan.


    Ralph darted his eyes to the apprentice bringing up the rear, Ben of Barton Clan, and blinked in surprise, eyes widening once he realized what Ben was. Ben was a part Tiefling. His skin held a reddish hue. His eyes were the same shade of gold as a hawk¡¯s. There were short horns raising out of his short black hair. His arms were bare and thick as small trees trucks. He did wear a tan vest over a black sleeveless shirt. An quiver hung off his back with a bow sticking out bounced off his lower back.


    They walked by, still bickering over their newly assigned mission. Ralph watched them go. He knew there were Tieflings in the village, but they often hid their true form, thanks to the laws of Kingdom of Camelot. The Ruling Family of Camelot had outlawed the non-humans to the second rate citizens and the non-humans often used in various forms of slavery if they were lucky. He knew the Hidden Bark Village had been one of the last few safe heavens for the non-humans who weren¡¯t able to leave the Kingdom before the laws went into effect.


    ¡°Well,¡± Enzo commented, ¡°I didn¡¯t think the village had any Tieflings left after the war.¡± He stared after the tall creature.


    Raizen glanced down at him. Ralph hummed in agreement. Lilian shifted, and commented, ¡°We have a lot of non-humans. Many of them declared loyalty to the village when they sought protection from the Ruling Family when they made the laws against them. Master Rogers is an Elf, if you missed his pointed ears, while Anakin Hunter is a part halfing.¡± She paused, thinking, ¡°I think Padme is pure human, but she is related to several elves, halfings, and a dwarf or two through marriages and other clan agreements.¡±


    Raizen spoke up, ¡°She¡¯s right. We have a lot of non-humans living among us, but they hid their traits while they are out in public unless they trust the people around them or they have run out of chakra.¡± He moved forward a few feet with the rest of team 13 following him. ¡°Of course, Quill is powerful enough where he can roam without hiding himself.¡±


    They fell silent as they continued to wait for the long line to move forward to grab a mission. Ralph yawned as they walked forward every 15 minutes or so. He had mixed feelings over waiting in line. A part of him was glad Raizen had ordered the Team to get there early, but he didn¡¯t like standing in line, waiting. He reached up and rubbed his eye. Maybe when he reached the point in his career where he could sleep in and grab his own mission, he would do that.


    ¡°Next!¡±


    Ralph turned his attention to look and blinked as Raizen disappeared through the doorway with Lilian and Enzo following him. He pushed off the wall and hurried forward. It was finally time to grab a mission. He couldn¡¯t wait to see what kind of mission his team would be able to get.


    Ralph stepped through the doorway and blinked, rapidly, as he was temporarily blinded by the bright sunlight coming in from the windows. His vision adjusted and he was able to see a table at the far end of the room where several people sat. Ralph glanced down at the table with excitement bubbling in his veins to see there were still dozens of scrolls on the table top, sorted into bins by ranks. He glanced at the far right bin with the label of SSS. There were only two mission scrolls in the bin. The next bin was labeled with SS and it had, from the angle Ralph was standing at, he couldn¡¯t really see how many scrolls still in the bin, but from he was able to see, there were possible two or three scrolls. The bin sitting on the left of the SS bin was the S rank mission. There were possible five or six scrolls still in the bin.


    However, the following bin with the label A rank had a lot more scrolls sitting in in. If Ralph had to take a guess, there had to be at least 10 scrolls, waiting to be claimed. The B ranked mission bin appeared to have the same amount. Maybe a little bit more then the A ranked mission bin. Ralph¡¯s breath picked up when he rested his eyes on the C ranked mission bin. He was able to see it towered over the edge of the bin. That was a good thing. It meant there were a lot of C ranked missions, available. He couldn¡¯t wait until he was able to go on C ranked missions. It would be excellent to leave the village and explore the country side, possible visit the Kingdom.


    He turned his gaze onto the second to last bin on the left of the table. The D-rank missions. He blinked. There wasn¡¯t one bin as he thought, but three bins. All of them were labeled as D ranked. Ralph stared at the bins. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise to him that there would be a lot of D ranked missions. He had heard there was a huge up tick in D ranked missions, shortly after graduation of the newly minted Novice ninja. He didn¡¯t think it would be true.


    He glanced at the last bin, holding the E ranked missions. There was only one bin, but there were at least two or three dozen mission scrolls, sitting there, waiting to be claimed. He wondered if the ninja who showed up, standing at the near of the line, if they would be forced to take an E ranked mission in order to have a job for the day, maybe lining up two or three to make sure they had enough money to make ends meet for the day.


    A rush of gratitude went through him at Raizen who had ordered them to be there early. Raizen, with his experience, knew what would happened if they had waited until closer to 8 or 9 before they went to claim a mission.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± a deep voice rang out. Ralph turned his attention to the group of people; two women and three men; sitting behind the tables. The speaker turned out to be the leader of the Bark Village, Lord Jackson. He wore the white and rich brown trench style coat representing the leadership of the Bark Village. On his head, a matching hat sat on his slowly graying black hair. His tan face showed how harsh his life had been with a scar stretching over his chin, one going across his forehead, and another one over his left eye. His hazel eyes showed with warmth as he stared at Team 17. ¡°I must say I¡¯m surprised that you are requesting a mission, Raizen, already. I thought we weren¡¯t get any of the new teams for at least a week or two.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°As we both know, Life is a cruel mistress,¡± Raizen shrugged, ¡°She likes to give tests before she gives lessons.¡±


    Lord Jackson nodded in agreement, ¡°That she is.¡± He looked down at the bin holding D-ranked missions, humming thoughtful. ¡°Since you are a new team, I think it would be best to give a simple mission to see how well your team works together.¡± He gestured to the elderly woman sitting next to him.


    ¡°I think you should wait on getting assigned missions,¡± the elderly lady spoke up, glaring at Raizen, ¡°You were just assigned this team, yesterday, Master Raizen. How confident are you in their skills? How well do they work in a team together? What kind of knowledge have they shared with each other over various topics?¡±


    Raizen stayed silent with thoughtful expression on his face. Ralph glanced at the elderly lady and recognized her as one of the Village Elders, Lady Eris of the Clover Clan. He tried not to pull a face as he fought to keep his face neutral. He had several run in with her and the Clover Clan while growing up, especially after he was kicked out of the orphanage and looking for a place to stay. He glanced at Lilian and Enzo from the corner of his eye.


    Lilian blinked as she recognized Lady Clover, but she didn¡¯t show any other emotion. Ralph guessed it was part of Lilian¡¯s up bringing to recognize and acknowledge every Village Elder and know how the clans interacted with each other.


    Enzo looked apprehensive as he stared at Lady Clover. He recognized her as well. Maybe she was a customer, Ralph mused, but the apprehensive look on Enzo could be from dealing with her while Enzo helped with his father¡¯s blacksmithing business.


    Finally, Raizen spoke, ¡°Like I said, Lady Clover,¡± he gave a silent bow, ¡°Life doesn''t give lessons then tests. She delivers tests then the lessons. I rather have my students realized that now instead of later, out of a mission or the battlefield and have no clue how to handle a situation. If I start with the missions, now, even the simple ones, I have a control environment with their development into the Ninja this Village needs to have for the future.¡±


    Lady Clover humphed at Raizen¡¯s response.


    ¡°As you wish,¡± another Village Elder spoke up from beside Lady Clover. Ralph thought he was Draco Black of the Grimwell Clan. ¡°Here¡¯s a D-rank mission.¡± He grabbed a mission scroll from on top of the pile of D bin and held it out. Raizen walked over and grabbed it from him with a slight bow.


    Ralph lend over to Lilian and whispered, ¡°That¡¯s Draco Black of the Grimwell Clan, right.¡±


    Lilian sent him a scowl and replied back in the same low tone, ¡°Yes. Now pay attention. You are being rude to the Village Elders.¡±


    Ralph resisted the urge to stick out his tongue at her. He did what she suggested and saw the glare Lady Clover sent him, the amused look of Lord Jackson, the annoyed look on the last woman¡¯s face, the pressed lip expression of Draco, and the blank look on the masked man sitting on the other side of Lord Jackson. The last man, the masked man, Ralph knew, he was the head of the Black Ops squad. They were the hardest group to get into, but they were well trained to handle every situation they ran into and were assigned. It was impressive to see him in person, but it didn¡¯t mean Ralph would have like running into him in a dark alley.


    Raizen didn¡¯t say anything, but Ralph did noticed his teacher did glance at him. The older ninja took his place back in front of the trio of students and bowed to the Village Elders. Lilian followed his example and Ralph and Enzo were seconds behind them. Raizen¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Thank you for this opportunity to serve the village.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome,¡± Lord Jackson replied, ¡°Dismissed.¡±


    Raizen straightened and turned on his heel, leaving the mission room. Ralph stood and walked after Raizen. Enzo walked behind Ralph with Lilian bringing up the rear.


    Once they were outside the Government Tower, Raizen stopped and turned to Team 17. He opened up their mission scroll and read it over.


    Ralph couldn¡¯t help the grin spreading across his face. His first mission. He was pumped to get started. He looked at Raizen and asked, ¡°What¡¯s our first mission?¡±


    ¡° A simple one,¡± Raizen confessed, ¡°We will be shopping for Mrs. Emberglow.¡±


    Ralph frowned. Who was Mrs. Emberglow?


    ¡°Which Mrs. Emberglow?¡± Lilian asked, ¡°There are several families with the name of Emberglow and no connection to each other.¡±


    Ralph glanced at Lilian. He wasn¡¯t aware of that interesting fact. He thought most of the families with the same family name were related through marriages or births. It could be even distantly. He directed his gaze to his teacher.


    ¡°Sapphire Emberglow,¡± Raizen explained without looking up from the scroll.


    ¡°Whose that?¡± Enzo asked. Ralph nodded.


    ¡°I have heard of Sapphire Emberglow, but I don¡¯t remember who she is, exactly,¡± Lilian confessed.


    ¡°Mrs. Emberglow married into the Village due to the White Bark Treaty,¡± Raizen stated. He looked at the students.


    Ralph blinked. White Bark Treaty did sound familiar. He glanced at Lilian. She frowned, a thoughtful expression on her face, as she lowered her eyes to the ground.


    ¡°Oh yeah, that Mrs. Emberglow!¡± Enzo commented with a glee. Ralph and Lilian looked at him, surprised. Enzo looked sheepishly at them. ¡°Whenever my cousins from the White Hall Estate comes to visit, one of the White Hall children from the lesser houses usually comes to visit her as well.¡± He looked thoughtful for a moment, ¡°It was either the White Halls from the Clover Estate or the Morning Glory Estate. I don¡¯t remember which, but I do know, these White Halls are not from the Main Estate.¡±


    ¡°That sounds about right,¡± Raizen said, ¡°If it was the Main White Hall Family, Lord Jackson would have rolled out the red carpet for them. It¡¯s thanks to them, our village has been able to survive, thrive, and grow into what is it today.¡±


    Ralph thought about what Raizen said and decided to read up on the Village¡¯s history before he went to bed or whenever he had the spare time. It sounded like the White Hall Family was highly important to the Village, besides the fact, the Hidden Bark Village had to participate in the last major conflict involving the White Hall Family and caused a lot of ninja¡¯s deaths.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Raizen¡¯s tone changed causing Ralph to turn his attention back to his teacher, ¡°We are heading to the Emberglow Compound on the Far South of the Village. She is expecting us to be there in a hour.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Ralph, Lilian, and Enzo echoed. Raizen walked past them and the trio followed.


    ¡°So, what else does the mission scroll say,¡± Lilian asked.


    ¡°We are to shop for Mrs. Emberglow for the week,¡± Raizen replied, ¡°Here. Read it for yourselves.¡± He tossed the mission scroll over his shoulder at them.


    Ralph¡¯s eyes widened. He was not expecting that. Lilian, however, gapped and her arms didn¡¯t move from her sides. Enzo¡¯s hand snapped out and grabbed the mission scroll from midair. Ralph blinked. He had forgotten Enzo had quick reflexes when it came to catching items from midair. He dimly remembered someone questioning him about it back in class one day and Enzo had replied that sometimes in the smithy he had to be quick in his tasks or risk getting seriously hurt, plus his dad forced him to make sure the ninja weapons they sold were up to par.


    ¡°What does the Mission Scroll say,¡± Lilian asked, turning to Enzo.


    Enzo took a deep breath and read the scroll out loud, ¡°Mission Rank: D; Mission: Shopping for Mrs. Emberglow


    Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow, an Village Elder, has requested help in her weekly shopping. She lives on a limited income, provided both the Village Government and her family¡¯s Elderly funds.


    Mission start time: 10:00


    Possible Mission End time: 15:00


    Mission Objectives: Shop for Mrs. Emberglow and complete her shopping list.¡±


    Ralph hummed, ¡°It should be easy enough.¡± Lilian and Enzo nodded. Raizen didn¡¯t say anything as they walked on.


    Team 17 arrived at the Emberglow compound, nearly 45 minutes later. Ralph glanced at the clock nearby. It was 9:55 am. He panted and shook his head. They were nearly late. It was a good thing that he knew a short cut to the compound, instead of using the more common pathways like Lilian wanted to use.


    Ralph glanced to Raizen. Ralph couldn¡¯t read the teacher¡¯s expression as he strolled toward the compound. Ralph turned his gaze to his teammates. Lilian¡¯s cheeks were redden as her lips parted. Her shoulders heaved as she tried to catch her breath. Enzo didn¡¯t look like he was phased by the harsh run over to the compound, but he did panted, hard. He reached to his side and grabbed a water skin. He twisted the top off and took a swing of water. He walked after Raizen.


    ¡°Are you alright, Lilian?¡± Ralph asked Lilian as he directed his attention to her. She glared at him. He took a step back, raising up his hands in a defensive motion. She humphed, crossing her arms over her chest and walked away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for dragging you with me,¡± Ralph called out after her. She didn¡¯t response. Ralph shook his head. He still couldn¡¯t believe he had misstepped and dragged Lilian with him before he fell to the ground. They had hit the ground hard. She had smacked him for that one, once they got back to their feet. His cheek still ached from her hit. He hurried after them, brushing himself off.


    The Emberglow Compound was a simple looking one, compared to the other rich families living in the village. In a way, it was a lot nicer, at least to Ralph. Of course, he didn¡¯t have much to compare the compound to. Only from what he had seen around the village and his own modest housing.


    The team approached the compound doors where two ninjas from the Emberglow Clan stood, looking bored out of their minds. They snapped to attention once they noticed Team 17 walking toward them and waited until the team came closer to them before one of them spoke, ¡°Good morning and welcome to the Clan Emberglow Compound.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Raizen replied, ¡°We are here to see Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow.¡±


    ¡°Weekly shopping,¡± the other guard commented. Raizen nodded. ¡°Alright. Go on through.¡±


    Ralph walked after Raizen as they entered the Emberglow Compound. He tried to keep his amazement off his face as he looked around the interior of the compound.


    A large tree with bright red apples stood in the center of the compound clearing. An woman with a young child sat on a bench near the base of the tree, her voice drifted through the air as she read a child¡¯s story to her child. It was a story about a tree cutter meeting a witch in the woods. Ralph frowned, thinking. It was a similar story that the ladies at the orphanage used to tell children before sending them to bed. The ending, however, was a sad ending, the witch met her end because she transformed into a hawthrone tree and the tree cutter turned the tree into firewood. He was sure there was more to the story. Something about a mage called Merlin and the Fallen Lady of Earth Magic. He shook his head. He would figure it out later.


    Ralph glanced at Raizen, making sure he was able to follow his teacher, up a small set of stairs, reaching a porch that went around, before his gaze roamed over the rest of the compound. Members of the Emberglow Clan appeared and disappeared through various doorways, few servants swept the porch, and small aged children darted out of doorways with cheers before they jumped off the porch and ran toward the far end of the compound where a small playground sat. It was something different. Ralph wasn¡¯t expecting the compound to have a welcoming atmosphere. He thought it would the opposite. He had heard a few of his classmates who visited some of the Clan compounds complain how unwelcoming and cold it was. He thought it would be the same thing with the Emberglow Compound.


    Ralph blinked and turned his attention ahead of him as Raizen passed through a final door and stepped to the side, allowing the students to pass through the doorway. Inside the room, a small old lady sat in a rocking chair by a roaring fire, a cat curled up on her lap as she moved her hands in a rhythmic pattern, playing with orange colored yarn. She looked up when they entered, her sapphire blue eyes were like gems - bright and beautiful. Ralph blinked in surprise at that thought and fought to keep the heat raising in his cheeks.


    ¡°Good morning, Mrs. Emberglow, how are those crochet needles holding up,¡± Enzo stepped forward with a wide grin.


    ¡°Enzo Smith, is that you, sweetheart?¡± She narrowed her eyes, trying to see them. ¡°Oh blast it, where are my glasses?¡± she reached out to the stand beside her and patted the surface until she found her glasses, ¡°I can¡¯t see a thing without my glasses. My eye sight isn¡¯t what it used to be.¡± She slid on the glasses and turned to look at them. ¡°Enzo, dear, the needles your father made are excellent,¡± Mrs. Emberglow sent a content grin, ¡°How are you doing this morning?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine, ma¡¯am,¡± Enzo said, ¡°I got my first mission today with my team.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that is good,¡± Mrs. Emberglow nodded, ¡°What is your mission, if you can tell me?¡±


    ¡°Apparently, we are going to be shopping for you, Mrs. Emberglow,¡± Enzo stated.


    Mrs. Emberglow¡¯ eyes widened and she giggled. She set her yarn project to the side. It looked like a blanket of some kind. She stood up. She appeared to be only 5 foot tall, but she did hunch over a bent. ¡°That is a surprise,¡± She started, ¡°I knew there would be a ninja team coming this morning to grab my list of groceries, but to know that you would be arriving to shop for me, and it¡¯s your first mission, that is a great honor.¡± She walked toward a small table by a couch sitting several feet away. ¡°Maybe I should bake up some treats while you are shopping. Perhaps, some chocolate chip cookies, hmm?¡±


    ¡°Really, Mrs. Emberglow, that wouldn¡¯t be necessary,¡± Raizen started, but Enzo cut him off, ¡°Really? Mrs. Emberglow, you are the greatest!¡±


    He turned to the rest of the team and started on, ¡°Oh, you guys, you should really try her chocolate chip cookies! They taste so good.¡± He smacked his lips. ¡°I have them every time I come here with my father.¡± He turned to Mrs. Emberglow and asked, ¡°Would you make some extra so I can take them back to my family, please?¡±


    ¡°Of course, dear,¡± Mrs. Emberglow gave him a grandmotherly smile, ¡°Here¡¯s my list of groceries I need for the week, dears.¡±


    Raizen stepped forwarded and grabbed it before Enzo could. Ralph blinked, surprised. He didn¡¯t think his teacher would do something like that, but this was their first mission. Maybe Raizen wanted to be the one in charge of the mission? Of course, Ralph mused it could be something else.


    ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Emberglow,¡± Raizen spoke up, ¡°We should be getting going if we are supposed to have this done in a timely manner.¡± Ralph saw him glance at Enzo with a guarded look before Raizen turned away.


    ¡°See ya later, Mrs. Emberglow,¡± Enzo followed as he waved at Mrs. Emberglow.


    Ralph glanced toward Lillian who bowed slightly and out of instinct, Ralph repeated the motion, saying, ¡°We will be back with your groceries.¡± He turned away and followed Enzo out of the compound.


    ¡°Oh wait!¡± Mrs. Emberglow called, ¡°I forgot to give you the money for the groceries.¡±


    Ralph paused in the doorway, saw Enzo and Raizen stopped as well, and heard Lillian finally speak up, ¡°I can take it, Mrs. Emberglow.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sweetheart,¡± Mrs. Emberglow placed the money in Lillian¡¯s hand.


    There was a pause from Lillian before she spoke, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this will be enough, Ma¡¯am.¡± Ralph wanted to slap his hand against his face. Even though this was their first mission, he knew it was bad form to inform their client of that. ¡°Whenever I went with my mother to do the grocery shopping, it is usually way more then this amount.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, sweetheart,¡± Mrs. Emberglow¡¯ voice took on an uncertain note.


    Raizen¡¯s sigh was audible as he walked past Enzo and Ralph to Lillian. Ralph watched him look the money Lilian held and announced in a guarded tone, ¡°Mrs. Emberglow, I promise you this is more then enough to cover your weekly groceries.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s 3 gold pieces,¡± Lillian protested. Ralph blinked. He usually had 1 gold piece to spend on food each week, if he was lucky and he still got a lot with a single gold piece. His mind darted through several stores with the best deals he usually visited. He needed to see the list before he could throw out any suggestions.


    ¡°Are you sure, Mr. Raizen,¡± Mrs. Emberglow asked, ¡°I can provide your team with more, if it is necessary.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more then enough,¡± Ralph commented, ¡°I can get your entire grocery list and then some with 3 gold pieces.¡± He knew the butcher would offer a few good deals on the best pieces of meat toward the end of the day, roughly hour before he closed up shop for the day.


    ¡°It is not necessary, Mrs. Emberglow,¡± Raizen spoke, ¡°My students needs to learn some manners when it comes to dealing with clients and need to remember they are no longer academy students.¡± The way Raizen¡¯s voice took on a harsh note, Ralph noticed Enzo winced from the corner of his eye while Lillian¡¯s cheek heated before Raizen walked past Ralph with Lillian on his heels.


    Team 17 left the Emberglow compound without another word. Ralph followed, bringing up the rear. He didn¡¯t want to be near Raizen when he turned around and decided to give them a tongue lashing. However, once they were far enough away, Raizen led them to a tree line near a park where young children played under the watchful eye of their parents then he turned around to face them.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raizen started, ¡°It was nice to know that you, Enzo, are familiar terms with Mrs. Emberglow. It would have been nicer to know that before we got there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what is the big deal is about if I know Mrs. Emberglow personally or not,¡± Enzo kicked the ground, sending a rock toward the playground. ¡°My father knows her better then I do.¡±


    ¡°Still, relationships with any of our future or possible clients could pose a risk to the mission,¡± Raizen stated, ¡°In the future, it might be best if you announced you know the client outside of ninja work before meeting them. It might jeopardized the mission if you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Like how?¡± Enzo argued.


    ¡°If the client had requested we remove a person from a position of power and you personally had a connection to the target, would you try to stop me from permanently removing that person from power?¡± Raizen glared at Enzo.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone in a position of power,¡± Enzo pointed out.


    ¡°Yes, you do. Lord Jackson, the leader of our village, is in a position of power,¡± Raizen shot back, ¡°If I worked for a different village, would you be able to stop me from trying to remove Lord Jackson from power?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Enzo¡¯s eyes widened, understanding. ¡°So, knowing someone outside of ninja work on personal terms could jeopardize the mission if we get assigned to do something to them, either helpful or harmful?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Raizen nodded at Enzo before he turned to Lillian, ¡°You, Miss Sakura, do not inform the client of any money related problems like that again.¡± Lillian looked down, ashamed. ¡°If we are short on the provided money, we will have to use our own and submit a copy of the receipt to the financial department to get reimbursed for it.¡± He sighed. ¡°Ralph, it is a good thing you spoke up. Mrs. Emberglow would have handed us another gold coin or two to cover the expenses of her grocery shopping, but it would have cost her in return like some of her medicine she is taking. That medicine isn¡¯t cheap and has to be transported from the White Hall Estate, every month. Even though she is a daughter of the White Hall Estate, she doesn¡¯t get a discount from the Estate, anymore.¡±


    Ralph waited for Raizen to speak more, but he didn¡¯t and Ralph spoke up instead, ¡°So, what¡¯s on the list of groceries do we need to get for Mrs. Emberglow?¡±

 Chapter 7: Shopping Time

    The list of groceries that Mrs. Emberglow wanted to get wasn¡¯t long, but it could be expensive depending which store they went to. Ralph knew which stores would be best to visit to get the best deal and which ones they needed to avoid. Of course, there was a small chance they could get a discount since Lilian was with them, but he didn¡¯t want to have the appearance of using her or her clan name to get a discount.


    ¡°So, Mr. Raizen, how are we going to do this?¡± Enzo asked, looking up at their teacher.


    Raizen gave them a smile, ¡°You three are going to work it out, as a team, to figure out the best way to handle this shopping mission.¡±


    Ralph glanced at Enzo and Lilian. He opened his mouth, asking, ¡°How familiar are you two with grocery shopping?¡±


    ¡°My mom usually does it,¡± Enzo shrugged, ¡°Dad always needed my help in the smithy.¡±


    ¡°I sometime helped Mother with the shopping,¡± Lilian replied, ¡°She has started to teach me to how to shop for a household.¡± Her tone held pride. ¡°I know where to get the best price on the healthily of foods.¡±


    Ralph blinked at her then directed his gaze elsewhere. He knew how to shop for a household. He had been shopping for himself for the last couple years. He knew better then to say anything. Most of the time, when he did say something against the elites in his class, he was often told he didn¡¯t know what he was talking about or was accused of being selfish. Like the Clans knew any better. She probably shopped at that expensive store over in the Holly Forest District for the Clan families and got a discount, also. Holly Forest was a funny name if someone asked him.


    ¡°Let me guess, you shop over in Holly Forest,¡± Ralph drawled.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lilian shot back, ¡°There is no where else better to shop at.¡± She took a breath before she went on, ¡°The store is very clean and the attendants are helpful.¡±


    ¡°However, it is too far,¡± Ralph pointed out. ¡°We have to bring the food back in a timely manner. You live close to the store while we are currently on the far side of town. Plus, there are some better priced stores nearby.¡±


    ¡°Then we can just run back here,¡± Lilian stated. She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she went on, ¡°I doubt there are better priced stores at this end of town.¡±


    Ralph wanted to roll his eyes. He didn¡¯t like running places when he didn¡¯t need to. He was sure there was a trick the experience ninja used to get around, but he didn¡¯t know how to use the technique. He glanced at Enzo who didn¡¯t look pleased with the suggestion. He turned his attention to Raizen and his jaw dropped. Their teacher had disappeared.


    ¡°Hmmm, where did Raizen disappear to?¡± Ralph asked, looking around the empty street. Lilian and Enzo gazed at the empty streets.


    ¡°Well, damn,¡± Enzo commented.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the irresponsibly for him to leave us on our first mission,¡± Lilian said. She crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°I will making a formal complaint about this.¡± She paused. ¡°He needed to be here to guide us, but he ditched us with the shopping list.¡±


    Ralph sighed. He resisted the urge to question how old Lilian was, but it took all of his will power. He cut in before Lilian could continue, ¡°Alright! Our teacher ditched us on our first mission. We can either run around, looking for him; we go the Government Tower and file the paperwork for him ditching us; or we can go ahead and finish the mission and proving we can


    ¡°I guess we will have to figure this out on our own,¡± Ralph commented, ¡°So, where are we going to do the mission?¡±


    ¡°Finish it,¡± Enzo suggested, ¡°I mean we will have to learn how to eventually accomplish missions by ourselves.¡±


    ¡°This is our first mission,¡± Lilian protested, ¡°This is highly irresponsible of him.¡±


    Ralph opened up the grocery list and read it off to his teammates, ¡°Anyway, we need to get Milk; Eggs; flour; Sugar; Cinnamon; Beef; Chicken; Cumin; Noodles; Carrots; Corn; Peas; 3 Towels - Dark color; Laundry soap; pork; broccoli; toilet paper; shampoo- strawberry scented; and green beans.¡± He looked up at his teammates, ¡°I know we can get all of the meats at a decent price over at the Young¡¯s Butchery. They have all of the animals on this list and they usually start butchery around noon. If we can put in our order, now, they should have it done by evening rush.¡±


    Lilian suggested, ¡°Or we can just over to the Holly Forest and get all of that now.¡±


    ¡°But the question how much?¡± Enzo asked, looking at both of them.


    Ralph frowned, trying to remember how it was the last time he had to some serious shopping, ¡°I think it only cost like 1 Gold for all the animals products I had to get the last time I was there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not for sure how it would be over the Holly Forest, but since we have to get other things as well,¡± Lilian said, ¡°We will be one stop shopping.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do agree there are benefits of one stop shopping,¡± Ralph started, ¡°Holly¡¯s Supermarket is on the far side of town and they are a big brand store. They are part of the supply chain, meaning they get their products from the local vendors like The Young¡¯s Butchery and mark it up in order to stay in business.¡±


    ¡°So, it is apart of doing business as you said,¡± Lilian agreed.


    ¡°Mrs. Emberglow is a limited amount of income,¡± Ralph argued, ¡°She can¡¯t afford to pay marked up prices when we can cut out the middle man on her behalf and go start to the source.¡±


    ¡°I know I haven¡¯t been shopping with my mom,¡± Enzo cut in, ¡°But I have heard her say she managed to get some good deals by going straight to the supplier. She usually gets our laundry stuff at some store called Buff Soaps. From my understanding, they make customers¡¯ order right there and are willingly to throw in some custom order scents as well. I know we can get the laundry supplies there. We might be able to get the shampoo there too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an idea,¡± Ralph voiced when he saw Lilian open her mouth to comment about one stop shopping. ¡°Right now, we need to figure out the best plan of action. If two of us thinks it would be best to do the One stop shopping, then we will do that. If it¡¯s not the one stop shopping, we will make multi stops and try to get the best deal for what kind of money we have.¡±


    Lilian sighed. Defeat colored her face. ¡°Alright,¡± she conceded, ¡°I¡¯ll just have to prove to you going to Holly¡¯s Supermarket is a much better deal.¡±


    Ralph raised an eyebrow at her, but he turned his attention to the grocery list again. ¡°So, we can visit the Young Butchery and put in our order before they close the window for new orders.¡±


    ¡°They can do that?¡± Enzo asked, amazed.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ralph nodded, ¡°They don¡¯t have a lot of time to do direct to customer orders because they also supply the local small with their orders as well.¡± He paused, ¡°I kinda learned if I didn¡¯t get my order in by a certain time, it will be taken care the following day, but they do limit those orders as well to make sure they can fulfill them.¡±


    ¡°What if they can¡¯t do it today?¡± Enzo asked.


    ¡°They are able to suggest who else to visit,¡± he explained, ¡°the one time I couldn¡¯t get my order in before they closed it for the day, they suggested I visited a smaller Butcher on the outskirts of town, close to the training fields.¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± Enzo cocked his head to the side.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember what its called,¡± Ralph admitted, starting to walk toward the Young¡¯s Butchery, ¡°I usually don¡¯t go there.¡± He shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s too far out of my way when I head back to my apartment. Plus, I don¡¯t remember if they have any good deals compared to the Young¡¯s Butchery.¡±


    ¡°It will be a lot simpler if we just went to the Supermarket in Holly Forest,¡± Lilian quipped, falling into step beside Ralph. Enzo and Ralph looked at each other before they sighed. She continued going on about the benefits of shopping at the Supermarket until they reached the Young¡¯s Butchery.


    ¡°Would you shut up, already, Lilian?!¡± Enzo finally shouted, turning to her. ¡°We get it, okay! You want to shop at the Supermarket because you think it is the best thing for you, not our client.¡±


    Ralph paused by the doorway, glanced over his shoulder, and shook his head before he entered the Butchery. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light in the store and he spotted one of the sons of the Young Family standing behind the counter. He heard the dying cries of an animal in the back, but he ignored it as he approached the counter.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± he greeted the son of the Young Family, ¡°Are you still accepting customer orders?¡±


    ¡°Yup, sir,¡± the son gave him a wide grin, ¡°What do you need?¡±


    ¡°Depends on the price,¡± Ralph said, ¡°I need few pounds of pork, beef, chicken, a jug milk, and 2 dozen eggs.¡±


    The Young son hummed and reached under the counter, pulling up a large scroll. He placed it on the counter top and unrolled it. He peered through the scroll, his finger skimming over the writing before he spoke, ¡°How many pounds of each kind of meat?¡±


    Ralph hummed, thinking about Mrs. Emberglow. She didn¡¯t put down how many pounds she wanted. He answered, ¡°3 pounds.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± the Young Son tapped his fingers against the counter top, drawing out the word, ¡°It will be 20 silver pieces in total.¡±


    ¡°Got change for a Gold piece?¡± Ralph asked.


    The Young Son nodded, ¡°Let me run back and see if Da will be able to fulfill your order, first.¡± He turned on his heel and disappeared behind the wall. Ralph heard the Young Son¡¯s voice talking with his dad from the deeper tone. He turned to look the front door to see Lilian and Enzo still arguing outside. He shook his head. He heard footsteps coming back and turned his attention back to see the Young Son reappeared. He looked relieved, Ralph noticed as he spoke, ¡°We can fulfill your order.¡± He rolled up the scroll and placed it under the counter. He bent down and looked under the counter for something else. He stood up, holding a book in his hands. He placed it on the counter top and flipped through the pages until he reached a page that was still half empty. He looked around for a quill. He grabbed it and tapped the tip against the edge of the ink well, before he spoke, ¡°Name?¡±


    ¡°It will Sapphire Emberglow,¡± Ralph said, ¡°picked up by Team 17.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± the Young Son said, writing it down, ¡°Teacher?¡±


    ¡°Raizen. I don¡¯t remember his last name at the moment,¡± Ralph admitted with a sheepish grin.


    The Young Son didn¡¯t say to that, but he went on, ¡°Okay. Your order will be ready at 4 pm.¡± He paused, reaching over for a slip of paper and wrote down a number with some more information. ¡°Here¡¯s your order number.¡± Ralph took the slip of paper and glanced down at it to see the number on it was Order 124, Pick up time 4 PM by Team 17, Teacher Raizen for Sapphire Emberglow. ¡°You will need that in order to get the order.¡± Ralph nodded in understanding. ¡°It will be 20 silver pieces.¡± The Young Son paused and said, ¡°You said something about change for a Gold piece?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± Ralph reached into his pocket and fished for one of the gold pieces. He paused. He couldn¡¯t remember who was holding the money. He looked at the Young Son and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± He dashed outside to his teammates, asking, ¡°Who is holding Mrs. Emberglow money?¡±


    Enzo opened his mouth and let out a long, ¡°Huummmm?¡± glancing at Lilian then at Ralph as Ralph tried not panic.


    ¡°Do you think Raizen took the money with him?¡± Ralph asked, eyes darting back and forth.


    ¡°I hope not,¡± Lilian voiced, ¡°This shopping trip would be a lot harder without him around, then.¡±


    ¡°Check your pockets,¡± Enzo threw out as his hands darted into his own pockets, but came out empty handed.


    Lilian¡¯s hand disappeared into her numerous pockets in her outfit. Ralph stared at her in amazement as she checked her front pockets at her hips then the thigh pockets, her back pockets, her arm pockets, her breast pockets before she reached into her small pack she carried around her waist. She let out a sigh of relief. She pulled her hand from the pack and opened her fist to reveal the 3 gold pieces Mrs. Emberglow had given them. Ralph and Enzo let out sighs of relief as well.


    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± Ralph commented, ¡°This order will cost 20 silver pieces so we will need break one of the gold pieces.¡±


    Lilian¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Are you sure? 20 silver pieces is cheap. How much are you getting?¡±


    ¡°3 pounds of Chicken, pork, and beef, each, with a jug of milk, and 2 dozen eggs,¡± Ralph rattled off, ¡°Unfortunately, it won¡¯t be able to picked up until 4 pm.¡±


    ¡°When the deadline again,¡± Enzo asked.


    ¡°15:00 hours,¡± Ralph said, ¡°or 3:00 o¡¯clock.¡± He grabbed one of the gold pieces and headed back in, tossing over his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll see what they can do.¡± He approached the counter and set the gold coin on the counter top, asking, ¡°Is there anyway we will be able to pick it up around 2:30? This order is for a mission.¡±


    The Young Son glanced over at the order and shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything. We got several orders before yours and a couple of them are rather large orders. Your order could be ready by then, depending how many of our employees show up for work and other factors like that,¡± He sighed. ¡°In fact, your order is the last order we can take for the day.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Ralph nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later then.¡± He walked toward the door with the Young Son following him. He went through the door way and glanced over his shoulder to see the Young Son stopped by the door and flipped over a sign saying ¡°Closed for New Orders, Come back tomorrow.¡±


    He turned his attention to his teammates. Lilian looked at him with a questioning expression and Enzo seemed to bounce on his toes, waiting for his answer. ¡°They can¡¯t promise anything. They have several large orders to go through. Depending on how many hands they have, they might have our order done early, but like I said, they can¡¯t promise anything.¡±


    Enzo deflated and Lilian nodded like she had been expecting that and opened her mouth, commenting, ¡°We should have gone to the Supermarket in Holly Forest.¡±


    The male teens groaned at her tone.


    It took them a while to reach the market square where the farmers, the bakers, and other craftsmen were located. They glanced at each other. The market was packed. Ralph knew it shouldn¡¯t have come as a surprise, considering majority of the farmers were in the village¡¯s walls, hoping to sell their early summer crops. Hopefully, Team 17 would be able to get what they needed to get for the mission and get going. He glanced at Lilian and Enzo as they stared at the market with wonder. There were other dangers of being in a packed market place like this one. He didn¡¯t know if his teammates would have the sense to stay on alert.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Be on your guard,¡± Ralph whispered.


    ¡°Why?¡± Enzo in the same volume.


    ¡°In a crowd like this,¡± he gestured to the crowd, ¡°There are going to be pickpockets and other street rats, looking for a quick coin.¡±


    Lilian turned to look at Ralph as someone bumped into her. She stumbled to Enzo before she caught herself as Enzo raised his hands, preparing to catch her. Ralph turned to watch the person who bump Lilian walk away, disappearing in the crowd. He kept an eye on the person and asked, ¡°Lilian, check your pockets.¡±


    She paused. From her expression, she realized the reason why Ralph had requested her to search her pockets. Her hands darted in and out of the numerous she had. She let out a sigh and started to withdraw a hand from her breast pocket. Her fist was closed when Ralph saw, but she started to open it. He clamped a hand over her fist, keeping it from opening all the way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t show them,¡± he warned, turning his gaze to her. ¡°I just wanted to know if you still had them or not.¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Lilian commented. Ralph relaxed. Enzo let a sigh.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get the produce and find a way to get the other items on the list,¡± Ralph said. They nodded, agreeing. ¡°Which way should we start?¡± he asked, gazing the large market. It covered the entire village square in the center of town. The various farmers and other merchants had formed rows going from the south to north. People crowded the rows, hoping to the best deal with the farmers. Ralph thought he spotted a few of his former upperclassmen roaming through the rows, looking at the stalls. He figured they were also on missions for the local elderly. He remembered hearing rumors of several of the nursing homes - the elderly who thought it would be best to place themselves there due to having no other living relatives - gave out missions on the behalf of the Elderly for their weekly shopping or various doctors appointments. Of course, there was a chance they were actually doing their own shopping.


    He heard several children screaming in the crowd, complaining how they were hungry and wanted to go home, already. Women were talking to each other about various topics. Ralph heard a pair of them discussing the Community Day coming up and how fun it would be to get out before the Summer heat started. Another pair talked about the growing pile of trash near the apartment complex one of them lived in.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Enzo exclaimed. Ralph turned to him, saw he was a few feet away, and noticed his teammate pointing somewhere in front of him. ¡°I know those farmers.¡± Ralph followed where he was pointing to, but he couldn¡¯t tell which stall Enzo was pointing at. He sighed. He saw a group of kids running through the crowd, carrying wooden kunai in their hands, playing some sort of Ninja game. He glanced over them, seeing they were wearing clean clothes, had clean faces, and maintained a healthy weight. He pulled his gaze away from the kids and walked over to Enzo. He glanced through the crowd, looking for Lilian. He found her as she walked through the crowd, pausing every so often, allowing a mother and her child to pass her or an older adult to cut her off before she moved on, heading toward them.


    ¡°Which farmers?¡± Ralph asked as Lilian stopped on the other side of Enzo.


    ¡°The stand with the sign saying ¡®The Halfing Farmer¡¯,¡± Enzo said, sounding annoyed, ¡°It¡¯s on your right, Ralph, in the corner.¡±


    Ralph turned in the direction and saw which vendor stand Enzo was talking about. There was a sign announcing the vendor¡¯s name and standing under the sign was a very short man with curly black hair, big in the middle, and a huge giddy smile, Ralph could see from where he was standing.


    ¡°Come on,¡± Enzo hurried forward, pausing long enough to wave at his teammates to follow him, and cut through the crowd. Ralph glanced at Lilian shrugged. They followed him to the stall. It took them a few minutes to get through the thick crowd. ¡°Hey, Merry!¡± Enzo waved his hand over his head to the short man as Team 17 reached the edge of the crowd. ¡°How are you doing?¡±


    Now, that Ralph was able to stand closer to him, he realized that the vendor owner, Merry, was a halfing. That was amazing, considering the Kingdom of Camelot outlawed the non-humans. He really don¡¯t think there would be any free non-humans left inside the boundaries of the Kingdom, but he had heard rumors that there were some safe heavens for the non-humans, including the Hidden Bark Village. Seeing the halfing standing a few feet away from him proved those rumors correct.


    ¡°Afternoon, young Mr. Smith,¡± Merry¡¯s smile seemed to grow at the sight of Enzo, ¡°I must thank you and your father for repairing the farming equipment. They are working like they were brand new, again.¡±


    Enzo¡¯s cheeks brightened to a soft shade of red as he stretched the back of his head, replying, ¡°It was no problem. We enjoyed the challenge of fixing them.¡± He glanced at his teammates and changed the subject, ¡°However, my friends and I are on official ninja business today.¡± Ralph watched Merry¡¯s face lost the joyful expression as color left his face and he started to shift from foot to foot. ¡°We are shopping for Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow.¡±


    Merry blinked and the color slowly returned to his face as did the joyful expression. Ralph thought it was a bit forced. Perhaps hiding the relief he felt or something else. However, Merry¡¯s voice held a strong as he started to speak, ¡°Sapphire Emberglow? She was the one who paid the price of the White Bark Treaty, correct?¡± Team 17 nodded. ¡°I have met the old lady a few times. She is a sweet lass. What does she need, today?¡±


    Ralph stepped forward and read off the list of produced they were hoping to get from the market. Merry turned around and grabbed the produced as Ralph named them, placing them in a wove basket. There wasn¡¯t a lot of items left on the list since they were able to get most of the animal products at the Young Butchery. When Ralph stopped reading the list, Merry turned back to them. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± the Farmer asked and Ralph nodded, peering over Merry to the basket which was surprisingly full. ¡°Well, then, since this is Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow, this will be only 10 silver pieces.¡± Ralph blinked and glanced at Enzo and Lilian who looked just as surprise.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ralph asked.


    Merry nodded, ¡°Yes, I am sure. I gave her a discount since I feel a great deal of debt to her and her family when the non-humans laws were enacted several years ago.¡±


    Team 17 knew what he meant. The non-human laws allowed them to become slaves in the Kingdom of Camelot which there were many ancient and nobles argued against and plotted to the non-humans escape to more friendly countries, out of the reach of the Ruling Family of Camelot. They knew it was a great risk for Merry to be mingling with the rest of the Hidden Bark Village, but they knew the majority of the Nobles of the Camelot weren¡¯t travel this far into the Dead End Forest to find out about the Village or its secrets. The only family that would travel this far into the Forest would be the White Hall Family, thanks to the Treaty.


    Lilian handed over payment and gathered the change as Enzo grabbed the basket, opened a scroll, set the basket onto a storage seal before he did a hand sign causing the basket to disappear into a poof of smoke and he stood up. In the distance, they heard the bell tower rang out the hour.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time left,¡± Lilian commented. Ralph agreed. They cut their way through the crowd. It was still jam pack for a Tuesday afternoon. Ralph figured it the reason behind it was the fact it was the first day of Summer break for the school. They reached the other side of the crowd and looked at each other, ¡°We still need to grab the cleaning supplies before we are done.¡±


    Ralph and Enzo nodded before Enzo spoke up, ¡°Come on. The shop I told you before is nearby. We will be able to finish the list and head back to the butcher shop before heading back to the Emberglow compound.¡±


    ¡°Welcome to Buff Soaps!¡± a cheery voice called out as Team 17 entered the medium sized building, several blocks away from the farmer market. The owner of the voice stepped out from a stand, show casing the various soaps they had to offer.


    Ralph took a sniff and forced himself not to take a step back, away from the store. The scents drifting in the air were almost overpowering. There were scents of lavender, rosemary, and flowers. He wanted to shake his head, but he thought it would come across as rude. He glanced at Enzo.


    His teammate stretched the side of his nose before he rubbed a finger underneath it. His eyes darted around the store, lingering on the doorway they had used to enter the store before his eyes flashed over to the doorway, leading to the back half where Ralph had no doubt the employees gathered and kept more stock. He shifted back and forth on his feet.


    Lilian immediately stepped forward with a wide grin on her face. She looked like she had walked into a candy store. She tilted her head up a bit and sniffed the air. She slowly spun, looking at Ralph and Enzo before she commented, ¡°It smells wonderful.¡±


    Ralph hummed in agreement, keeping an eye on Enzo. He didn¡¯t like the way the other young man was acting. Enzo was acting weird. Maybe he did act this way in certain situations.


    Enzo opened his mouth to reply, but he sneezed. Lilian stepped away from him. Enzo grabbed something from one of his pockets and blew his nose into it. He folded it up and stuck it back in his pocket before he apologized and said, ¡°Yeah. The scents are somewhat overpowering.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we get that a lot,¡± the salesclerk admitted, ¡°Especially from members of the Ninja force whose jobs are Search and Rescues. They often pop in long enough to grab the non-scent items we have, pay for it, and leave as fast as they can.¡±


    Ralph understood why they did that.


    ¡°Anyway, what I can help you with, today?¡± the clerk asked. Ralph noticed her name tag read ¡®Connie¡¯.


    Lilian took the lead and explained, ¡°We are on a mission, shopping for Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow, and she need some cleaning supplies. Mainly, laundry soap and shampoo.¡±


    The clerk nodded and gestured around the store, ¡°As you can see, we got a selection of laundry soaps and shampoos. Do you know which one she would like?¡±


    The trio looked at each other. That was one question of many they had over the course of the shopping mission they didn¡¯t ask. Hell, Ralph didn¡¯t know if the old woman was allergic to anything.


    ¡°What about we get the unscented kind?¡± Enzo suggested.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know,¡± Lilian commented, ¡°Maybe a floral scent.¡± Ralph raised an eyebrow at her. ¡°She did have flowers in the room where she was sitting. If I remember correctly, there were lavender, roses, and Forget-Me-Nots.¡± She placed her finger pressed against her right cheek. ¡°They weren¡¯t together, but they were spread out through the room, but I did noticed the lavender branches were by the window while roses were in a vase on one of the tables within her eyesight while the Forget-Me-Nots were above the fireplace.¡±


    Ralph blinked. He didn¡¯t see any flowers, but he wasn¡¯t paying attention to the small details of the room. He was more interested in the fact he was meeting the Sapphire Emberglow. He did remember there was fire in the fireplace and she wore a thick heavy shawl, but he didn¡¯t bother looking around the room.


    Lilian went on, ¡°So, from those florals, I think it would be safe to assume she is not allergic to those scents. Do you have laundry soap in one of those scents?¡±


    ¡°Sure do!¡± the clerk chirped, ¡°This way.¡± The clerk spun on her heel, causing her black hair spin around before it settled down on her back and shoulders. She walked toward the back area of the store. Lilian followed her while Ralph glanced at Enzo.


    Enzo looked uncomfortable. There was a slight green in his cheek. His eyes darted toward the front door. A hand covered his nose. Ralph lend over and commented, ¡°If you need to step out, go right ahead.¡± Enzo nodded, sending a thankful expression before he turned around and step outside.


    Ralph walked after Lilian. The salesclerk looked up at the door opening and closed before she went back to giving Lilian her attention, still talking about some of the scents they offered. He turned his gaze to the tables he walked past, seeing some weirdest scents he thought he would ever see in a small rectangular box.


    The sign said ¡°Coconut¡± above the spread of small boxes. Who would want to smell like coconut? What was a coconut, anyway? He reached out and grabbed a small bar of soap, bringing it up to his nose and sniffed. It smelt sweet and vanilla. He shrugged and put it back on the table with the rest of the small boxes. He turned his attention to to the next one and saw the sign above saying ¡°Coffee¡±.


    He never heard of Coffee before. It must be a new thing from across the barrier. Sometimes, if the Hidden Bark Village was lucky, they would get a family or a loner on the village¡¯s borders, confused. Once they were ¡®vetted¡¯ by one of the Village guards, they were welcome to join the village until they find a way back home. However, the loners who show up would roam the countryside until they find a way back to village. The Families would eventually settle down in the village and become a member of the merchant class or police force. It was rare to have a family to have a child already have the ability of use Spirit Energy unless the child was young enough where the child could enroll into the Basic Training with their parents¡¯ permission.


    ¡°Ralph,¡± he looked up as he set the box back down, coming out of his thoughts. Lilian walked up to him. ¡°I decided to go with Lavender for shampoo and unscented for laundry soap.¡± He nodded. ¡°Where¡¯s Enzo?¡±


    ¡°Outside,¡± he answered, ¡°He didn¡¯t look good.¡± He glanced around the store, ¡°I think he was getting overwhelmed by the scents in the store.¡±


    Lilian glanced around, slowly nodding before she spoke, ¡°Yeah, visiting these places can be overwhelming for the nose.¡±


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Ralph asked. She nodded and they left the store, joining Enzo outside. He looked much better, Ralph noticed as they approached him. ¡°Feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Tons,¡± Enzo said. ¡°Are we done, yet?¡± he pulled out a pocket watch and commented, ¡°It¡¯s nearly 2 pm.¡± He pulled out the scroll he had used earlier to placed the farmer¡¯s goods in a storage seal and repeated his actions with the items they got from the soap shop.


    Ralph pulled out the mission scroll. He was sure they got everything on the scroll, but it didn¡¯t hurt to double check. They got all of the animal products, soaps, and produced. His face fell. ¡°We still need to get some towels and Toilet paper. Shit.¡±


    ¡°The general store is nearby,¡° Lilian commented, ¡°How much of each?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t say,¡± Ralph said, ¡°I would assume she needs enough to last a week or so when it comes to the toilet paper, but for towels, we didn¡¯t go over it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get them,¡± Lilian half turned. Ralph opened his mouth to protest, but she went on, ¡°I¡¯m the fastest runner between the three of us.¡±  He wasn¡¯t going to argue with her on that topic. She was the fastest one. He did noticed she was able to stay a head of them during their mad dashes around the village. ¡°I will meet you at the Butchery at 2:30.¡± And she was off, dashing through the street, reaching an alleyway, bouncing back and forth off the walls of the building before she reached the rooftops and vanished from Ralph¡¯s sight.


    He turned back to Enzo, saying, ¡°We better hurry back to the Young Butchery. Hopefully, they have our order ready for us.¡± Enzo nodded. They hurried through the streets.


    They panted as they reached the Butchery. Ralph slowed to a walk as he watched a customer walk out of the Butchery, their arms heavy with their order of meats. Enzo walked beside him, panting, and said in between breaths, ¡°We really need to work on our speed. I can¡¯t do these mad dashes through the village.¡±


    ¡°It means more training,¡± Ralph said, ¡°I¡¯m sure we can suggest it to Raizen the next time we see him.¡± He paused before he added, ¡°Of course, we can do it ourselves - get up early and go for a run around daybreak, taking mission days off from running.¡± Enzo nodded. Ralph didn¡¯t know if the other teen was listening or not. ¡°I¡¯ll pop inside to see if our order is done, yet.¡± Enzo nodded again as he tried to catch his breath, cheeks flushed, and he stood with his hands on his hips, trying not to bend over to catch his breath.


    Ralph glanced over his shoulder before he entered the Butchery. He hoped Enzo would be alright. He took a deep breath and pushed his worries out of his mind as he looked forward in the Butchery, toward the counter where the Young Son appeared. He walked to the counter, noticing he was the only customer in the shop. ¡°Pick up for Team 17, on the behalf of Mrs. Sapphire Emberglow.¡±


    The Young Son nodded, saying ¡°I remember the order.¡± He paused, peering down at the orders papers. He shuffled through them and grabbed an order form. He looked up, ¡°You are in luck. We had enough people show up today to work and managed to get your order done before the estimated time I told you. Let me go get your order.¡±


    Ralph nodded as the Young Son walked away from the counter. He couldn¡¯t believe it. They were in luck. Their biggest order was competed ahead of schedule and Lilian was off, grabbing the last two items on the list. So far, their first mission was going good. Ralph looked up as the Young Son appeared around the corner, carrying several packages of meat, an container of eggs and large jug of milk. Maybe he should have asked for Enzo¡¯s help to carry the order outside, at least. He glanced over his shoulder. Na. He should be alright. Enzo was just outside the shop, recovering his breath and should be waiting for him.


    ¡°There you go,¡± The Young Son said, ¡°Your order.¡± He set the order on the counter top and stepped back. ¡°Thank you for ordering at your local Butchery and I hope we see you again soon. Have a nice day.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± Ralph replied automatically as he started to grab the meats, trying to balancing them in his left arm before he grabbed the eggs, placing them on top, right under his chin. He grabbed the jug of milk. He walked away from the counter, trying to be careful as he could. It didn¡¯t weight a lot, but it was awkward to carry everything in one go.


    He stepped outside of the Butcher shop and called out, ¡°Enzo!¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Enzo¡¯s voice rang out before Ralph heard, ¡°Oh, snap.¡± There were a rustling sound and Enzo went on, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ralph, I didn¡¯t realized we had this much.¡± He appeared on Ralph¡¯s right and took the jug of milk. There was the scent of smoke before the eggs were taken from under his chin and disappeared into the storage scroll. Enzo repeated the same process until all of the meat was safely stored away.


    A soft thump alerted them and Ralph turned to see Lilian, red-faced, raising up from a crunch, carrying a large package of toilet paper and a set of towels. Enzo still had the storage scroll out and Lilian handed him the last two items on the list. He placed them in a couple empty storage seals.


    Team 17 looked at each other and Lilian commented, ¡°Now, we have to get this stuff back to Mrs. Emberglow.¡± The two young men nodded in agreement and they ran back to the Emberglow Compound.


    The two guards still outside the Emberglow Compound as they approached. Raizen appeared to blinked into place several feet ahead of them. He waited long enough for them to reach him before he walked through the gate of the Compound as the Guards waved them in. Their teacher led them through the hallways to the room where they had first met Sapphire Emberglow. Ralph panted as he came to a stop in the room. Mrs. Emberglow looked up from what she was doing and gave them a grandmotherly grin.


    Enzo stepped forward, knelt, unrolled the storage scroll, and proceed to unpack the items they managed to get for Mrs. Emberglow. Lilian grabbed the animal products and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°Through there, dear,¡± Mrs. Emberglow pointed to a doorway nearby. Lilian went through it, disappearing from sight. There was a voice behind them, calling out they were home and it wasn¡¯t long before an older woman, perhaps in her 20¡¯s Ralph guessed, appeared. She talked animatedly about her day as she grabbed the produced from the storage scroll and walked to the kitchen. Lilian appeared a moment later and stood with the team. ¡°Thank you, my dears.¡± Mrs. Emberglow stood up and walked over to the mental place. She reached up and grabbed something from a jar before she turned around. ¡°How much is left?¡±


    ¡°A gold piece, ma¡¯am,¡± Lilian said.


    Mrs. Emberglow looked impressed and nodded. ¡°You did a good job, you three. As for a tip, you keep the gold piece, Little one. I will give you boys these.¡± Enzo and Ralph held out a hand. Mrs. Emberglow dropped a gold piece in each of their hands.


    Ralph¡¯s eyes widen. A gold piece! As a tip? He never got one before as a tip.


    ¡°Thank you for the mission, Mrs. Emberglow.¡± Raizen bowed to her. Lilian followed his example. Enzo and Ralph were a heart beat behind them, saying the same thing. ¡°Alright. Come on, kids.¡± Raizen said as he turned around, leaving the room and the Compound. Ralph and his teammates walked after him.


    It wasn¡¯t until they reached Training Field 15 when Raizen turned to them, and said, ¡°Congratulations on finishing your first mission as a group of Ninja.¡± The three exchanged excited, proud grins. ¡°You need to file a post mission report.¡± They nodded, knowing it was routine. ¡°And I think you three have tomorrow off. We will gather back here the day after tomorrow for a training day at 6 am.¡± Raizen waved at them. ¡°Enjoy your day off. You have earned it.¡±

 Chapter 8: Personal Shopping

    Ralph stared at the horizon as the sun peeked over it, causing the nearby clouds to turn a deep pink. He cursed the fact he got up early. He kept forgetting he no longer had to be at work at 4:30 in order to prepare for the morning rush. However, it provided him the excuse he needed to start running as a way to improve himself, on top of the other training Raizen could be ordering Team 17 to do on their training days. He brought the jug of water up to his lips and took a drink from it. It had been a long while since he had seen the sun raise.


    It was his day off. Raizen told them yesterday after the mission reports were turned in, they would report back to him on the 17th at the Training Field 15. Ralph didn¡¯t know if Raizen would allow them to take on another mission or not. Their first mission didn¡¯t go as smoothly as they had hoped. It was a simple shopping trip after all, but Lilian and him argued over the prices and the quality of the various items Mrs. Emberglow had requested. Enzo wasn¡¯t any help at all, considering he never went shopping with his parents. Raizen simply said it was up to them to work it out as a team.


    Ralph sighed. He thought about over his first mission. It would have went better if Lilian was more willingly to listen to him. He had been living on a very tight budget since he was forced to leave the orphanage, a few years ago. He did consider himself lucky to have an apartment and a steady job lined up when he got the noticed of eviction from the orphanage. After all, he knew it was coming when the higher ups in the orphanage informed him of his options of career choice. He already made the decision.


    When he became the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village, the Orphanages within the Village won¡¯t be allow to do that to the orphans who decided to take the career of a Ninja, citing they were showing favoritism to the ones who wanted to apart of the merchant class and the police force. Ralph didn¡¯t want any more orphans go through what he went through - the worry when his last meal, going to bed hungry, etc.


    Of course, Ralph did learn a few things from Lilian, the clan heiress, he wasn¡¯t aware. There were several families with the name of Emberglow with no current connection together. He lend forward, setting his jug of water beside him. He didn¡¯t think he would be interacting with the woman who gave up everything to marry into the Village. It took a lot of guts of doing that. No wonder why she had gain a lot of respect within the Ninja Community. He wasn¡¯t for sure if the Police Force or the Merchant Class gave her the same respect or not.


    Granted, he didn¡¯t expect Enzo would know of Mrs. Emberglow on a personal level or any of the White Hall Children. That reminded him. He needed to purchase a few history books and refreshed his memory over the History between the Hidden Bark Village and the White Hall House.


    He turned his attention to the village. He spotted the Cabbage vendor roaming around the Eastern Distinct, heading to the market square. He thought he saw a few ninja running around the edge of the village.


    He stood up and gathered his water jug. He needed to take care of his chores while he could. There was a chance he would have missions on a daily basis since a Festival was coming up and rumor had it the White Hall Family was planning to make a visit. He could take a guess on the reason why they would be visiting. The White Bark Treaty will be renewed in the next 20 years. He frowned. Maybe it was 25 years. Either way, it had to be renew during his lifetime and the only female child of the Main White Hall family was 2 years old. There could be an arranged marriage between the Main White Hall family and a clan of the Hidden Bark Village. That would allow new blood to enter the village¡¯s next generation. He frowned, thinking about the White Hall Family. It would make sense to have the girl to marry into the village instead one of the boys.


    Ralph knew girls allowed more bargaining power then the boys did. If the girl couldn¡¯t do it for some odd reason, one of the sons of the White Hall Family would allow the Village to have some more military might. He didn¡¯t know which clan would offer up a daughter to marry a man outside of the village. He guessed it would depend on the White Hall Son. He knew the first born of the Main White Hall Family was a son, so there would be an increased social standing within the Kingdom of Camelot.


    That might be enough to entice a few clans to offer up their daughters, but it really depended on the clan. He couldn¡¯t name any of the major clans that had more then one daughter, but he was sure there were a few of them that did. Most of the clan heirs were males, so were the second child in line. However, it was a mixed bag when it came to the third child. Either way, in 20 years, it will be interesting to see what will happen.


    Ralph took a deep breath and jumped from the roof top down to the street. He landed in a crunch and stood up. He walked toward his apartment, mentally going over what he needed to do. Laundry, he knew, was a must since he was wearing his last clean change of clothes. It was another thing that had been put on the back burner due to work and schooling. He really needed to stop doing that.


    There would be times where he would be gone for a long period of time and wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy his day off due to doing laundry and other chores. He sighed. He also had to do some shopping for himself. He might have enough food for his lunchtime meal, but nothing for dinner or breakfast the following morning or the rest of the week.


    He frowned as he thought about what he needed to do first. Probably the shopping. This way he could have something to snack on while he waited at the laundry mat for his clothes. Once he got his laundry done, he didn¡¯t what he would do. He mused with the idea of visiting the ninja library to grab a couple scrolls for new techniques over his elemental affinities. It would be awesome if he managed to learn an Earth jutsu or a Light jutsu by himself.


    Ralph smiled as he wondered toward his favorite store and walked into it. It was a small mom-and-pop store. Wooden shelves lined the store, filled with every day goods and stood behind the counter was Molly Carter, the daughter of the store owners. She lend over the counter, flipping through a book with a notebook laying beside the book. She looked up when the bell rang through the store.


    ¡°Morning,¡± She called out. The tone she used was an automatic kind. She blinked and turned her attention back to her book before she did a double take and grinned brightly, calling out, ¡°Ralph!¡± she ran around the counter and greeted him with open arms, wrapping him up in a tight hug. ¡°How have you been? It¡¯s been a while since I have seen you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good, Molly,¡± he replied, wrapping his arms around her, returning the hug, ¡°What about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m enjoying summer break,¡± Molly replied, letting him go and stepping back, ¡°We don¡¯t have go back until the Monday after the Community Day.¡±


    Nodding, Ralph remembered the Community Day was coming up. Community Day was always fun. He spent most of June saving up for the day while he was growing up to spend it at the Community Day. Usually, there would be several games set up for the children to play and a few for the adults and older teens. It ended up as a competition for the adults who chosen the Ninja Profession to see who could get the most points at a game, throw the most stars at the balloon board, etc. He had watched several renown ninja become the top player in those games.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t forget about the food. Some of the food vendors who had shown up in the past were unique and only came a few times of the year, due to their demand. He remembered fondly one vendor who sold deep fried pickles, covered in breading. It turned out to be a hit and the vendor kept coming back with a few more deep fried options.


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome,¡± Ralph gave her a smile and reached over to grab a small woven basket the Carter Family set out for the shopping to use while they shopped. ¡°Aren¡¯t you finishing up school this school year?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, no,¡± Molly deflated, walking beside him, ¡°I got two more years.¡±


    Ralph nodded, ¡°I just got out of Basic Training, this past year. I already got my first mission under my belt and was given the day off.¡± He glanced at Molly, knowing it was alright to tell her. After all, it was a D ranked mission, ¡°I had to do Mrs. Emberglow¡¯ shopping, yesterday.¡±


    Molly paused, ¡°Wait! The Mrs. Emberglow? Of the White Bark Treaty?¡± Ralph gave her a grin, ¡°Oh, Wow!¡± Her eyes widened with wonder, ¡°What was she like?¡±


    ¡°Besides really old?¡± he asked. She shot him a glare. He chuckled, ¡°She reminded me of a grandma - kind, sweet, and warm.¡± His voice held a tone of longing as he wondered if his own mysterious grandmother was like that. There were times where he hated the fact he was an orphan and wondered about how was it like to have a family.


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool,¡± Molly whispered, ¡°I wonder if I will ever meet her or the next White Hall family member to be offer in the White Bark Treaty.¡±


    ¡°We will meet the next member offer for the White Bark Treaty,¡± he said, ¡°It has to be renew some time in the next 20 years.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Molly slowly nodded her head, causing her blond curls to bounce, ¡°I had forgot about that.¡± She paused. Ralph turned his attention to some of the jars on the shelves, revealing golden pieces of corn, green beans, and other vegetables floating their preservative juices. He grabbed two jars of each vegetable and wondered over to the fruit sections. He wanted something sweet to eat, almost like an apple or something with strawberries. ¡°Do you know if the White Halls has any daughters?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Just one,¡± he replied, ¡°I think her name is Valentina, right now, she¡¯s only 2, I think?¡± he reached the fruits and grabbed a couple jars of strawberries, jar of applesauce, and oranges. He needed to stock up while he could for the winter months, despite the fact, it was the beginning of summer. ¡°So, it will be a long while, if she was chosen to be the bride price of the White Bark Treaty, before she would move to the Bark Village.¡±


    Molly nodded, understanding. ¡°Though I can¡¯t image who would turn down the honor of being her bridegroom and help protect the village, and all the benefits of the treaty.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Ralph glanced down at her, ¡°What are your plans for the rest of the summer break?¡±


    She met his gaze and shrugged, stepping closer to him, ¡°You know, just hanging out here, helping ma and pa with the shop, maybe find a date for the Community Day events.¡± She gave him a sly smile.


    He chuckled, understanding her meaning, ¡°I might have to work that day so I don¡¯t know if I will be able to enjoy the day off.¡± He watched her face fall, ¡°I¡¯m sure a pretty girl like yourself would have no trouble finding a date for the Community Day events.¡± She looked up through her eyelashes before she sighed and nodded. Ralph decided to change the subject, ¡°I still need to do a few things on my day off, so, I need to get going, Molly.¡±


    Ralph swung by his apartment. He sighed. He couldn¡¯t believe he turned down a date with Molly Carter. He hoped he would be still allowed to shop there the next time he had to go shopping for food. At one time, he would have excited to go on a date with her, but that was when he was still in basic training. Now, that he was a full time ninja, he knew some relationships he wished he had or at least experienced wouldn¡¯t matter anymore. He glanced around his apartment.


    The furniture he had was mostly passed down. The couch sitting in the center of the living room looked like it had seen better days. If he remembered correctly, he was the fifth owner of the couch. However, the recliner, he hoped soon he would be able to replace it. It was falling apart and it was getting too hard to sit down. Most of the stuffing had fallen out. He might have took the time to repair it when he had the spare money, but now, it was not worth the effort. It was just better to throw it away. He could get another one when he had a reason to get a bigger place.


    He walked around the living room, gathering his dirty laundry. It was all over the living room. He thought he was doing better then he used to be while he was in basic training and working. It was a good thing he didn¡¯t invite anyone over to his place. It would be highly embarrassing for a girl to see the mess he had created.


    Ralph glanced at the growing pile of clothes. He shook his head. He needed to improve on making sure his dirty laundry actually made it to the hamper instead of being thrown all of over the place. He went his room. It was a disaster zone. Until recently, he couldn¡¯t really clean it. Hell, his entire apartment needed to be cleaned. He might be able to do that today after his laundry was done. He wrinkled his nose as he smelt old food sitting on his dresser. He dumped the arm full of laundry in the hamper and grabbed all of the dirty dishes before he walked to the kitchen where he scraped the old food into the trash bin and placed them over in the sink. He turned on the facet, placed the plug into the drain, and reached under the sink for some dish soap. He poured it in the sink and allowed the water to create bubbles, waiting for the water level to raise high enough to cover the dirty dishes. He turned off the water.


    There was a loud boom, echoing through the apartment. Ralph jerked toward the window where he could see a cloud of dust raising over the rooftops of the nearby buildings. He whispered, ¡°What the hell?¡±


    He walked to his front door and poked his head outside. His eyes scanned the horizon, trying to figure out what had caused the booming sound. He peered down the balcony hall and saw a couple of his neighbors were trying to figure out what was going on as well. He spotted on a nearby rooftop, a member of the Police Force running toward the commotion. He strained to hear what was going on.


    He could have sworn he heard someone yelling out a jutsu. There was another rumble followed by a loud boom and dust rose up, drifting over the rooftops, heading to the cliff above the government building. A figure flew out of the dust cloud. Ralph narrowed his eyes, trying to make out who it was, but he couldn¡¯t see the figure very well. However, there was a familiar attack from a ninja who carried three sword.


    Ralph sighed. Of course, it was the Urameshis. Ralph remembered the trio from the other day, causing all kind fuss. He wondered what was the reason behind it this time. He shook his head as he went back into his apartment and gathered the remaining dirty dishes before he set them in the sink for a long soak. He went to the front closet, opening up the door, and reached inside to grab his laundry cleaning supplies. It was nothing fancy. Just the basic, off band laundry soap and softer.


    He couldn¡¯t afford the name brand items and he wasn¡¯t for sure if it was better for the price the soap makers wanted for it. He set them by the front door and went back to his room to grab the hamper and some loose change he kept for laundry days. He placed his laundry supplies in the hamper and walked through his front door, locking the door behind him. He tucked the key into a random pocket and grabbed the hamper before he made his way to the laundry mat.


    The laundry mat was empty in the early afternoon. He ran his eyes over the large room with surprise. He would have thought it would have been pack with women trying to get the laundry done while her kids were at school or at daycare. Or even some single ninja who couldn¡¯t or didn¡¯t have the room in their apartment to have a washing or drying station. Nope. No one else but him and the old attendant sitting on a chair behind a counter, reading a scroll of some sort. The old attendant didn¡¯t bother looking up to see who entered the laundry mat.


    Ralph shook his head and went to a washing station. He set the hamper down beside the station and started to sort through his clothes, placing the dark clothes in one washing station, the colors in a different station, and he puzzled about the very small load of whites. He sighed as he made the decision of putting the whites for another week.


    Hopefully, next time he was able to do laundry, he would have a bigger load of whites to wash up. He took a small scoop of the laundry soap he used and dumped into the washing station that held his dark clothes. He reached over, placing the wooden lid on top of the washing station, and pressed a button. He heard water began to fill the washing station. He repeated the process for his colors.


    He sighed as he dragged the hamper over to a random seat and sat down. He glanced around the room, hoping for some entertainment, but didn¡¯t find any. He reached into a random pocket and pulled out a scroll he had bought on the way home after completing his first mission. It was a scroll for one of his elemental affinities. He opened it and started to study it.


    Ralph didn¡¯t know how much time had passed when he heard a familiar voice ringing out, near the back of the laundry mat. He glanced up at the washing station to see it was going through the spin cycle then he glanced to where the voices were coming from. He blinked as he spotted a black hair styled up in a high ponytail young man, around his age. The other man appeared to arguing with a young woman.


    ¡°I said No, Koga,¡± the woman glared at him, ¡°I know you don¡¯t like it, but you have to respect my decision. I don¡¯t want to be with you.¡± She crossed her arms over her chest, giving Koga a steady disapproving look.


    ¡°Annja,¡± Koga protested, ¡°What did I do wrong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, not you,¡± Annja said as she pushed past him. He reached and grabbed her upper arm.


    Ralph knew that was a big mistake from where he sat. He winced on Koga¡¯s behalf as the woman, Annja, sent Koga a heated glare. Koga, to his credit, didn¡¯t back down from the glare and asked, ¡°So, you are rejecting me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am rejecting you,¡± Annja stated in a matter of fact tone, staring him down, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t work out to begin with, even though it was nice to be with you while it lasted. My family wouldn¡¯t have approve of us anyway. I mean you are half human, half canine demon.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s jaw dropped. That was some news. He didn¡¯t know Koga was part panther demon. Granted Koga looked more feline in some aspects then human. Ralph thought it was due to the lighting or the way he natural looked, not family connections to demons.


    Demons of any kind were rare in the Village. Mainly, thanks to the Holy Order who lived in a temple on the Eastern edge of the village. They portal the walls, keeping an eye out for any rogue demons who wondered too close to the village walls and killed any who got too close. Ralph did have to question how Koga ended up in the Village. It could have been his mother who went through a traumatic experience and brought him back. Now, that Ralph was thinking about it, Koga¡¯s family name, Wolfsbane. It was a very small clan who lived near the forest and it was named after a herb, poisonous to werewolves. Of course, Koga could have adopted by the Wolfsbane family when he was very young and only recently became knowledgeable about his bloodline.


    Flipping her blond hair over her shoulder, Annja went on, breaking Ralph out of his musings, ¡°My family is apart of the Holy Order and I am expect to follow their footsteps. Our relationship would have prevented me from becoming a member of the Holy Order. I am doing this for my own good - to achieve my own destiny. I have wanted this for a long time. I have talked about numerous times, Koga, what it means to me. You are on a different path then me. Hopefully, one day, I don¡¯t have to be the one to come after you and it will be someone else.¡±


    Koga¡¯s hand dropped and he took a step back, looking like he was slapped across the face. Ralph mused in a way, he was. He didn¡¯t know how Annja and Koga had been seeing each other or how they met. He barely knew Koga personally, just the fact he had attend the same basic training as Koga. He was sure Koga was ranked higher then Ralph and got better placement when it came to teams, but that all he really knew about Koga. However, Ralph didn¡¯t think Annja would even suggest in killing Koga because he was part demon. It was kinda heartless.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Koga stated, ¡°I will leave you alone.¡± There was a pause. ¡°Go running back to your family and informed them of my existence. I¡¯m sure one of your brothers would love to have a go at me.¡± Annja jerked back like she was the one slapped. She rocked back and forth on her feet before she turned, heading to the front doors of the laundry mat. A bell rang out as she left. The sound of the bell echoed in the near quiet room. It slowly died away.


    Ralph glanced at the washing station to see it was finished. He stood up and walked over to it, grabbing a nearby laundry cart. He opened the lid and grabbed a handful of his wet dark clothes. He placed them in the laundry cart and wheeled it over to the drying station. He laid out his clothes on the drying station, fixing them in place and double checked to make sure they weren¡¯t going to go flying across the floor when he turned on the drying station. He flipped a switch beside the drying station and a whirring sound began, echoing loudly in the room.


    He glanced over at Koga who gave him a startled look. Ralph ignored him as he kept an eye on his clothes as they began to drift with the wind current. When it appeared his clothes weren¡¯t flying away, he returned to the second washing station and repeated the process again. He sat back down and waited a few more hours, reading the scroll. He didn¡¯t see Koga leave the laundry mat.

 Chapter 9: June 17 2027 Training Day

    Feeling refreshed from his morning shower, Ralph stepped out of his apartment and turned to locked the door behind him. Granted, thief was something many villagers didn¡¯t have to deal, but in the neighborhood he lived, it was almost everyday occurrence. He slipped his house keys into his pocket and walked along the hallway, heading to the front door. He noticed a group of civilian thugs standing near the stairway leading downward. His eyes ran over them.


    One of them; a teen with dark hair, tan hat, arms crossed over his chest, blue-ish black vest; had a bat like baton hanging from his belt. Ralph felt the teen¡¯s eyes on him as he walked down the ally. He hoped they wouldn¡¯t try to get any smart ideas and break into his apartment before he was able to set up some nasty surprises for any would be thieves.


    Ralph made it to the main street before he glanced over his shoulder to see if the thugs were still hanging around. They were. He sent them a warning glare before he headed to the training field to meet the rest of his team. He knew it was probably pointless he had bothered to get cleaned when there was a chance he would have to do it again before going to bed. Hopefully, Raizen would give provide the Team more training today.


    Team 17 stood around the Training Field 15, waiting on him to arrive. Raizen read a book as he lend against a tree. Lilian sat in a cross legged position with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face. Enzo had placed several kunai out in front of him and sat with his legs spread, a wet stone laying against his thigh as he sharpened a kunai.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m late,¡± Ralph called out as he approached. His chest heaved.


    ¡°No, you are not late, Ralph,¡± Raizen spoke up, ¡°In fact, you are on time.¡± He snapped closed his book and straightened up. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s talk about our first mission.¡± Ralph sat down, cross legged, next to Enzo, settling in for the ass chewing he knew was coming.


    ¡°What did you do wrong?¡± Raizen asked.


    Ralph mentally went over their first mission. There were a number of things they could have done better. His thoughts were interrupted by Lilian¡¯s hand shooting up.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t work as a team, at first, but we did learn how to do it within the mission time frame, ¡± She confessed. Ralph nodded in agreement. That was a straight up fact. ¡°I think we could have better with me acting as team leader then Ralph.¡± She jerked her thumb in his direction. ¡°We would have been able to get the mission done better and in a shorter time frame.¡±


    Ralph paused. He thought about what she said. She was still going on about visiting the Supermarket in Holly Forest? He opened his mouth to reply as he turned to face her. He saw Raizen raised up a hand and spoke, ¡°Ralph, let her finish.¡± He close his mouth with an audible snap.


    ¡°Enzo didn¡¯t pull his weight on the mission,¡± she continued, ¡°Claiming he never went shopping to help his mother, but we found out he knew a lot of people.¡±


    Enzo snapped his attention to stare at Lilian with an outrageous expression. He didn¡¯t speak up as the kunai lay on the ground between his legs and the wet stone slipped out of his hand.


    ¡°He could have gotten us a discount, due to his connections,¡± Lilian pointed at Enzo. She blinked as if she remembered something, ¡°And let¡¯s not me started on you, Raizen!¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Raizen raised an eyebrow, ¡°Please, tell me your problems about me are.¡±


    ¡°You ditched us!¡± Lilian shouted, ¡°It was our first mission. You are our teacher.¡± Apparently, this was something she was passionate about because she climbed to her feet and put her hands on her hips. ¡°You are responsibility for us until we are able to required to go on missions by ourselves, after 6 months.¡± There was a crack in her voice. ¡°Yet, you disappeared on us and forced us to finish the mission without your guidance.¡± Her arms straightened at her sides and she looked down at the ground.


    Ralph glanced at Enzo and lend over, commenting, ¡°I think there is something deeper going on here.¡±


    ¡°I get the same feeling,¡± Enzo agreed. ¡°Maybe it could be related to the fact she already had her first kill.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I had forgot about that,¡± Ralph whispered, ¡°Maybe it could be something to do with that.¡±


    ¡°Feel better?¡± Raizen asked. Lilian sniffed, but she didn¡¯t say a word. ¡°Moving on. Ralph, what kind of things you think the three of you could have done better on your first mission?¡±


    Ralph spoke, ¡°First, Lilian could have been more open minded about our options when completing the mission. Since it was a simple shopping trip and our client handed us limited funds, we needed to save as much money as possible in order to be rehired for the mission. It was the reason why I argued to go with some of the smaller of the stores. Yes, I knew there was a chance of the bigger stores having a sale, but do they really have a better deal? I tried to explain this to Lilian several times, but like I said, she didn¡¯t want to have an open minded over the options I provided.¡±


    He took a breath, ¡°As for Ezno, I don¡¯t have anything to say about him or the fact he knew several of the mom-and-pop shops we went to.¡±


    Ralph turned a critical eye on Raizen, continuing, ¡°I do agree with Lilian one aspect of her rant, you should have stay with us and helped us figure out which plan was better used to get the mission done. It was irresponsibility to leave without informing us on your location. If you had informed us on what was going, assuming it was a family related situation, we could have been more understanding instead assume you were being irresponsible.¡±


    Raizen nodded and turned to Enzo, asking, ¡°Enzo, any concern, improvements, or complaints about the mission?¡±


    Enzo sighed and straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at the ground with a thoughtful expression, ¡°I agree with Lilian and Ralph on the irresponsibility part when it comes to you, Mr. Raizen, but we were also in a way responsible for the mission in case you weren¡¯t be there to help us, in an event of an emergency. I just hope your excuse is good enough for us to understand your motives. However, from my point of view, we didn¡¯t work as a team, so, we may need to learn how to work as a team before we could take on any more missions, but I do know that is up to you, Mr. Raizen. Besides the fact Lilian could have more open minded about our options, Ralph could be more willingly to listen to her as well.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Raizen nodded, ¡°Anything else?¡± the three students shook their heads no and he took a breath before he started, ¡°While I get there is a deeper reason behind your outburst, Lilian, we will address each of your concerns. First of all, the reason why I left, I wanted to see how you would react and if you would accomplish the mission without my guidance. Plus, there was a personal matter I needed to attend to. If I did this mission by myself, I would have it done in half the time with better results, but this was your first mission. The three of you did get through Ralph¡¯s leadership, despite the fact you three did butt heads over how the mission was to proceed without me. For that, you three did an excellent job and deserve the tip Mrs. Emberglow gave you for completing the mission ahead of schedule, despite some of the trouble you faced, getting more then she usually gets, and keeping it below the budget she had set for you.¡±


    Ralph felt pride soar through him. Team 17 did a good job on completing their first mission without Raizen guiding them. He glanced at Lilian who still looked troubled, but Enzo looked just as prideful as Ralph was.


    ¡°However, it would appear all four of us agree - Team 17 needs to work on Teamwork and gathering information.¡± Raizen announced, ¡°We will be going over those aspect in our future training sessions.¡±


    Ralph knew that was a possible since their teamwork was so crappy. He turned his attention back to his teacher.


    ¡°Another thing we will going over,¡± Raizen started before his tone turned exasperated, ¡°Writing your mission reports. I thought it was something they taught in basic training!¡±


    Ralph glanced at his teammates who looked just as confused as he did. Lilian spoke up, ¡°They did. What was wrong with our mission reports?¡±


    ¡°They were filled with misspelled words,¡± Raizen held up a hand, ¡°Incorrect grammar, and looked highly unprofessional with sloppy handwriting.¡± He looked annoyed as he went, ¡°I was called up to the Leadership Room over your mission reports and was required to explain why your mission reports were like that.¡±


    Ralph felt the heat raise in his cheeks. He knew his handwriting was terrible. He partly blame the orphanage handlers, but blame himself more. He wasn¡¯t taught the basic everyday knowledge until he entered the school system let alone how to write his name or the letters. The handlers at the orphanage, once they found out which path he wanted to take, refused to help him with a single thing. He often had to teach himself and tried to pay extra attention during his classes to stay level with the rest of his class. He glanced at Enzo and Lilian.


    Enzo looked at the ground. His cheeks were red. He flicked the kunai across the dirt surface of the ground. Ralph thought he would have better access to certain aspect of education since he was the son of a Blacksmith and a stayed at home mom. However, Ralph could have been wrong when Enzo, like himself, struggled in basic training, but he did manage to pull through to end up in the middle of the class.


    Lilian blinked at Raizen, looking stoic. As if feeling Ralph¡¯s gaze on her, she slowly turned her head to glare at him and Enzo. Ralph found a leaf more interesting. She obviously had more access to better education due to the fact she was an heiress and her clan invested in her schooling to better represent the Sakura Clan in the classes she was in.


    ¡°Lilian,¡± Raizen spoke up, ¡°Your mission report had three misspelled words. So, in other words, you did better then your teammates. I would suggest you learn the proper spelling of those words before your next mission.¡± He pulled out of his hip pouch and handed out a list. Lilian walked forward and grabbed the paper. She returned to her spot, looking down at the list with a small frown. She looked up at Raizen and nodded.


    ¡°Ralph,¡± their teacher turned to him, ¡°Your mission report should have been a lot better then it was. Here¡¯s a list of things you need to improve on before we take our next mission.¡± Ralph climbed to his feet, walked over, and grabbed the paper Raizen was holding out to him. He grabbed it and headed back to his place on the other side of Enzo. He read the piece of paper over as Raizen called Enzo up. Ralph winced. He was the reason why Raizen was called up to the Mission Control room. His list of things he needed to work was a long one - handwriting and misspelled words were just two he needed to work on. He glanced up at his team. Enzo looked upset as he looked over his list of required work. ¡°Ralph, Enzo, Lilian,¡± Raizen spoke up, causing Ralph to look at him. ¡°I know your list will required work, but right now, we will going over why information is important since you failed to do any on your first mission.¡±


    Ralph resisted the urge to groan. It was going to be a long day. He just hoped they would get some physical training in before they called it quits for the day.


    Ralph yawned as he parted with Lilian and Enzo. He couldn¡¯t believe how much work Raizen put them through, today. They trained in the basics that they learned in the Academy before they preformed a mock mission against Raizen. Their goal was to gather information about Raizen, asking questions and tried to guess if he was trying to throw them off on their goal or was telling the truth. After that, they moved on to the writing aspect of their training. Lilian had to learn the correct spelling of the misspelled words while Enzo worked on his handwriting and Ralph had to work on writing in a straight line. That took an hour or two. Before they went home, Raizen informed them that they would taking another mission in the morning.


    That news surprised Ralph. He really thought they wouldn¡¯t get another mission for a week after how well the first mission went. When Lilian brought up that fact, Raizen simple said, ¡°Life gives the best test and it is up to you if you remember the lesson or not.¡±


    Ralph shook his head as he approached his apartment, bringing his attention back to the present and came to a stop. The lamplights lit the street as men and women moved in uniforms, indicting they were apart of the Police Force. He spotted a few of the nearby apartments with their front doors open and saw people moving inside, carrying furniture and boxes.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± the deep male voice rang out from Ralph¡¯s left. He snapped his head around and blinked at the tall, dark haired man. ¡°Leave.¡±


    ¡°I live in 8425, Apartment 505,¡± Ralph replied, pointing to the apartment building next to the one they stood beside.


    The Police Officer frowned as he glanced toward the building. He held out a hand and demanded, ¡°ID?¡±


    Ralph reached into a back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and pulled out his Government ID before he handed it over to the Police Officer. The Officer grabbed a long cylinder device from his belt and flipped a switch. A bright light appeared at one end of the cylinder. Ralph¡¯s eyes widened and his lips parted as he stared at the cylinder before he frowned.


    The cylinder device must be a new piece of technology. He had been hearing rumors coming from the science department about new devices being developed. Of course, he knew these rumors were leaked with approval from the Government or else there would be a man hunt looking for the person leaking the developing technology. Ralph blinked as the cylinder light was raised from his government ID to his face.


    ¡°Alright, Barkson,¡± the officer grunted, handing Ralph¡¯s ID back, ¡°Hurry home. I wouldn¡¯t be caught outside in a few minutes. There is a curfew put in place, starts at 10. We are moving the homeless into the empty apartments and we are expecting trouble.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± Ralph replied and hurried over to his apartment building. He climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and glanced at the apartment doors as he passed them. They were closed. He didn¡¯t know if he would get new neighbors or not. He kinda hope he wouldn¡¯t. He enjoyed his quiet evenings.


    He reached his door and paused as he noticed the door wasn¡¯t closed all the way. He frowned. He had shut the door all the way and locked it when he left this morning. He brought up a hand and used a single finger to push opened the door. It swung open with a creaking sound.

 Chapter 10: The Fight in the Apartment

    Ralph reached his door and paused as he noticed the door wasn¡¯t closed all the way. He frowned. He had shut the door all the way and locked it when he left this morning. He brought up a hand and used a single finger to push opened the door. It swung open with a creaking sound.


    The creaking sound echoed loudly through the apartment. He cursed, silently, as his face screwed up in annoyance. He knew he should have took are of the hinges, already, but it was an early alarm system. He didn¡¯t think it would be ever used against him.


    He sighed, letting go of the annoyance. He reached down to his kunai holder wrapped around his left thigh and undo the snap. The snapping of the button being released seemed to ring out like a church bell on Easter Morning. He winced. That was something he could fix when he had the time. Maybe he could find something else to hold his kunai. That might help. Then again, it might not. It would be a calculated risk he would have spend time, playing with before he could make a decision.


    He stepped into the apartment, placing his back against the wall beside the door frame. He was glad he kept the closet door shut. A thought went through his mind and he paused. He reached the indent for the closet and slided it open. He waited for a moment before he peered, trying to see through the darkness. It housed his winter coat, the mop and bucket, and the broom. He glanced up and saw some of the other cleaning supplies he kept on hand - nothing else. He slided it shut before he stepped pass the closet, keeping the front door open, allowing the nearby streetlight to shine into the short hallway. Unfortunately, the light stopped by the end of the closet.


    Ralph¡¯s gaze rose, peering at the living room. Moonlight shined down through his window, revealing the damaged, second hand coffee table, and the ragged old couch with his mismatched cushion. He frowned as he moved forward, walking passed the kitchen. He could have sworn he sensed someone in his apartment and he knew he had locked his apartment door when he left this morning.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t right!¡± a voice rang out loudly behind him. Ralph turned, sharply, raising his kunai into a ready stance. ¡°This is ridiculous! You can''t just shove us into some rundown apartments and call it housing. We¡¯ve got our spot in the Gray District¡ªwe don¡¯t need your so-called ¡®help¡¯.¡±


    The voice belong to one of the homeless people. Ralph rolled his eyes and relaxed. Apparently, the recently housed villager was moving into one of the empty next door.


    ¡°You know the drill. Every year during Community Day, we move everyone from the Gray District into temporary housing. It¡¯s safer and keeps things organized for the Seasonal Clean-Up Missions,¡± One of the Bark Officers replied.


    ¡°Temporary housing? This place isn¡¯t fit for rats, let alone people!¡± The homeless person shouted.


    Ralph blinked and raised his eyebrow, feeling insulted. He glanced around his apartment and sighed. He couldn¡¯t argue with the homeless person¡¯s logic, but at the same time, this unknown person had insulted what Ralph had been able to afford to get with his Bastard Status. His shoulders slumped and he heard a scuff of a shoe against the hard wood floor. Was he imaging it? He kept his relaxes stance and looked toward the doorway.


    ¡°It¡¯s better than freezing on the streets or living in the trash piles you call home,¡± The Bark officer stated, ¡°You¡¯re being offered a roof, a bed, and meals. You could have more if you just took one of the dozens of jobs posted around the village.¡±


    Ralph walked to the door and slowly shut it. Hopefully, that would indict to the Officers placing the homeless in the apartment complex the apartment had already been claimed. He turned away from the door and went into the kitchen, hearing the loud conversation taking place on the walkway just outside his door.


    ¡°Jobs? You think I haven¡¯t tried? No one¡¯s hiring someone like me,¡± the homeless person argued with heat in their voice.


    Ralph set the kunai on the counter top and grabbed the box of matches before he grabbed the glass candle he kept on the small island counter. He struck the match against the coarse side of the matchbox, the sharp crack followed by a small burst of flame. He held it steady, watching the tiny flickering light dance before he carried it over to the candle. He lowered it to the candle''s wick. The flame caught, brightening as the wick¡¯s fibers caught on fire, and Ralph gently shook the match to extinguish the smoky tendrils curling from its tip. It took three shakes for the match to extinguish. In the dim room, the candle¡¯s glow cast warm shadows across his face, softening the edges and filling the quiet space with a calm, amber light. He heard it again, the soft scuff of a shoe. He knew it came from within his apartment and he also gave away his position, standing in the candle light.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Plenty of people would hire you if you stopped making excuses. You¡¯ve got options, but you keep choosing the hard way. Think about that while you settle in,¡± the officer stated in a no nonsense tone.


    ¡°Leave me alone!¡± The homeless person shouted before a slamming sound echoed. There was a long stretch of silence. Ralph watched the candle¡¯s light flicker back and forth as he listened. Whoever was in his apartment was getting closer to him.


    From the shadows, a figure lunged at him¡ªa blur of motion too quick to fully process - leaping over the island separating the kitchen and the living room. Ralph¡¯s eyes widened with surprise as a single thought dashed across his mind, ¡®Shit!¡¯ He lunged for the kunai on the counter before he sidestepped, his kunai raising as he struck out, aiming for where the figure¡¯s shoulder should be. Metal met flesh, and a hiss of pain told him he¡¯d connected.


    Ralph spun on his heel, bringing his back to the candle light. He watched as his attacker landed in the middle of the kitchen, staggered before the intruder leaped to the right, trying to head back into the shadows of the apartment.


    Ralph couldn¡¯t tell if they were armed, but he wasn¡¯t about to wait and find out. He shifted his stance, trying to keep the intruder in his field of vision. He held his kunai in a ready stance. He raised his voice, ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± His voice echoed through his apartment.


    There was no response. Ralph placed a hand on the edge of the island and pushed it toward the stove. The wheels squeaked loudly as it rolled out of Ralph¡¯s way. He stepped into the living room.


    The second attack came, faster this time. Ralph saw the glim of candle light shimmering in the air and barely had time to dodge as a blade gleamed in the dim light. A sharp whooshing sound sliced through the air where his head had been moments before. He placed a hand on the wooden floor and retaliated with a swift kick, his foot connecting with the attacker¡¯s knee. They grunted and stumbled back.


    Ralph moved with the intruder as they went deeper into the living room. The intruder knocked into the couch, causing it move with a thud. Ralph knew the neighbors would start complaining soon from the extra noise. He usually tried to keep quiet in the evenings because several of his neighbors had small kids who went to bed early. Ralph aimed a punch at the intruder¡¯s midsection, but missed and his knuckles hit the edge of the couch. He grunted from the pain before he pushed it away, turning his attention to the intruder.


    The intruder backed away, creating space between himself and Ralph. Ralph chased him and noticed the intruder raised a fist up. Ralph barely ducked the first punch, feeling the whoosh of air graze his ear. He countered with a quick jab aimed at the intruder¡¯s ribs. His kunai would slice through the intruder¡¯s chest and allow Ralph to get some answers, but the intruder slapped Ralph¡¯s strike away with a sharp deflection, sending the kunai into the side of a cabinet. The intruder spun, their foot cutting through the air in a blur as Ralph twisted just in time to avoid a crushing blow to his side and the intruder¡¯s foot hooked on a wooden chair Ralph kept for the rare guest before he twisted around and hurled it toward Ralph, who deflected it with a powerful kick the chair shattered against the wall. Splinters showered the floor.


    Ralph muttered a curse, realizing he would have to replace that chair. He refocused himself in time to see the intruder lunged, delivering a series of rapid jabs forcing Ralph backward. He sidestepped the final strike, narrowly avoiding the knuckles that grazed his temple. Ralph¡¯s eyes widened with the realized how close that hit was and retaliated with a swift elbow aimed at the intruder¡¯s jaw. It glanced off as they twisted away, their movements fluid and relentless.


    Stepping in the moonlight, the intruder ducked low and swept a leg toward Ralph¡¯s legs, forcing him to leap up. By the time Ralph landed, the intruder was already pressing forward, their hands a blur of motion. Ralph blocked one strike, then another, his muscles burning as he struggled to match their speed. A sudden feint caught him off guard, and he stumbled as a fist clipped his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Ralph spun into a counterattack¡ªa sharp uppercut that missed by a breath as the intruder bent backward, impossibly fast, over the couch.


    Ralph frowned. The intruder was trained in the ninja arts or at least the martial arts. So far, the intruder didn¡¯t use any spiritual powers to help in the battle. That alone was strange. Most would use any advantage over their opponent to win the battle. He watched as the intruder finished their flip over the couch and stand on the damaged coffee table. He had enough He sighed and reached into a pocket at his hip, pulling out a kunai with a piece of paper attached to it. He pushed some spiritual pressure into it then he threw it at the coffee table. He heard the paper sizzle and the thud. The intruder looked down between his feet where the kunai landed then looked up at Ralph. He knelt down behind the couch, covering his head as the paper bomb went off.


    The building shook as Ralph¡¯s window exploded outward. Smoke trailed out.


    Ralph coughed as he slowly stood up, shaking himself off. He looked around his apartment and sighed. He knew he would be paying extra at the end of the month for the damages. His front door was slammed opened. Ralph slipped into a ready stance, staring hard at the new intruders. Severals beams of light flashed through the apartment before landing on him and the intruder laying on the floor. He tried to stare pass the beams of light, to see who was standing on the other side.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± a member of the Police Force barked, stepping forward.


    ¡°Name yourself,¡± Ralph shot back, holding his fists up in a ready stance. He mentally cursed. He couldn¡¯t believe he had lost a kunai during that fight. He would have to do better in the future.


    ¡°I am Captain Kael Falconridge,¡± the man introduced himself, stepping forward


    Ralph¡¯s face transformed into one the Captain was familiar with - ¡®Oh, shit, I¡¯m in trouble.¡¯


    ¡°Captain,¡± Ralph started, but sucked in a mouthful of dust. He coughed and tried again, ¡°Captain, I can explain.¡±


    ¡°You better, son,¡± Captain Kael marched forward, ¡°What happened here?¡±


    Ralph explained what happened since he had arrived home. The Captain nodded, in understanding. ¡°Alright. Take this one -¡° he pointed at the unconscious intruder, ¡°Into custody and get him any medical attention he needs.¡±


    Ralph watched as two officers approached and took the intruder into custody. He really wanted to know why the intruder was in his apartment, but he doubt he would find that out anytime soon.

 Chapter 11: June 18 2027 Poppy

    Ralph lend against the Government tower, waiting for his teammates. The sun just rose over the village walls. He yawned, widely. He wished he was able to sleep, decently last night. His mind reeled over what happened. Ralph returned home to find his apartment door ajar, even though he was sure he had locked it that morning. Inside, he sensed someone lurking and was soon ambushed by an intruder, leading to a fierce hand-to-hand battle that culminated in Ralph using a paper bomb to incapacitate his attacker. The commotion drew the Bark Police Force, led by Captain Kael Falconridge, who took the unconscious intruder into custody while Ralph braced for the repercussions of the destruction in his apartment.


    Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the last time the Police Force visited the apartment complex during the night. There were several fights between gangs that had to be broken up.


    Blinking, he studied his nails, thinking back what he did last night before going to bed. He threw out his destroyed coffee table and tried to clean up the best he could his living room.  Hopefully, the downtime between missions next few weeks would allow him to clean up and make repairs to the apartment. He hoped his landlord didn¡¯t kick him out for the damages. He didn¡¯t know if there would be any other apartments available within his price range or be willingly to rent to a Bark bastard.


    Getting up early, he managed to get started on the list of extra homework Raizen had order him to do while he was not on missions. He wrote three pages worth of lines already and planned on doing a few more before going to bed that night. He was really embarrassed by his handwriting skills. He knew he was to blame on it, but he did lay some of the blame on the people at the orphanage for not helping him more and favoring the merchant class and the police force.


    He, also, had set up some nasty traps to protect his apartment while he was not there. He did see the same civilians thugs and other questionable people hanging around in the hours after the Police Force had left. He still didn¡¯t know what they wanted. When he went to visit the store late last night to get himself a treat and some anti-pain cream, he did hear something about a break in, a couple streets down from his apartment building. He had been wondering how long it would take for something like that was going to happen. He hoped it wasn¡¯t going to be a nasty trend, especially when there was a community day less then 11 days.


    Ralph tilted his head back, feeling the back of his head touch the wall of the tower. He knew there was going to be up tick in local missions. Hopefully, he would be able to start saving up. He wanted to do many things since he was out of basic training. He had his whole life a head of him. He knew he had to save up enough to move out of the district before it got worst.


    ¡°Morning, Ralph,¡± Raizen¡¯s voice brought Ralph out of his thoughts.


    Ralph blinked, staring at his teacher before he replied, ¡°Morning.¡± He went back to staring at the sky.


    ¡°I heard your neighborhood had some excitement,¡± Raizen started then he paused, ¡°Some of the homeless folks from the Gray Distinct moving in.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t remind me,¡± Ralph grumbled, ¡°I spent most of my evening setting up traps in case one of them decided to try to break in my apartment.¡± He sighed, directing his gaze back down at his teacher, ¡°We both know they will be eventually kicked out because they can¡¯t pay rent and other utilities then my rent will increase as a result when the Landlord wants to make repairs or he will allow the apartment building to fall in disrepair.¡± Ralph kicked the ground, causing a rock to roll away from his foot, ¡°Most of those folks are homeless because they got addicted to that Poppy plant that appear, 5 years ago now?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raizen nodded, ¡°Our Intelligence groups still haven¡¯t figured out how that plant was brought in.¡±


    Ralph looked Raizen, speculatively, and commented, ¡°Or that¡¯s what they have us believe.¡±


    Raizen didn¡¯t say anything for a long moment, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone hear you say that.¡± He paused as Ralph glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. ¡°If you are caught doubting our intelligence groups, they can and will make your life a living hell - giving the worst missions we have, the kind you have to have ¡®specialized¡¯ training for and they won¡¯t care for your age, either.¡± Raizen warned, ¡°I have seen it done a few times to other similar mind thinkers like yourself and in the end, they were used as scrape goats for a much larger agenda. One of them even took the fall for killing a clan and disappeared.¡± Raizen¡¯s eyes hazed over, ¡°I¡¯m sure the person is still alive, but they probably wished they weren¡¯t.¡± His eyes cleared, ¡°There is a reason why we have recent changes in our medicine and in our understanding of how the body works.¡±


    Ralph looked down at his feet. His mind race. He knew there were folks around the village who questioned their way of life and disappeared. Sometimes, their bodies were turn up. Most of the time, they were written off as Killed in Action, if they were Ninja. If they were apart of the Merchant Class, the official story was told they moved to another part of the Kingdom and, rumor had it, had a seal placed on them in order to keep the village¡¯s location a secret from their enemies. If they were working a part of the Police Force, there was a chance they might get framed for something and get arrested on some charge, have a mock trail, have the law book thrown at them, and they were locked away in a prison meant for enemy ninja. Their family would be denied the right to see them and would be informed if the former member of the Police Forced died while in prison.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    It made sense, in a way, to Ralph why there weren¡¯t had been more social uprisings over the years. Especially when the Poppy plant was discovered after a series of people dying, foaming  and what kind of uses the medical field start to find. It was a slippery slope the medical professionals started to go down.


    A soft thump broke through Ralph¡¯s thoughts. He looked up to see Lilian raising up from a crunch. She glanced at them before she asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Enzo?¡±


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t arrived, yet,¡± Raizen said, ¡°He should be along shortly. I remember telling you guys to be here by 7.¡±


    Lilian sighed as she stepped beside Ralph and lend against the tower. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see you here, on time, Ralph.¡± Her tone held a teasing note in it.


    ¡°Well, yeah, you try to sleep when your new neighbors were thrashing about next door in the middle of the night,¡± Ralph grumbled, ¡°or screaming about seeing hellish demons and creepy shadows at 5.¡±


    ¡°Oh, so the rumors are true about the Gray Distinct homeless and poppy addicts moving into the same district as you,¡± Lilian stated. She cocked her head to the side. ¡°I wonder why they are doing that.¡±


    ¡°One of the Police Force members told me,¡± Ralph launched into the explanation he was given. Lilian nodded her head in understanding.


    ¡°It would make sense since we do have the Community Day coming up,¡± she said. She looked at Raizen, asking, ¡°Do you think we get a trash related mission today?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a good possibility, yeah,¡± Raizen looked up from his newspaper. Ralph wondered where and when his teacher had pulled that out. ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t have to do it over the Gray District, just yet. They are still finding people over there, strung out on the Poppy plant, and from what I hear, it¡¯s not good.¡±


    Ralph didn¡¯t know what to say to that. He never seen the aftermath of a person strung out on Poppy. He had hoped he wouldn¡¯t ever see it. Unfortunately, it seems there was a chance he could for his second mission. He glanced at Lilian who looked apprehensive about it.


    Running footsteps caused him to redirection his attention elsewhere to Enzo running toward them, shirtless. Ralph blinked. He watched as his teammate started to slow down to a fast walk, heading toward them. The blacksmith son held in one hand his shirt while the other held his ninja supplies. He panted as he came to a stop in front of them. He set down the bag and threw on his shirt.


    ¡°Overslept?¡± Raizen asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Enzo replied, ¡°Pops had a large order of kunai come in and he asked for my help. We didn¡¯t to get bed late and he was up before the sun was up, according to mom.¡± A hand twitched at his side.


    Raizen frowned, but he moved on, ¡°Come on, we have to get in line for the mission queue.¡± The three students nodded and went into the Government Tower. Ralph wanted to groan when he saw the line. It stretched down to the bottom of the spiral tower and he reached into his hip pouch, grabbing the list Raizen had gave him and started to read over it, trying to learn the correct spelling of the misspelled words, promising himself later he would practice writing them down.


    It was a slow progress as they waited for their turn to meet with the mission desk. Eventually, Ralph exchanged the spelling list for one of his scrolls, wishing it would be easier to carry and read from a book instead of a scroll, but the council didn¡¯t want to up grade the ninja scrolls for something more easier to handle. He sighed. Maybe he should start creating a list of things he thought needed to change for when he became the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village. It could turned out to be helpful when he couldn¡¯t recall of the changes he would like to make, both big and small.


    Ralph shook his head, slightly, to clear his head as they finally reached the Mission room door and walked in. He glanced at the Village Elders, and the Hidden Bark Leader sitting calmly behind the desk, waiting for them. He noticed it was the same Elders from the other day. Raizen took the lead and stopped several feet away from the mission table while Lilian stood directly behind him and in the middle between Ralph and Enzo. They waited for one of the Elders to speak as silence filled the room.


    It was Lord of the Bark Village to break the silence, saying, ¡°Congratulations for completing your first mission for the Hidden Bark Village. Mrs. Davis was very impressed when she gave her review of your team, Mr. Watanabe, and she informed us that your students were professional, and she went on to say she wouldn¡¯t mind having them get her groceries again.¡± Ralph, Lilian, and Enzo glanced at each other, proud written brightly on their faces. ¡°Despite the fact, you, Mr. Watanabe, left your team to take your wife to one of her doctor appointment. If you had informed us and your students, we would have found you a different mission or told you to come back the following day.¡± Raizen didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I know you wanted to see how your students would do without you around, but it was their first mission and be glad it went the way it did.¡±


    Ralph blinked as he realized they never did get the reason why Raizen ditched them on their first mission. Now, they know.


    ¡°Hopefully, Mr. Watanabe, you will stay with your students during this mission. They might have need of you. As you probably have seen or heard,¡± Lord Jackson started, changing the subject, ¡°We have started our seasonal cleaning of the Grey District.¡± He grabbed a scroll laying in front of him and held it out for Raizen to take. The Leader of Team 17 stepped forward and took the mission scroll, holding it in his left hand as he fell back into the point position. Lord Jackson continued, ¡°Be careful on this mission. The Grey District can be dangerous at times, despite the fact it is within our village walls. Good luck. You are dismissed.¡±

 Chapter 12: The Gray Distinct

    Team 17 stood on a roof top over looking the Gray Distinct. There were hundreds of tents scattered over the distinct. Ralph spotted several dozen people roaming through the sea of tents, some of them staggering like they were drunk or seeing things that were only in their imaginations. There were members of the Police Force going through the nearby tents, dragging out the homeless from the tent, dragging them over to a medical nurse before they either took them to a cart with a large red cross on it where there were several more nurses working together with the Police Force or over to a wooden cage where they were locked in. On the side of the wooden cage was the symbol for the homeless and several people stood around it with stone slabs, taking down notes.


    Growing up, Ralph knew going to the Gray Distinct was a guarantee grounding at the Orphanage for a minimum of two weeks. It was something the higher ups at the Orphanage taught them, no matter what career path the children took - Going to the Gray Distinct was a bad thing. As he aged, he began to understand the reason the Orphanage did that. The Gray Distinct was not a safe area for children or women in general. Over the years, Ralph had heard rumors of children, women, and the non-humans were sold in an illegal slave trade, but he never had some hard evidence of those rumors. Hopefully, those ill rumors were tall tales and didn¡¯t have a lick of truth to it.


    He turned his gaze to a group of nearby tents where there were two teams of ninja were destroying the tents in groups of 6 to 8 while another team worked to cleaned up after them, shoving broken pieces of tents onto a large cart Ralph knew the local sanitation people used to gather trash in. Attached to the cart was a team of oxen with a driver sitting in the seat, watching what was going on.


    Ralph turned to Raizen, asking, ¡°Sir, what was our mission?¡±


    ¡°We will join Team Quill in the process of clean up,¡± Raizen explained, ¡°We will work until sun down and this mission will last a week before we will get a break and a new team will take over until the Community Day happens.¡±


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Enzo breathed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know we would be able to get a week long mission within the Village walls.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raizen nodded, ¡°It¡¯s possible, but the Village Elders prefer not to have long missions in the Village, exciting we have enough people to help each other out and would like the long missions outside the Village walls where the pay is a lot better for our ninja teams and the Village itself.¡±


    Ralph stared at the sea of tents and understood why they got a week long mission. It will take them a long time to clear the Gray Distinct, even with help from another team. He asked Raizen, ¡°Do you think they will send a couple more teams out through the week to help us?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Raizen said, ¡°In the past, the Mission Board would send out four more teams tomorrow and the following day until they have a grand total of 50 teams clearing out the Gray Distinct. Right now, with us joining them, there are a total of 8 teams out already. 4 of the assigned teams started yesterday and managed to gain a small foothold, allowing the Police Force to move the homeless to the various apartments and medical buildings.¡±


    Ralph resisted the urge to stare at Raizen with surprise. He knew the homeless were being moved to the various cheap empty apartments in his area of the Village and those who needed medical treatment were getting it, but he didn¡¯t know the Mission board would send that many teams out for a week long mission within the Village walls, but he understood the reason why they did. It was a seasonal based mission, according to Lord Jackson. Maybe Team 17 would be able to do it again in the Fall or at the beginning of Winter. He sighed. He needed to stop thinking so far ahead and focus on the here and now. There was a chance it would be a long week a head of them.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Raizen turned to them, ¡°Do any of you have any questions or concerns I can address right now?¡± he paused, looking at them, ¡°From the point forward, I may not be able to since we will on mission time until sunset.¡±


    Lilian shifted before she spoke up, ¡°The rumors I have heard about this area not being safe for women and children - Is that true?¡±


    Raizen sighed, ¡°For the most part, yes. It is a part of the reason why the Village Elders and Lord Jackson has a seasonal clean up of this area. We were able to recuse 15 women and over 3 dozen children at the beginning of Spring. There is more to the story then I can tell you right now. We are out in the open and despite our best effects, ears can appear and disappear.¡± Ralph frowned at that. Ears can appear and disappear? Does his teacher mean someone can be listening in on their conversation? ¡°We can talk more about this later. My wife has invited you three to eat with us tonight.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s eyebrows raised. He was not expecting that, but was he going to turn down free food? He replied, ¡°That¡¯s cool. I¡¯ll join you guys.¡±


    Enzo looked thoughtful before he commented, ¡°I¡¯m sure my parents weren¡¯t mind if I had dinner with you and your wife, Master.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Lilian didn¡¯t say anything, but she nodded before she started to head toward the other team of ninja were in the process of picking up the destroyed tents. The men followed her.


    ~~~~


    ¡°Howdy, Quill,¡± Raizen called up the other Team Leader, standing on a large pile of destroyed tents and other supplies as they approached the Rogers Team, ¡°How is it going?¡±


    The tall Elf turned to the leader of Team 17 and gave them a small smile, ¡°It is going slowly.¡± He jumped down and landed on his feet. ¡°There are a lot of more of homeless folks and addicts this time then they were last time.¡± He walked to Raizen, still talking, ¡°It is like there was a mass migration of people coming across the barrier or from across the sea, desiring the Mainland.¡±


    Raizen hummed, thinking about what Quill said, before he spoke, ¡°That may be a problem. We may not have enough empty apartments to house them or medical rooms available.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my thoughts exactly,¡± Quill said, ¡°I sent over a report with my observations to the Village Elders last night before going off duty.¡± There was a loud yell and Ralph turned his attention from the two Master Ninja to see a male of some kind with wild shoulder length hair flying around his head, a matted beard extending down his neck, running toward the two teams of ninja. He flanged an arm around him, windmilling the right arm as he darted through the makeshift road. A cloak drifted out behind him.


    Ralph spotted two members of the Police Force chasing after the wild male. He blinked. It should have been easy to overwhelm the male when he only had one arm. He sensed Raizen and Quill shift. Ralph turned his head, slightly to see, out of the corner of his eye, both trained ninja had pulled out their kunai, slipping into a defensive position. Alarm flashed through Ralph before he fumbled for a kunai to defend himself. He heard both Lilian and Enzo muttered soft curses as they did the same. He turned his attention to the running one armed man and noticed he wasn¡¯t running in a straight line - he was zig zagging in order to avoid the Police Force, holding something in his remaining hand. The morning sunlight glinted off of the item.


    ¡°Anakin! Ben! Padme! Get down here!¡± Quill shouted, ¡°Defensive position!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± the reply was echoed by Quill¡¯s three students. Ralph sucked in a breath as one of Quill¡¯s students landed feet away from him and slipped in front of him, causing Ralph to take a step back. He recognized who it was - Ben, the half Tiefling. He glanced at his own teammates to see the other team were standing guard in front of them. Ralph redirected his gaze at the wild man.


    The one-armed man ignored them as he ran between the students, heading to the teachers. He leaped at Raizen with what Ralph recognized a dagger of some sort, swinging it in a wide arc and engaged Raizen. The teacher of Team 17 raised his kunai and blocked the dagger with a clang as the wild looking man landed in front of Raizen.


    ¡°Surround,¡± Raizen started, ¡°And you will get the help you need.¡±


    The wild man spoke in a different language causing Raizen to blink in surprise and the man took an advantage of that, drawing back and tried to slash at the teacher¡¯s midsection. Raizen bounced back in time to avoid taking damaged to his body, but the shirt he wore was cut.


    ¡°Have you heard that language before?¡± one of other students whispered. Ralph thought it was Anakin.


    ¡°No,¡± Ben replied back.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s language from the barrier,¡± Padme answered, ¡°You know from Earth.¡±


    ¡°Not from Avalon or Mars,¡± Anakin asked.


    ¡°Mars?¡± Enzo asked in surprise, ¡°You mean there are other worlds connected to Avalon beside Earth?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ben answered, relaxing from his stance as the teachers engaged the wild man. Padme and Lilian walked closer to the young men. Ralph glanced between the older students. ¡°However, it¡¯s a challenge to get there, to the other worlds connected to Avalon. I have family who lives on a world called Aries. It was a dangerous trip for my small familial unit to arrive here in Avalon when I was young.¡± He paused, looking at Team 17 before he went on, ¡°Did you know there is a very large dragon roaming the void between the worlds?¡±


    Ralph stared at Ben in wonder. A dragon roaming the void between the worlds? That would be amazing to see. Aries and Mars - they sounded powerful names, giving Ralph a feeling of battle. He remembered learning a bit about Earth while he was in Basic Training. It was a part of the History of Avalon and had influenced Avalon through the numerous people who had arrived in Avalon over the many years. He wasn¡¯t aware of Aries and Mars though. Now, he did think about it. It made sense. Tiefling Community, according to the history books he had been forced to study, had appeared one day in a large group of 250 or so - he forgot the correct number - but it was a shock to the community they had arrived close by and the Tieflings had to fight for their lives for nearly a century before the communities they had came across and came to accept them as another race, living in Avalon.


    ¡°A dragon?¡± Enzo breathed, ¡°I would love to see one or get my hands on some of their scales.¡± Ralph noticed he looked off dreamily. ¡°I bet the scales would make some of the best armor out there.¡±


    ¡°It sure does,¡± Anakin said, ¡°I have talked with some of the Dwarves of the Flaming Heart Mountains. They got some dragon scaled armor. It¡¯s very rare and expensive since most of dragons are not living in this world.¡± He frowned, ¡°I think they live on a world called Draco and as far as I know, the Dwarves are the only race in Avalon that know how to get to Draco.¡±


    ¡°Amazing,¡± Enzo breathed.


    ¡°Mermaid scales are almost just as hard as Dragon scales,¡± Padme commented, ¡°But they tend to be more protective and dangerous when it comes to taking their scales.¡±


    Lilian blinked and turned to Padme before she started to ask questions about mermaids, their location, and how to get a hold of their scales. Ralph glanced toward his teacher, seeing they were still in combat with the mysterious one armed man. He turned to Ben, asking, ¡°Should we help them?¡± he pointed at the fighting trio.


    Ben glanced in that direction, ¡°Na. Quill has it handle if Master Raizen can¡¯t.¡± He walked back over to the pile and went back to gathering the broken tents before setting on the cart to haul away. Ralph blinked at him before he turned his attention to the fight.

 Chapter 13: The Attack of An Assassin

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Raizen growled. He didn¡¯t think he would ever encounter an enemy like this one. From the way the wild man moved and acted, he was a trained fighter, despite his handicap, moving with fluid grace that one gained from years of fighting. It was something different then what he was used to. Most of the time, the enemies Raizen had encounter over the years, were not skilled fighters and often gave up after a short period of time unless they had some people waiting in the wings to provide back up. A certain thrill darted through him. This wild looking man was providing Raizen a challenge he could only get from a sparring match with another hidden ninja.


    The wild man replied in some language that took Raizen by surprise. It had been a while since Raizen had heard it spoke, but he recognized it never the less. Russian. It was a powerful country across the barrier, on Earth. That prose more questions then answers. However, the Hidden Bark Village had several specialized Ninja, Police Force, and Medical Personal who dealt with foreign languages. Raizen knew, once the mysterious fighter was caught, they would be able to figure out where the fighter was from, his reasoning for being in the Hidden Bark Village, and who possible sent him.


    He ran his eyes over the wild man, taking in the fact he wore a pair of black boots and pants. The pants were combat pants, very similar to the ones Raizen owned, but they appeared to be made of a thicker material. A belt wrapped around the man¡¯s waist, holding something in place, but from this angle, Raizen couldn¡¯t see what it was.


    Raizen blinked and raised his kunai to block an attack, aiming at his expose neck. He muttered a soft curse. The kunai clang against the dagger. It was loud to Raizen¡¯s ears as he tried to push the mysterious one armed man back. However, his opponent shifted, allowing the kunai to slid against the dagger and forced the ninja forward. Raizen¡¯s eyes widened as he lend too far forward, becoming off balanced, leaving his right shoulder open. He stepped to the left as the one-armed man took a swipe at him. A sharp pain in Raizen¡¯s side, near his hip, rippled out. He gasped as anger darted through him. He spun on the balls of his right foot, facing the one-arm man and attacked the exposed side without the arm. He aimed his kunai at the ribcage and missed when the one-arm man took half a step back, allowing Raizen¡¯s attack to slip by him. However, Raizen¡¯s free hand ran through a series of hand signs before he brought his hand up, narrowed his eyes, steeled his nerves, and there was a bright flash of light followed by a loud clapping sound.


    The one-arm man cried out, stumbling away from Raizen. His arm flanged around before it came to a stop before him, in a defensive position. His eyes blinked rapidly as he recovered his eyesight. He shook his head like a dog.


    Raizen didn¡¯t wait for him to finish recovering from the blinding attack and slashed at his chest, hoping to caught him off guard and deal with a decisive blow to end the fight. However, the one-armed man walked backwards, keeping enough space between Raizen and himself to gain his eyesight and hearing back. He paused then launched himself at Raizen, going through a series of left to right, right to left slashing motions. Raizen find himself back tracking in order not to get hit. A spark of interest rose up. Perhaps, he find a decent challenge. It had been a long while since he had one. It was simply too bad it had to be during an important mission where Raizen couldn¡¯t play with him.


    The one-arm man flipped the knife, grabbing the blade before he bent his arm back, over his shoulder before he threw it at Raizen. He reached down to his belt and grabbed something out of the waistline, raising it up to line up with his shoulder. The one-armed man¡¯s shoulders relaxed as his back straightened. He planted his feet in shoulder wide stance, half turning to make himself a smaller target.


    Raizen ducked under the thrown knife. He rushed forward. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the body language change. It was his chance to end the fight before it went on. He kinda wished Quill would have helped out, but it was just one man, despite the fact he was missing an arm. He wondered, briefly, how that happened. He blinked as he noticed the strange weapon in the one-arm man¡¯s hand. He saw the finger curl and slowly squeezed back. Alarm race through Raizen. His heart leaped into his throat. He jumped forward, rolling forward. A loud bang went off. It echoed through the area.


    Birds flew off from the nearby trees. There was silence as Raizen came to a kneeling position, several feet away from the one-armed man. His ears rang as he focused on his enemy. The only sound he could hear clearly was his own thundering heartbeat. He stared at the one-arm man. That was a new weapon. He slowly stood up. He held up his kunai. He was sure the blade was useless against the new weapon. His free hand slid behind his leg and went through a series of hand signs. His eyes narrowed, switching back and forth between the enemies¡¯ eyes and the finger.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Raizen heard his students exclaimed in alarm as his hearing return. Lilian¡¯s voice rang through the air, asking if he was alright. Ralph appeared on the corner of his vision, pale faced with the Tiefling holding onto his shoulder. Enzo stood beside Ralph, cocking his head to the side, looking at the one-arm man. In the distance, yells echoed the same line of what happen and is everyone alright. Raizen ignored them.


    The finger squeezed back. Raizen jumped high, bringing his legs up close to his chest, as the weapon released another bang. The ninja sucked in a deep breath and brought his hand up to his mouth like he was smoking a cigarette causing bright flames darted from his mouth, spreading in a small cone to the one-armed man.


    The one-armed man jumped to the left. The fire cone flew by him. He landed on his feet and stepped back, raising his arm up, aiming again at Raizen.


    Raizen silently cursed as he landed on the balls of his feet, crunching down before he leaped to the one-armed man, planning on disarming the strange weapon from his hand. A third loud bang sounded. He jerked to the side when a pain he never experience before went through the side of his arm. He gasped. He glanced down. He felt the warm blood flowing down his arm and saw a small hole in his long sleeve shirt where the object had hit him, but he didn¡¯t see the object. He had been hit before by an arrow and the pain was similar. He slid to a stop and changed direction. He spared his enemy a glance to see he was slowly squeezing his finger back again. He twisted, exposing his back to the one-armed man. He felt the ground rumble and a rock wall broke through the ground. He heard Quill called out the jutsu he used to protect Raizen¡¯s back. He turned and saw he was wrong. Quill didn¡¯t use a rock wall to protect Raizen¡¯s back as he hurried forward and kicked the strange weapon from the one-armed man. The weapon went sailing through the air and hit the ground, skidding several feet before coming to a stop.


    The one-arm man was encased by a rock body case, leaving his remaining arm and everything above his shoulders exposed. His expression was still stoic, but his eyes flashed with rage. He barred his teeth and Raizen could have sworn the man growled. He watched the man tried to escape, trying to wiggle his way of the rock body case, but Raizen knew from experience, he wouldn¡¯t be able to. He relaxed, turning to Quill, saying thanks to the other ninja master.


    ¡°I wonder where he came from,¡± Quill started, gazing at the one-arm man, ¡°I never heard that tongue before.¡±


    ¡°It is Russian, I believe,¡± Raizen said, ¡°I have heard once or twice while I worked with the Lady of the White Hall Estate. She is well versed in the various languages of Earth due to her occupation within Avalon and across the barrier.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Quill said. They shared a knowing smirk of the Lady¡¯s occupation. It was a rare treat for a Hidden Bark Ninja to work with the Lady in her line of work. It was a treated as a training experience and most of the ninja who would managed to work with her was schooled in the job of being as Assassin. They did returned home, better for the experience. Raizen and Quill were two of the lucky ones before the Lady stopped taking jobs to raise her children. ¡°Perhaps our language experts would know something of his language to figure why he is here.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully, this is just a case of Unknowingly crossing the Barrier into the Dead End Forest and end up traveling here and staying because it was the first place he saw with people,¡± Raizen suggested, ¡°If not, I¡¯m sure Intelligence would love to get their hands on him.¡±


    Quill hummed in agreement. He glanced at Raizen, ¡°My students should be able to watch yours while we deliver this one to Language experts and get you checked out?¡±


    Raizen nodded. His side felt like it was on fire. He had heard Quill doing this sometimes to his students to make sure they would be able to complete the mission without him around. He personally had took the same approach, several times in the past with his previous teams he was assigned to teach. So far, the only team that had complained about it was his current team. He glanced over to his students and saw Ralph watching him. He waved Ralph over. Ralph jogged to him and came to a stop by him.


    ¡°Ralph, please inform Lilian and Enzo I will be heading to the hospital to look at,¡± Raizen explained, ¡°I will be back later to continue this mission. Until then, listen to Quill¡¯s students. They have more experience and they do have the capability to handle most things you could face on this mission.¡±


    Ralph nodded, ¡°Anything else, sir?¡±


    Raizen shook his head. ¡°Go inform your teammates.¡± Ralph nodded, again, and went to join his teammates.


    Turning his attention, he watched as Quill preformed another jutsu and the rock base of the body case transformed into a large rock with a pair of wheels. He walked over to the one-arm man and pushed him. The wheels rolled away from Quill. The one-arm man¡¯s eyes widened as his face flashed with alarm as he rolled backwards. Fear replaced the alarm. Raizen watched with a raised eyebrow as the one-armed man tried to escape from the rock case.


    Quill ignored the series of looks he earned as he walked away and reached down, grabbing the strange weapon the one-arm man used against Raizen. He looked at it with amazed. It was different. Perhaps Research and Development could do reverse built it to understand what it was and how it worked. With any luck, they would be able to make a replica of the strange weapon. It would create an advantage for the Hidden Bark Village when they faced another enemy.


    Raizen glanced at the strange weapon. His ears still rang with the loud bang from the strange weapon. He never seen something like that before. He was curious. However, he needed to get checked out by a member of the medical staff to make sure the strange weapon didn¡¯t have any other dangerous properties like poisoning or a rare disease.

 Chapter 14: The Return of Sion

    Ralph glanced to where he had seen Raizen and Quill walking off with the one-arm man. He had seen the injuries Raizen had received during his fight with the one-arm man, but he didn¡¯t know how serious it was. He hoped his teacher was alright. It would suck to finish to the mission without him and under Quill¡¯s - he assumed - watchful eye. He didn¡¯t know the other teacher¡¯s teaching style, but he had heard rumors of it and it was considered to unorthodox.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Ben spoke up, ¡°It will be alright.¡± Ralph turned to him when the half Tiefling paused, ¡°Master Quill is with him and they should be back, shortly.¡± Ralph slowly nodded then he glanced where the two ninja masters walked off.


    ¡°Hey, Lilian, Enzo,¡± Ralph called out, causing his teammates to turn to him, ¡°Raizen said he will be back after he gets checked out by the Hospital and said we should listen to them -¡° He jerked his thumb to the other team, ¡°if something should happen.¡±


    Lilian raised an eyebrow as a thoughtful expression crossed her face before she nodded. Enzo sighed and muttered something that Ralph couldn¡¯t hear, but he turned away.


    ¡°It must be bad if Raizen has to go to the Hospital,¡± Padme voiced, ¡°We have worked with him when he had another team. When he was injured, he usually handled it himself.¡± She looked toward where their masters disappeared, ¡°If it¡¯s an injury he can¡¯t perform first aid on himself, it must be bad.¡±


    Lilian bit her lower lip as she turned a worried gaze toward the hospital. Enzo¡¯s cheeks lost some color. Ralph¡¯s gut tangled up with worry.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry,¡± Anakin spoke up, ¡°Quill is with him. Everything is alright.¡± They fell silent as they thought about what happened until Anakin spoke up, again, ¡°Okay! We still have a mission to do, guys. Let¡¯s get back to work.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Ben agreed, walking away from Ralph and went back to work. He grabbed several large tent poles, placed them on to his shoulder, and carried them over to the cart where he tossed them onto the pile.


    Anakin followed his example, grabbing armful of debris and went to the trash cart. Enzo kicked the ground before he went to the remains of a tent and grabbed what he could carry before he went over to the cart.


    Ralph watched his teammates before he joined them, falling into a rhythm of grabbing armfuls of trash, carrying it over to the trash cart, dumping it, and repeat until lunch time. They broke for lunch and went their own way.


    Ralph sighed, thinking about what he should have for lunch. He should have packed his lunch. Maybe it would help save some money when he was tight on coin. There would be a chance he wouldn¡¯t get burnt out a particular food like he was of certain noodle soup dishes. His stomach did a sickening twist at the thought of that noodle soup dish. He had enough of that for a lifetime. He crossed his arms over his chest, thinking.


    ¡°Hey, Ralph,¡± someone called out. He raised his head to stare ahead of him before he looked around until he spotted the person who called out. Ralph¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as he sucked in a breath. It was Sion, another orphan who was given the name of Barkson upon entering Basic Training.


    ¡°Sion!¡± Ralph called out in excitement. He didn¡¯t think he would ever see one of his ¡®brothers¡¯ again, in a name. Sion, a follow orphan, had finished his basic Training three years ago and left the Village for long period of times, once he achieved the rank advance Ninja. He had hoped Sion would have been his teacher, but according to the research he had done, Sion wouldn¡¯t be able to take on a Team until he reached the rank of Master. Usually, that rank was achieved after four years of being a ninja. Ralph pushed his disappointment away and darted across the street to where Sion stood. ¡°How are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Sion grinned, brightly, ¡°I just got back from a mission.¡± His face became dreamy. ¡°It was a wonderful mission as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Ralph said, looking at Sion, ¡°Where did you go if you can tell me?¡±


    Sion blinked and looked at Ralph, ¡°I can, but it is going to take some time.¡±


    ¡°On my lunch,¡± Ralph grinned, ¡°I don¡¯t have to be back on the job until 1.¡±


    ¡°Awesome,¡± Sion looked annoyed as he ran a hand through his blond hair, ¡°I need to get a hair cut soon.¡± He muttered to himself, despite the fact Ralph heard him, before he spoke louder, ¡°Where are you getting lunch?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, yet,¡± Ralph admitted, looking at Sion.


    ¡°How about that Fried Chicken place over on 6th street,¡± Sion suggested, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I ate there.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Ralph blinked. He had forgot about that place. He nodded in agreement over the suggestion and the two orphans walked off toward the fried chicken restaurant. Sion didn¡¯t waste anytime, launching into what he had been doing for his mission. He waved his arms widely as he recounted his tale, ¡°Roma. I had to visit to Roma to get back an item for a client.¡± He gave Ralph a look, ¡°You really should have been there. It¡¯s bigger then what they told us in Basic Training.¡±


    Ralph looked at Sion wide-eyed. Roma was the largest city of the Christian Religion of Avalon led by the Pope who lived with an order of Paladins, the fighting arm of the Christian Religion, and an order of Holy Brothers. He remembered learning about them in his Avalon History class while he was in Basic Training and it was also part of the Political Class he had to take.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Ralph breathed, ¡°So, what did you have to get for the client?¡±


    Sion shook his head, ¡°Can¡¯t tell you. Top Secret, you know.¡±


    Ralph nodded his head in understanding. It must have been a S-class mission. Those usually marked as Top Secret and only involved the people who needed to know about it. According to those mission parameters, Ralph didn¡¯t need to know. He pushed that topic out of his mind. ¡°How long will you be in town?¡±


    ¡°Probably just for today,¡± Sion said, ¡°I got goals for the future. I want to find out what happen to my family - before I was dumped at the orphanage - and regrow the family name.¡±


    As far as Ralph could remember, that was Sion¡¯s goal. The older teen knew something had happened, but he didn¡¯t know what. He only had faint members of his mother and father. Ralph knew Sion would dream of them, waking up, muttering about blood everywhere and screams of several women. Ralph didn¡¯t know if Sion ever got his birth records from the orphanage or not. If he did, it could explain the reason why he was given to the Orphanage instead staying with a family member after his parents¡¯ death - assuming they are dead and just didn¡¯t want to deal with a child - for some reason.


    ¡°You will get there,¡± Ralph said, ¡°But first, you have to find a woman willingly to put up with you.¡±


    Sion pouted, ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± He crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°You think since that new law about women have to have three children, they would be trying to get that job done and over with, but, no!¡± he vented, ¡°So far, all of the women I know of want to join the single life for a bit, work on their ninja skills, and wait a while before they settle down to start working on a family.¡± Ralph didn¡¯t say a word, letting his ¡®older¡¯ brother rant, ¡°And most civilians won¡¯t let me even near one of their daughters, saying because I¡¯m bastard born, I¡¯m not fit for their daughters.¡±


    ¡°Do you realize I will be facing the same thing you are not,¡± Ralph asked, slowly. Sion paused, a thoughtful expression went across his face, and he nodded. Ralph continued, ¡°They are judging you by your actions and since we share the same last name, the same orphanage, they will do the same to me.¡± He paused, allowing his words to set in, ¡°And to our other brothers and sisters who don¡¯t know their birth families and forced to take the name Barkson or Barkdottirs - they will have the same trouble. Unless they decide to go outside the Village for a bride or a bridegroom.¡±


    Sion sighed, ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± He kicked at the ground as he walked, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about that - finding a woman in a small village and make her my bride. Hell, depending on how many kids I have, I could have my own ninja village in a few years.¡± He laughed lowly. ¡°Maybe have more then one wife to make sure my family name lives on and spreads out.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Not allowed by the church,¡± Ralph asked as they turned onto the street they were looking for.


    ¡°Yeah, if you follow the church,¡± Sion winked, ¡°There are many more religions out there who don¡¯t limit the men to one wife. If a man wishes, he could have as many as he wants.¡± Ralph blinked at him as Sion grinned, brightly, ¡°It¡¯s one way to make sure my family name and line continues on.¡±


    Ralph shook his head. Sometimes, he didn¡¯t know what to do about Sion. Other times, he would join in whatever Sion had schemed up. He chalked this time up as Unsure about Sion. ¡°Enough about continuing the family line. I mean there will be plenty enough time to talk about that, later, Sion,¡± Ralph started, ¡° Did you go anywhere else?¡±


    Sion gave him a wide grin, saying, ¡°Of course, I did.¡± He straightened up, puffed out his chest, and placed his hands on his hips. ¡°I went through the Barrier to Earth.¡±


    Ralph¡¯s jaw dropped. He felt immediately jealous. He knew there was a chance he would go to Earth one day, but hearing Sion already did - it burnt. Despite the fact many of the Bark Ninja had the ability to go Earth, they chose not to. From when he asked them their reason on not visiting Earth, they often gave the reason they didn¡¯t have a reason to visit and had no desire to go there. He still didn¡¯t understand why. Earth, from his understanding, was their original homeland. In the past, their forefathers traveled from there to Avalon. Some of the Clans ended up in the Dead End Forest by accident and decided to start over like the Sakura Clan did. Other Families had their Original Clan Head from a country on Earth who got lost and found themselves close to the Village with no knowledge on the way back.


    However, according to the rumors Ralph had heard while he was still in the orphanage, there were a handful of children who were kidnapped and brought to the village to fulfill the Family Mission every Ninja was required to complete before they turned 35. Those children were adopted into families and grew up in the village. Some of them did vanish for a short while once they accepted an Earth Mission, but they returned, changed, and emotional hurt. They eventually became themselves again and continued accepting missions, but always refused to visit Earth again and never explained their reasoning.


    Ralph glanced at Sion. Maybe he was one of the kidnapped children from Earth and he just hadn¡¯t found his birth family yet. Of course, there was a chance Sion wasn¡¯t and was born in the Village, but something had happened to his family and the ending result - Sion became an orphan. Ralph tried to push his jealously away. It was a dangerous emotion to experience. Instead, he grinned when he saw the chicken restaurant and pointed it out to Sion. They hurried toward it. The conversation about their future, Families, and visiting Earth forgotten as they entered the restaurant and ordered their lunch.

 Chapter 15: June 19 2027 Cleaning up the Gray Distinct

    The following morning, Ralph stood by the section they didn¡¯t finish the night before when they called it a night. After he had lunch with Sion, the previous day, he had returned to the Gray Distinct to do his part in the mission. He sighed, looking at the rumble they still had to clean up. Raizen had said they were getting more help today. Another 4 teams were supposed to be assigned and supposed to be tackling section 3, according to Raizen and Quill. The cart had been emptied sometime during the night or had been replaced by the trash folks. In the distance,  where the trash was dumped, there was a small stream of smoke drifting through the morning air.


    ¡°Must be Burn Day,¡± Ralph muttered to himself. The trash was burnt once a week over the Village¡¯s far end where there were several pits the trash companies dump trash into throughout the week before burning it. It wouldn¡¯t be long before there would be more smoke drifting in the air. ¡°I wonder when the rest of them will show up.¡± He frowned, thinking back to the previous day. He didn¡¯t think they had discussed what time they should show up to start working again on the mission. To tell the truth, he wasn¡¯t focused on that. Sion had spent the night at his apartment and they had spent part of the night up, talking and playing board games, but Sion had left at first light, saying he wanted to get a mission before the good ones were gone.


    He shook his head, trying to ignore the nagging feeling there was something wrong. Sion could look after himself. Ralph forced his mind to go to the mission and wondered if Raizen would be joining them for the day. Quill had returned without the mysterious one armed warrior, informing them Raizen had went to the hospital to be treated for his wounds, but he didn¡¯t get any word on what else was going on. Ralph should have swung by the hospital on his way home the night before, but Sion did managed to caught Ralph¡¯s attention. He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking about his teacher. He really hoped the man would show up for the mission. If not, this would be the second mission Ralph, Lilian, and Enzo would do without Raizen¡¯s guidance.


    He kicked at some of the leftover debris and released his breath in a long exhale. He might as well get started on the mission, glancing toward the pile of destroyed tents then at the empty cart before he gazed at one of the roads leading out of the District. His lips twitched in a welcoming grin as he spotted Enzo and Lilian walking up the road toward him. They weren¡¯t speaking. He didn¡¯t know what they would even talk about since they were been together as a team for a few days. The three of them didn¡¯t have anything in common as far as Ralph knew. Enzo and him did share a love of noodles, but Ralph didn¡¯t know what else they would share.


    ¡°Good Morning, Ralphie!¡± Someone¡¯s voice rang out from behind him. Ralph sucked in a breath then he reacted. His left hand flew to where he kept his kunai. He withdrew one of his kunai and spun on his right foot, bring his left hand up and around. His right knee was bent, intending to straighten, ready to push off away from the destroyed tent pile in order to give himself more fighting room. There was a sharp and loud cling as metal hit metal. ¡°Ooh, nice one.¡±


    Ralph blinked. Anakin from Team Quill stood there with a wide grin. His kunai blocked Ralph¡¯s kunai in midair, inches away from his nose. Ralph slowly relaxed, coming out of his fighting stance and slipped the kunai away with a dark look at Anakin. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that,¡± Ralph said before he walked away.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be a sour puss,¡± Anakin called out after him, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡±


    Ralph ignored him. He would think it wouldn¡¯t be wise or smart to sneak up on a ninja, even one out of Basic Training, due to the fact, a ninja are trained to kill. He sighed. Maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing. He should have been aware of his surroundings instead of becoming lost in thought. He pushed his irritation away. He was a mission, after all.


    He half turned, facing Anakin and saw the rest of Team Quill standing with Anakin. The only one missing was the Leader, Quill. He blinked as he scanned for the Team Leader. He opened his mouth, but Ben spoke up, ¡°Quill won¡¯t be joining us for another hour or two. He is checking on Raizen. Your leader has been released sometime late last night, but beyond that I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Ralph nodded in understanding. A faint flash of guilt went through him for not checking on his master before he went home. He pushed that aside, silently vowing to do better.


    ¡°Since our masters are not here, Master Quill has put me in charge of the mission, temporary until he returns,¡± Ben paused as Lilian and Enzo joined them. The two other members of Team 17 glanced at Ralph then turned their attention to Ben. He continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know when the next two teams are suppose to arrive, but we are wasting daylight, so, let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Ralph turned to Enzo and Lilian and nodded in greeting to them. Lilian gave him a small smile while Enzo grinned, saying, ¡°Good morning, Ralph. Say who was your friend last night?¡±


    ¡°That was Sion Barkson,¡± Ralph started, walking to a trash pile and bent down to grab an armful of debris, ¡°he was an orphan who lived at the same orphanage as I did. He got back into the village some time yesterday and wanted to hang out after we finished for the day.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Lilian commented, echoing Ralph¡¯s actions, ¡°Have you heard anything about Raizen, yet?¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t,¡± Ralph said, turning to the cart and walked to it before he dumped his armful of trash into the cart, ¡°I think Ben and Anakin said their master was going to check on him before he will join us.¡±


    She nodded, ¡°I hope he will be alright.¡± She paused as she did the same thing Ralph did. Enzo was a step behind them. ¡°Perhaps we should look Raizen up in the Ninja Register for his address and visit him ourselves, tonight, after nightfall.¡±


    Ralph hummed, walking back to grab anther armful of trash. He thought about it. It could be a good idea. ¡°We could do that, Lilian.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a great idea,¡± Enzo voiced his opinion, ¡°This way we can meet the Mrs and hopefully, get a free dinner.¡±


    Ralph turned and raised an eyebrow at Enzo, ¡°Get a free dinner?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember Master Raizen saying we were invited to join his wife and him for dinner, yesterday,¡± Enzo explained, ¡°You know before that mysterious one armed man attacked him.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Ralph said, remembering they were invited to join Raizen and his wife for dinner.


    ¡°It would be highly impolite to drop in unannounced,¡± Lilian cut in, ¡°We don¡¯t know how Master Raizen is doing or if he is up to having visitors, yet.¡±


    ¡°He should be,¡± Enzo argued, ¡°If he was released from the hospital last night.¡±


    ¡°It all depends on what the Doctor says,¡± Lilian replied. She released a sigh. She turned away and called over her shoulder, ¡°Let¡¯s get to work. We still have a mission to complete with or without Raizen around.¡±


    They went back to work without speaking another word. A hour slowly passed. Ralph half listened to Team Quill talk about various topics until they fell silent. He glanced up and saw their master finally showed up. He went back to work. It clicked in his head that Master Quill was back. He turned his attention back onto Master Quill as Team Quill rushed over to him.


    ¡°Welcome back, Quill,¡± Padme called out.


    ¡°Heya Quill,¡± Anakin gave his master a bright grin.


    ¡°Master Quill,¡± Ben nodded at the older master as the teammates gathered around their master, ¡°I see you are finally joining us.¡±


    Ralph glanced over at Lilian then at Enzo. They had stopped in their work. Lilian straightened up from where she had been working. Enzo turned away from the trash cart, sipping on his canteen of water. He felt their gazes on him as well before they turned them to Master Quill. Ralph took a breath and stepped forward, heading to the other Master. He really wanted to know how Raizen was doing. He stopped a few feet from the team, listening to their conversation, trying to ignore the feeling of intruding on a private conversation when he wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°How are things progressing,¡± Quill asked.


    Padme rocked back and forth on her feet, ¡°Things are progressing, Master. So far, there¡¯s hasn¡¯t been any trouble and we have been looking out for the other team while you tend to their teacher.¡±


    ¡°And speaking of Master Raizen,¡± Ben spoked up, ¡°How is he? Ralph, Lilian, and Enzo hasn¡¯t heard anything about his status, yet.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s at home,¡± Quill looked at Ralph as he tried resist the urge to kick the ground. Ralph sensed Lilian and Enzo join him, standing on either side.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Lilian voiced. ¡°When will we be allowed to see him?¡±


    ¡°Tonight,¡± Quill replied with a small smile, ¡°After you three finish for the day, I¡¯ll take you to see him.¡± Ralph allowed a grin to spread across his face as he looked at his teammates. ¡°His wife is still up to fixing you guys dinner if you are willingly to stay for it.¡±


    ¡°Sweet!¡± Enzo cheered, ¡°Free Food!¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    Ralph rolled his eyes at Enzo¡¯s actions. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about food for one night, Ralph mused, and the best part he didn¡¯t have to fix it himself. Hopefully, it would taste a lot better then whatever he was going to fix. He didn¡¯t planned that far ahead for his dinner.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have to inform my parents before I come over,¡± Lilian said, ¡°I can do that during our lunch break.¡±


    They looked at Ralph who shrugged and replied, ¡°Sure thing. Raizen did mention we were invited over for dinner one night.¡±


    Quill nodded, running his eyes over the two groups of students, ¡°Alright, when we break for lunch, I¡¯ll inform Mrs. Watanabe of your decision. We still have plenty of work to do for the day. Lord Jackson will be sending two more teams to help us. They should be here in the next couple hours, once they get the mission assigned to them. The clean up should start going by faster and we will be making more of a dent in this mess.¡±


    In the distance, the two teams heard the sounds of crashing and things falling. Ralph turned to see a raising dust cloud, coming from where the two teams assigned to destroy the various tents and other structure. He watched as a tent standing tall on a small hill fall inward and a figure appeared on top of the structure, looked toward the still standing tents before leaping toward it, an arm raised high then the figure swung their arm down. Ralph didn¡¯t see if anything leave their hand, but he saw the tents shoot up, from the ground, flying a few dozen feet before they fell back down, landing in a crumbled pile. There were cheers of excitement and words of encouraged echoed from where near the figure landed. Ralph frowned. Those were probably teammates for the mission or old teammates.


    A scream rang out, in the distance. The clean up crew and the destruction crew jerked to face whatever made that sound. Ralph stood still. A woman dressed what appeared to be old clothes hanging off her thin frame, appeared on a dirt road and bared her teeth at them. He felt a shiver go up his spine.


    ~The Government Tower ~


    He paused as he heard footsteps walking down the corridor, coming from around the corner he was approaching. He pressed himself against the wall and scooted down away from the corner. He glanced the way he came from, hoping to find a better hiding spot then pressing up against the wall. There wasn¡¯t one down his current corridor. He glanced upward. It was something he learned while he was on the other side. Apparently, no one thought about looking up while they were patrolling. Maybe he would test that theory out.


    ¡°Have we got anything from that one armed fella?¡± a nasal voice asked.


    ¡°Nothing really useful yet,¡± A throaty voice responded, ¡°He keeps saying he doesn¡¯t know how he got into the village nor where he is at.¡±


    One of them sighed before replying in the nasal voice, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing Lady Annja had agreed to train some of our Tongue Speakers in the various languages from the other side or else we would have a lot harder time to trying to figure out who he is, who sent him, etc.¡±


    ¡°Anything on who his boss is,¡± Throaty asked.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Nasal answered in a defeated tone. They rounded the corner, finally coming in his sight.  His eyes ran over them and noticed nothing stood out on them. They were the average ninja in the Hidden Bark. They walked under him. He had a rough idea on who they were talking about. Nasal continued, ¡°He is being difficult from what I hear - won¡¯t allow the mindwalkers into his mind. The one mindwalker apart of the Intelligence complained that our mysterious man¡¯s mind was a maze, one that doesn¡¯t make sense when she did managed to get into his mind, but she didn¡¯t last long. Something happened within his mind to drove her out and she is on leave right now, claiming it¡¯s her own mental health.¡±


    ¡°Must have been pretty bad,¡± Throaty replied as they drifted out of his sight, ¡°Aren¡¯t the Mindwalkers our strongest mental fighters?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Nasal stated, ¡°Now, they have something they might have a weakness against.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not good,¡± Throaty commented, ¡°Anyway, what are your plans for Community Day? Are you planning to work it?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know yet,¡± Nasal said, rubbing the back of his neck, ¡°I¡¯m hoping to take the day off and take my girl out¡­¡± Their voices trailed off.


    He counted his heartbeats to 500 before he allowed gravity to bring him back down to the floor of the hallway. He landed in a crunch and smirked. He didn¡¯t realized when he had brought the one armed assassin across the barrier, the mindwalkers would have trouble cracking him. In fact, he had thought it would be the opposite as the mindwalkers of the Hidden Bark Village had been known to be the strongest Mental Fighters of the Kingdom of Camelot.


    From the information he had gathered over the clan, the Beaufort Clan had been one of the founding Clans of the Village and over the years, they had integrated several powerful magi and other skilled mind magi into their bloodlines creating what the clan is known for today - a family of powerful mindwalkers. The Beaufort Clan was led by¡­he frowned. He didn¡¯t remember who was the head of the family. In a way, he supposed, it didn¡¯t matter to him anymore. He had bigger fish to fry.


    He crept forward and peered around the corner of the hallway to see it was empty. He went around the corner and hurried down the corridor as fast as he dared to without making noise. He listened for any sort of noise coming from the nearby rooms, up and down the hallway as he made his way to the secret storage room, located near the Leader¡¯s private rooms.


    He could have gone through the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village¡¯s private quarters. However, when he started scout the entrances, he found it was heavily guarded by the Elite team of ninja, the Black Hand. He had changed his plan and find a way to distract the Black Hand. It was a risky move, but it would be worth all the trouble since he needed to find the scroll belonging to the Isamu Clan.


    The Isamu Clan scroll should hold the records of who was born into the clan before they were destroyed by the mysterious assassin, 14 years ago. The Villages Elders, according to the historical records, never discovered the identity of the Assassin and the official report citied the body was unidentifiable after the fight with the Clan Elder and Family Head. They also made the decision since the surviving children were not above 3 years old and in no position to do anything productive for the village, sent the survivors to the orphanage, gave them new last names and new families, and sealed the records. The Leader of the Hidden Bark Village buried the records under his quarters, within the hidden library. He didn¡¯t know the reasoning behind that move. Perhaps there was an heir who survived but wasn¡¯t old enough to lay claim to the position.


    Personally, he hoped his name would be part of the family records. It would make sense if he did found his name on those hidden records. He was tired of being a nobody. He wanted to know if he had a family or not. It would be the icing on the cake if he was the heir of the Isamu Clan.  He would be able to rebuild the clan just like he wanted to do. He would have a legit reason why he could and would marry several women. He would only allow the strongest female ninja to gain entry into the clan through marriage of his sons. He would outcast the girls who were born unless they could be used to gain a better position within the village through marriage of another clan.


    He shook his head. His master also wanted to know if there was any surviving members of the Isamu clan, saying something about a possible relation through the clan in order to reunite the World Beyond the Barrier and Avalon together again. He knew his master had a different agenda then he did when it came to the Isamu Clan scroll. In fact, his master had came up with the plan to distract the Black Hand as well as majority of the Ninja force within the village walls. He had to admit to himself it was a genius idea.


    He wanted to laugh at the plan his master had created and told him to enact. He did before he disappeared from view during the night. He knew it would take a few hours before the effects started to kick in. He wanted to peer into a random room and see if there was a sun dial or another time telling device. That was one of the many unique devices he had enjoyed while he was Across the Barrier. It was simply too bad the King of Camelot wouldn¡¯t allow such advances of technology to be created. He didn¡¯t know if the Hidden Bark Village would have something like that.


    Something echoed through the hallway, loudly. He paused, glancing over his shoulder. He hoped he didn¡¯t walk past a Black Hand. That would suck. He knew he was getting closer to the Living Quarters of the Village Leader. The noise echoed again. It sounded like someone banging on a door, in the distance then a loud crashing sound reached his ears. He frowned, thinking.


    His master had found the one armed assassin, in some far off country, before sending him to the Gray District. He was sure his master had given the one armed assassin an order, something about creating a distraction for him while he searched the secret library under the Leader¡¯s living quarters.


    He felt like insulted that his master had requested help from a stranger. It was like his master thought he couldn¡¯t handle the mission by himself. The mistrust stung like a wasp stinging him when he got too close to a nest. A fire erupted in his belly. He inhaled, slowly, trying to calm his temper. He couldn¡¯t lose control his temper. If he did, he would make mistakes and eventually get caught. If he was caught, he wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve his dream of creating his own family. His master had instructed him to use the one armed assassin as he saw fit.


    His gaze went back the hallway, remembering the single order he had, personally, gave the assassin before they had parted ways - cause enough chaos in the Hidden Bark Village as much for two hours. Hopefully, that would be enough time to sneak into the Secret library, grab the Isamu Clan Scroll, and get out of the Village by the time the one armed assassin was done. He really didn¡¯t care how the assassin caused trouble.


    He picked up his pace and hoped he didn¡¯t attached any attention as he went further down the hallway. It was a short distance later when he managed to find the door leading to the secret library. It wasn¡¯t hard to miss when the Leader had two guard standing outside the door. He reached into a pouch and pulled two kunai. He brought them up by his hand and threw them as fast as he could at the two guards.


    One of the kunai pieced the guard on the right through his eye. The guard gasped, turning his head, watching his partner crumbled to the ground and took the other kunai in the temple. He stumbled into the door and fell to the ground. Blood pooling around the two guards as they died.


    The mysterious thief stepped over the guards, ignoring them, and opened the door to the secret library. He ran his eyes over the room, feeling surprised. The room was lined with shelves running floor to ceiling and lined with scrolls, books, and stone tablets. He slowly stepped forward, spinning. He took in the amount of History the leaders of the Hidden Bark Village kept. It was amazing.


    The Village Hidden in the Bark¡¯s true history was on these shelves. The Village was found 700 years ago by a series of Clans who managed to raise to the Noble status within their society and kept that status over the years and added new families to their ranks so they wouldn¡¯t eventually become too inbred from the various marriages to other clans. The Lord Bark added to the Historical records each month, according to one of his sources, and kept it organized like his predecessors did; by month and year.


    That knowledge was highly invaluable to the mysterious thief and cut his work down by at least half. If it wasn¡¯t organized like this, it would take most of the day and the night to look for the scrolls, books, and tablets he was searching for. He knew what month and year he was looking for. He glanced over his shoulder. He didn¡¯t know how much time he had left, but he was aware the distraction he had set up wouldn¡¯t last long enough to pick and choose the most secretive reports from the various leaders of the Hidden Bark. It would be nice be able to do that and earn some extra money when he went to sell the secretive scrolls. He could name at least 6 other hidden villages who would love to get their hands on the Bark¡¯s delicious dark secrets. He sighed. Maybe it could be still in the cards if he managed to get out of this alive and uninjured. He shook his head and hurried to the shelves for the year 2013.

 Chapter 16 The Luna Pack Attack

    Ralph stared at the mysterious woman as she pulled back her lips and barred her teeth at the ninja. His eyes flickered to her exposed teeth to see her canine grow large and long. His heart skipped a beat as his mind filled in the tiny detail that his teacher left out - there were shifters living in the Gray District. He took a step back, wanting to keep as much space between himself and the shifter as possible.


    His chest heaved. A cold sensation wrapped around his heart. He tried to remember what his teachers in basic training taught the class when they brought up the shifters. He blinked as he couldn¡¯t remember if they taught about them or even if they did. He was sure they covered the topic of Shifters and the many different types. He hoped he just couldn¡¯t remember.


    ¡®This is bad,¡¯ Ralph thought. He didn¡¯t know what to do. He glanced back up at the shifter and his breath caught in his throat as he realized the shifter stared at him with a gleeful look in her eyes. ¡®They can smell fear.¡¯


    He did remember the various stories he heard about the shifters told by the caretakers of the Orphanage, informing them about naughty children disappearing in the night by evil shifters, cruel Pirates, and hungry demons. One of the caretakers had given backed up those stories by claiming that a friend of his had been kidnapped by a group of cruel Pirates and never seen again. Another caretaker finished her tale by the same line of ¡°A handsome knight managed to save me from the hungry demons and brought me back home.¡± That always got an eye roll from the older orphans who grew up on such tales. Those tales never made any sense since the Village was miles away from the coast where Pirate attacks were known to be at and it was a rare occurrence if Pirates sailed up the river to the edge of the village where the fishermen lived and Ninja scouting the boundary of village would have alerted the rest of the village and the police force to the pirate presences.


    ¡°Madam Luna,¡± Master Quill spoke, cutting through Ralph¡¯s fearful thoughts, ¡°I thought we had an agreement where you agreed to allow us to clean up your territory every changing of the seasons.¡± Master Quill¡¯s voice was strong and calm. It was complete opposite to what Ralph was feeling. It broke through the fear he felt. A spark went through his head. He blinked and turned to look at Quill, surprise coloring his face. Quill knew the shifter? He glanced at the other team who stood by their master, shifting back and forth on their feet. He turned his attention onto his teammates and saw they were frighten by the shifter, but surprised by the same fact he was. Ralph reached up and stretched his cheek, wondering what was going on. He walked backwards, toward the other master, hoping he would be somewhat safer closer to the more experienced ninja then far away when the Shifter decided to attack.


    ¡°Madam Luna, is there something the matter?¡± Quill asked. There was a note of curiosity in his tone. ¡®Madam Luna¡¯ didn¡¯t answer, but let out a loud growl, slowly bent her knees, her fingers curled into claws, and she reached down to the dirt, crunching.


    Ralph froze. His back snapped straight. His eyes rested on the shifter. A hand slowly went to the pouch at his waist. He itched to pull out a kunai defend himself. He didn¡¯t know if that would set Madam Luna off or not. He took a calming breath and took a step back. Madam Luna growled deeper as her hair grew, transforming into dark colored fur. Her face extended into a canine snout, giving the impression Ralph that Madam Luna was some sort of wolf.


    ¡°Ralph, Enzo, Lilian, don¡¯t move,¡± Quill snapped. Ralph froze. The toes of his foot he used to step back touched the ground, but he didn¡¯t place his heel on the ground. ¡°One of you are causing her to react this way. I will tell you to move when I call your name. Don¡¯t answer me.¡± There was a pause. ¡°Padme, Anakin, Ben, get ready for a fight.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± the trio replied.


    ¡°Lilian,¡± Quill called, ¡°Start walking toward me. Padme, watch her to make sure she¡¯s not the one pissing Madam Luna off and see if the reason is close by Lilian.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Padme spoke up. Ralph glanced over to Lilian and saw she was walking backward. His gaze darted over to Madam Luna. She didn¡¯t react to Lilian moving away. Ralph frowned. He looked the ground around his feet. He didn¡¯t see anything, at first. However, when he focused on the dirt near his left foot, he could have sworn there was a light brown lump that was slightly moving. His eyes widened and he gulped. He really hoped that lump wasn¡¯t some sort of very young shifter.


    The lump moved and unfolded to reveal it was a rather large squirrel. Ralph blinked and raised an eyebrow as the squirrel looked up at him and tittered before it ran away. He watched it go before he turned his attention to Madam Luna and saw she still stared at him.


    ¡°Enzo, your turn,¡± Quill called out, ¡°Ben, cover him.¡±


    Ralph waited, thinking. There has to be a good reason why Madam Luna was freaking out. She didn¡¯t come out until the other team was in the process of destroying the other tents. Could there be something over there causing her to freak out like she was? Maybe they were getting close to her Den or something equally precious to Madam Luna.


    ¡°Ralph, get ready to move,¡± Quill announced, ¡°Anakin, you and I will cover him. I don¡¯t know why Madam Luna will be going after him, but there is a good chance she will be.¡±


    Ralph muttered a soft curse under his breath. He really wished Raizen would have had the time to teach him some jutsus in his elemental affinities. He would eventually get lessons over the elemental affinities, but there was a chance that he wasn¡¯t ready yet. He couldn¡¯t remember the jutsu scroll he had borrowed from the library. He turned his attention onto Madam Luna. She had fully transformed into a large wolf. Ralph¡¯s eyes widened. The wolf was double the size of a normal wolf. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to think that wolf could cover the distance between where Madam Luna was standing and Ralph¡¯s location in a single leap. A chill went up his spine. Madam Luna shook her head, causing the black fur fluff out. It shined in the sunlight.


    ¡°Are you ready, Ralph,¡± Quill asked.


    ¡®No,¡¯ Ralph replied, silently, but he voiced, ¡°I think so.¡± His voice came out a lot stronger and brave then he actually felt.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Quill started, ¡°Ralph, run toward us, NOW!¡±


    Ralph twisted around to face Quill and pushed off the ground. He soared. There was a loud howl and he heard the deep thump. He didn¡¯t know if Madam Luna did leap or not, however, the thump, thump, thump rhythmic beating give away the fact Madam Luna was chasing after him. He stared ahead of him. He landed on his feet and ran as fast as he could.


    Quill darted toward him with Anakin a few feet behind him. His hands raised in front of his chest and moved through a series of hand signs before he came to a stop and knelt to the ground, slamming his hands against the ground. The ground rumbled and groaned as it shifted.


    Anakin came a stop. He reached over his shoulder to the sword he had resting on his back. He stared at the approaching wolf, waiting. A determined look was on his face. He didn¡¯t look at Ralph as he slid to a stop, sliding past Quill and Anakin.


    Ralph didn¡¯t know how much he would be able to do, but he needed to do something to be helpful. He pulled out his kunai and slid into a defensive position, holding it up in front of him. He waited for anything to happen as he watched Madam Luna approached, but she was stopped by a rocky cage, sliding up from the ground. She slammed into the side and let out a howl of anger. She stepped back, shaking her head. She tried again and got the same result. She didn¡¯t try for a third time as she paced back and forth in the rocky cage.


    Ralph¡¯s heart thundered in his chest as he stared at the she-wolf. His chest heaved. His mind race. For some odd reason she went after him. He didn¡¯t know why or if he really wanted to know the answer to it. He slowly became aware his hands hurt. He glanced down at them to see white knuckles curled around the handle of the kunai. He forced himself to take a deep and calming breath. It didn¡¯t help. A hand landed on his shoulder causing him to jump.


    ¡°Hey, Ralph,¡± Anakin¡¯s voice reached his ears, ¡°it¡¯s alright. Take a deep breath. It¡¯s over.¡±


    ¡°For now,¡± Ralph muttered, loud enough for the two of them to hear the comment.


    ¡°Yes, for now,¡± Anakin admitted, ¡°But you managed to pull through and made the wise decision to retreat instead of facing an enemy a lot stronger then you are.¡±


    Ralph looked upward at Anakin. He felt his limbs tremble with adrenalin and lingering fear. He never had to face down a wolf like that before. He blinked. Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t have ran from Madam Luna. He glanced at Quill as he walked over to the rocky cage and crunch in front of it, becoming eye level with Madam Luna, staying a few feet away in case she managed to break through the rock cage. She paced back and forth, growling before she tried to break through a rocky bar with her mouth opened wide.


    Anakin continued to speak to Ralph, but Ralph only half listened to the slightly older ninja. What just happened pushed its way to the forefront of his mind. He couldn¡¯t believe he was nearly attacked. This was different from his previous mission and his training. He just became aware how different the missions were from each other. The basic training was a kiddie pool, with the teachers given out warnings before they came at them. This was just the beginning of his ninja career. This was his first brush with death and he had turned and fled, instead of facing it like a true ninja. It didn¡¯t sit right with him.


    ¡°Ralph?¡± He heard his name. He blinked and turned to face his teammates and Anakin. It was Lilian who spoke, ¡°Ralph? Are you alright?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ralph¡¯s voice sounded strange to his ears. He didn¡¯t know how to describe the way it sounded other then it was the same tone one of the caretakers at the Orphanage used when they were teaching about the Village¡¯s history as they droned on about a certain event. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±


    The feeling in Ralph¡¯s gut hardened as he thought how much of a coward he was. His conflict must have showed on his face because Anakin placed a hand on his right shoulder. Ralph looked up at him. Anakin gave him a grin, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s alright. You were taken by surprise and don¡¯t have training to handle an shifter¡¯s attack.¡± He rubbed the back of his head, ¡°Hell, I¡¯m not sure if I could be able to on my second mission.¡± He looked sheepish, ¡°Of course, Master Quill didn¡¯t take us out for a mission until we finished our first month of training with him. Master Raizen is different so I can¡¯t say anything about his teaching style then he thought this was a safe mission.¡±


    Ralph looked at the ground, thinking about Anakin¡¯s words for a long moment before he looked up at Anakin, again.


    ¡°If it helps, the seasonal clean up mission is usually one of the safest missions because the Luna Shifter pack takes care of the trouble makers for us before we get started,¡± Anakin went on, ¡°So, I have no idea why Madam Luna is being aggressive this year. It¡¯s like she is under a jutsu or a spell.¡± His eyes widened in realization.


    ¡°Master!¡± Anakin started to yell when the rocky cage fell apart and Madam Luna lunched herself at Master Quill.


    Master Quill leaped backwards, trying to increase the distance between himself and Madam Luna. He landed on his right foot then he pushed off, bouncing back before he repeated with his left foot. The wolf form of Madam Luna followed.


    Quill¡¯s arm flew to his waist and he pulled out a short blade. It cut the air in a wide arc as Quill put it into a defense position. He widened his stance. He bent his knees. He waited for an attack. However, the she-wolf had other plans.


    Madam Luna paused before she paced back and forth, shaking her large head, causing her fur to fly out. Then her forelegs pushed off the ground, forcing her wolfish body to stand on her hind legs. The fur slowly faded, back into her skin, except for a wide band covering her breasts and her hips. She flexed her hands, but her face didn¡¯t fully transform back to a human looking face. She kept the elongated snout and the sharp teeth. A loud cracking echoed in the stun silence.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Lilian asked. Fear colored her voice as she tried to understand what was going on.


    ¡°Shit,¡± Anakin muttered loud enough for Ralph to hear. Anakin¡¯s voice held some venom.


    ¡°That is a shifter hybrid form,¡± Padme explained, ¡°They are able to pick and chose which characteristics they keep when they transformed into this version. In this case, it looks like Madam Luna decided to keep her claws and teeth.¡± Her voice didn¡¯t hold any emotion as she stared at Madam Luna.


    ¡°Well, then,¡± Enzo commented, ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Can all shifters to that?¡±


    ¡°Not all,¡± Ben answered, ¡°Just the non cursed shifters who are related to creatures called demons.¡±


    Ralph blinked as he took a step back. Did Ben just say demons? There was no way Ben did say that. Demons were just fables told by the highly religious folks over the big church to keep the children in. He was aware they went around informing all of the humans about the Teifings, claiming they were hell spawn demons that needed to killed. Usually, the crap they talked about the Tiefings was ignored, but not the demonic part. However, it didn¡¯t discount the various stories Ralph had heard while he was working in the restaurant business with ninja tellings stories about the Dead End Forest and how strong creatures lived there. Some of the creatures they had talked about were called Demons.


    One ninja had told him when he had asked what was the different between a shifter, a non-human, and a demon; Demons had the canny ability to look human, have unholy strength, and have unique powers to their kind. It was rumored demons lived in another world, linked to Avalon, but none of the ninja Ralph had talked to on the subject have been there. A non-cursed shifter was the result of a relationship of a demon and a human or non-human, depending how many years ago the relationship took place and an event caused awakening of the demon blood.


    An Animal looking non-human, the ninja went on, came from a blessing or a power from the Gods that allow them to encounter with the humankind, but the other non-humans like Elves, Fae, Dwarves, and others chose to encounter with the humanity due to the some of arrangement they had in ancient past. Of course, the ninja had explained a few other things that went over Ralph¡¯s head at the time.


    Ralph stared at Madam Luna. She somehow awakened her demon blood and was able to transform into this hybrid looking creature. He couldn¡¯t believe it. He always thought Demons living nearby was just a story, one that didn¡¯t have any truth behind it.


    ¡°Back up, now!¡± Quill shouted.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Ralph found himself replying with the others, turned and hurried several more feet away. His heart thundered in his chest. His breath caught in his throat. The blood pounded in his ears. He couldn¡¯t believe how a boring cleaning up mission turned into this. An arm extend forward as his fist hit something. That was the only warning he got before he ran into something hard. He bounced backwards and landed on his rear end. He winced. Pain rippled out from where he landed. He glanced over at the others. Enzo and Lilian landed on their rear ends as well, but the more experience team landed in some forms of a crunch.


    Ralph got to his feet and stared at the area in front of him. It was clear. There was nothing there to prevent him from running forward again and trying to get out of the range of Quill¡¯s attacks. He blinked and reached up to touch it. He watched a ripple flowed outward from where he had touch the random space, inches away from his face. He heard Anakin utter a curse word and he felt surprise dart through him as his respect for the other ninja rose. He would have remember that phase. It would be interesting to use sometime.


    ¡°She has allies!¡± Ben called out, ¡°They raised a barrier, Master Quill!¡±


    ¡°They must have done it when we weren¡¯t pay attention,¡± Anakin added. Ralph glanced up at him and saw the annoyed look on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s a barrier?¡± Ralph asked. He had heard the terminology before when he was working in the restaurant and Ninja would come in and complain about a barrier and how it made the mission a lot harder. However, it was never brought up in Basic Training. Maybe Ralph should have had asked about them while he was in training so he could have had a better idea on what they were and how to counteract them.


    Anakin glanced over at him and explained, ¡°A barrier is some type of forcefield created to protect or prevent someone in a certain area. They are hard to break through and usually, there is a mage nearby acting like the conductor for the barrier.¡±


    ¡°So, we just have to find the mage and break their contraction,¡± Ralph said.


    ¡°If it is going to be that easy,¡± Anakin stated, ¡°Yes, it will do the trick.¡± He paused. His eyes scanned the nearby debris hills. ¡°If the mage is interrupted during their spell casting, they would experience a magic backlash.¡± He directed his gaze to the ground, going on, ¡°Unless they are using a rune of some kind as a middle man.¡± Ralph went to open his mouth to ask what Anakin meant by that when he explained, ¡°Some magi use runes as a middleman or a conductor. It¡¯s design to prevent a magic backlash. Instead of the magi taking the hit, the rune does and it simply blows up. Nothing like one of our bombing seals, but it still take off your foot or arm if you are not careful.¡±


    Ralph bleached at that. An explosive rune that had enough power to take off a foot or arm. That had some power to it. It was no wonder why the Basic Training instructors never talked about it. He could name at least three of his former classmates who would have loved to try to create a barrier using a rune to just see for themselves what it did and how it would have worked.


    ¡°Defend yourselves!¡± Quill barked, a sharp note in his voice.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± Madam Luna spoke. Her voice had a sign song note it. ¡°Those silly pups aren¡¯t strong enough to take on my elite team and survive.¡± Ralph could have swore his heart skipped a beat as he heard her voice as it changed. It was a mixture of the shrill tone she had used when she first appeared and a growl. It was unsettlingly. ¡°Attack them, Yukina, Nas, Douglas!¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± three voices rang out. It sounded like there was a female among the three from the higher tone while the remaining two held a deeper throaty note.


    Ralph snapped his head to the right to see an older looking woman, possible in her mid-twenties, jumped down from a debris pile. She wore a pair of dark color pants with a tight sleeveless tunic, showing off her dark mocha, muscular arms. Her braided brunette hair hung over her shoulder. She stared at them with a pair of eager yellow brown eyes. Her feet were bare. He heard a cracking sound as she flexed her hands and her nails elongated into claws. If he had to take a wild guess, that would Yukina.


    Ralph turned his head to look at the shifter approaching Enzo and Ben with cocky stride. He was a tall man with a broad shoulders, a short board and hair style to match, but he didn¡¯t wear a shirt, showing off his muscular chest and sun kissed skin. He wore some sort of slippers on his feet. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck.


    The remaining shifter wore a tight tunic that outlined his chest, but his pants were loose. This shifter was some sort of a fighter. He held himself different then other two as he leaped down from the top of the debris pile. He landed in a crunch and slowly stood up. He stalked toward the girls.


    ¡°Ben,¡± Anakin¡¯s voice held a note of warning. Ralph glanced over at him to see he was staring at the shifter approaching the girls.


    ¡°I know,¡± Ben replied, moving forward already.


    Ralph turned his attention to Lilian and Padme. Lilian looked confused. Padme, on the other hand, stood there with a wide eyes and fear colored her expression. Her hands were curled into fists and they shook. Her lips parted and her chest heaved.


    ¡°I will be your opponent, Douglas,¡± Ben announced. The Tiefling held his shoulders back as he moved to block Douglas¡¯ path toward Padme.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Benny-boy,¡± the fighter looking shifter stated, ¡°I would like to have another round with Padme.¡± Douglas allowed a grin to cross his face. It sent shivers down Ralph¡¯s spine and a flicker of worry through his gut for Lilian. ¡°She was very sweet the last time we fought.¡± Douglas paused. ¡°Of course, I could take the other girl as well. I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t been broke in yet.¡±


    The other male shifter, Nas, laughed, loudly before he grinned, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind sharing, Douggie, I could help breaking the innocent one in as well.¡±


    Ralph narrowed his eyes. He didn¡¯t like how this Nas fella was talking about the girls. He glanced at the girls to see Lilian look at the male shifters in disgust as understanding dawned on Enzo¡¯s face.


    ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± Enzo announced, ¡°And you call yourself men? More like immature little boys who take what they want when they don¡¯t get their way.¡± The insult made Nas to fall silent and Douglas to send a glare at Enzo. The son of the local blacksmith to go on, ¡°You are pathetic bullies. No way why your parents didn¡¯t love you when you were younger and were so eager to cast you aside like yesterdays trash.¡±


    Ralph hummed, wondering if Enzo actually knew them or not. In the end, it didn¡¯t matter. What Enzo did was working. He hoped Enzo knew what he was doing since his teammate had earned the ire of Douglas.


    ¡°You know what,¡± Douglas started, but Enzo cut him off, ¡°I know a lot of things. What do you want to know, Dougie-boy?¡±


    Douglas let out a growl, ¡°I changed my mind. Ben and your bitch-boy are going down.¡± He charged at Ben.


    ¡°I think I will help you, Doug,¡± Nas announced and darted at Enzo with a fist held up to his shoulder, but Anakin stepped in his path, cupping the fist.


    ¡°Na,¡± Anakin said, ¡°How about you fight me, puppy?¡± Nas growled, but he threw a punch at the blonde¡¯s face. Anakin moved his head out of the way.


    Ralph glanced at Enzo, but his teammate moved to back up Ben. He shrugged and followed Anakin¡¯s lead. He did peak at Lilian. She stood beside Padme, trying to get some sort of reaction of the other female ninja until she noticed the last of the trio, Yukina, walk toward her. She slid into a defensive stance, waiting. Padme didn¡¯t move as fights broke out.

 Chapter 17 Fight for your life

    ¡°Padme,¡± Lilian placed her hand on the other teen girl¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Snap out of it.¡± She glanced to see the female shifter walking closer to them. ¡°Padme!¡±


    She didn¡¯t know what to do. She didn¡¯t expect a mission to go south. She knew missions would go bad, but this early in her career? It seemed impossible since the only missions she would be taking would happen in the village, not some remote part of the Kingdom. It should have been safe to take missions.


    Tears filled her eyes as she looked pleading up at Padme and tried to get her to snap out of it. The other teen didn¡¯t move as her eyes were glued to the large shifted named Douglas. Lilian took a breath trying to calm her shaky nerves. She turned to face the female shifter.


    She remembered hearing the name of the female. It had to be the female name..Yukina, right? She widened her stance and pulled out a pair of kunai, holding them in front of her. She had defend Padme until the other teen managed to snap out of it, even thought Lilian questioned if she would.


    She sucked in a deep breath. She steadied her nerves and stared at the approaching shifter.


    Yukina paused and let out a giggle before she spoke, ¡°Well, sweetheart, you are going to be fun to play with.¡± Yukina flickered her long icy blond hair over a shoulder before she widened her stance and hunched forward as she started to shake. Icy blond fur grew from her form rapidly.


    Lilian held back a wince as she felt the color drain from her face when she heard the popping of bones. That had to be painful. She watched Yukina¡¯s body twisted into a deformed version of a wolf. Yukina landed on her forepaws and shook her head causing her icy blond fur to fly around.


    Lilian¡¯s heart leaped to her throat as she watched the she-wolf stalk them. She wondered if her second kill would be easier then the first. She fought to keep her hands steady, trying to hid the fear she felt in the face of the possibility of killing again. She noticed Yukina walking toward her expose side. She didn¡¯t know if the enemy wanted to take a bit out of Padme or not, but she reacted the same. She took a side step, trying to stay between Padme and Yukina as she mentally went over the jutsu she knew.


    Thanks to her family, she knew a number of them and had master them, especially after she had informed her father of her elemental affinities. Her family wasn¡¯t surprised in learning about them. Her father had claimed Lilian had shown them for years, but he didn¡¯t feel it was the right time to teach her about them until she exited Basic Training and had promised when she had a few days off in a row, he would train her how to use the family techniques in those elemental affinities. That was something she could do, but she figured now, with the mission going south inside the village walls, she could be put on bed rest for a couple days by the Nurses, assuming she survived this encounter.


    The sound of dirt shifting reached Lilian¡¯s ears and she blinked, turning her attention back to the shifted Yukina. Yukina arched her back, her maul opened wide, and a blue light filled her opened mouth. Lilian gulped. The rumor of the Luna Shifter clan having a fire spitter was true.


    Putting her kunai away, Lilian spun and grabbed Padme around her waist, pushing the older teen onto her shoulder before she pushed off the ground. Padme jerked and Lilian heard her gasp in surprise as they flew in the air, dodging the stream of blue flames a few feet below.


    Padme gasped Lilian¡¯s name as gravity forced them back to the ground and Lilian immediately went into a crunch, setting Padme back down onto her feet. Padme straightened up and met Lilian¡¯s eyes before she nodded her thanks then she turned her attention at the she-wolf and the situation they were in.


    Lilian stood up and faced Yukina, pulling out her kunai, spreading her stance out. She chewed on her bottom lip. She had some of her family¡¯s unique poisons in a random pouch, disguised as tea packets. The problem she faced was how to use them because she was drawing a blank. She was taught how to use the poisons in the various drinks, thanks to her family¡¯s history with tea making, but not in battle. It was something not covered in Basic Training, in general.


    However, the Kunoichi Classes was a different story. All of the female ninja had to take a special class, going over the more unique and dangerous aspects of being a female ninja. Lilian had learned how to defend herself from a possible rapist, but their teacher had warned the techniques taught don¡¯t always work for various factors and simply said, in a warning tone, there were ways to around the defensive techniques. When it came to poisons, Lilian had shined, often being called on when she knew the answer and her mother had been invited to teach the Kunoichi Class over the different poisons.


    She sighed, going through her supply of poison, mentally. She knew she had Bloodroot, Foxglove, Wolf¡¯s Bane, Larkspur, various lilies, and Morning Glory. Most of the poisons eventually led to death, but it would slow, starting off with hallucination before it would transition to vomiting or diarrhea and perhaps organ failure, depending on which floral poison she used.


    Her mind darted through the various combinations as she glanced toward Quill to see he was in the middle of his battle. She couldn¡¯t ask him if she had permission to use deathly poisons. Deciding to take the risk, she directed her gaze back to the she-wolf and sucked in a shock breath as the she-wolf leaped at Lilian with her jaws opened.


    Padme slid between Lilian and Yukina with a short blade up, along her arm. Yukina¡¯s eyes widened, but it was too late as her maul latched onto Padme¡¯s forearm and the short blade bit into the corners of Yukina¡¯s mouth. She growled as she landed on her hind legs before she jumped backwards. Blood trailed down from the corners of her lips. Yukina glared at Padme as she licked at her wounds and half turned before she stalked the two ninja in a circle. Padme and Lilian followed her, keeping the she-wolf in their sights.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Lilian glanced at Padme before she slowly reached to her pouch on her waist for a mixture of poisons.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Padme replied. She didn¡¯t take her gaze off of Yukina. She took a step toward the she-wolf before she launched herself at her opponent. She swung her short blade from left to right, once she knew her blade would reach Yukina.


    Yukina crunched under the blade as it cut the air above her. She leaped up with her mouth open wide.


    Padme dodged to the right, allowing Yukina to sail past her and twisted around, not showing her back as Yukina landed and shifted halfway between a wolf and a human. Fur covered Yukina¡¯s chest and hips while her mouth held the sharp teeth of a wolf and her hand were covered by fur and ended with claws as nails.


    Lilian frowned at Yukina. She didn¡¯t think the she-wolf would have the ability to do that. From what she had studied of the shifters, depending on what kind of animal they could shift to, the origins of the ability was granted to them by an extremely powerful demon many years. She shook her head. She could think about that later. She charged Yukina. She threw a small ball of poisonous flowers at Yukina¡¯s head. It exploded a few seconds away from hitting the shifter in the head, scattering the poison in the air.


    Hoping that would work, Lilian took a deep breath before she disappeared into the cloud of flowers and raised her right fist over her shoulder. She saw Yukina suck in a breath then shake her head. Lilian drove her fist forward into Yukina¡¯s cheek. She tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her knuckles as she followed through the right hook. She felt a rush of pride went through her. It had been a while she had gotten into a physical fight with someone else outside of training and she often wondered how well she would do in an actually fight.


    Yukina¡¯s head went to the left as she turned, stumbling to the left. She growled then coughed. She recovered and glared at Lilian, anger flashing across her expression. She crunched and threw a punch into Lilian¡¯s midsection. It landed, hard.


    Lilian gasped as her breath rushed out of her. She wanted to bend forward, to protect her stomach. She remembered her older cousins¡¯ lessons when it came to fighting - Don¡¯t drop your guard. She took a step back, fighting the urge to cover her stomach and keep her arms up in a guard. She stepped to the left, covering her right side. Her hands went through a basic Earth Jutsu sign as she gathered the spiritual energy needed to preform the attack.


    Padme jumped at Yukina, her leg swinging up. Yukina lend out of the way. The older kunoichi muttered a curse as she landed and spun on the balls of her feet and brought her sword blade around in a low arc. She had been hoping that would work to help slow the she-wolf shifter down.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Yukina rolled her eyes with annoyance as she flipped backwards over the blade. She landed on her hands, momentarily, then swung her legs over and stood up right. She didn¡¯t know how much power to put behind her attacks, not used to holding back while she was fighting. She didn¡¯t want to kill any of the ninja since they had, technically, a treaty with the Hidden Bark Ninja, but something had changed with Madam Luna, in the last couple days. She had been ordered to attack the ninja when they started to clean for the day. She knew Douglas had wanted to go after the older Kunoichi, to finish the job he had started


    Coughing slightly, she glanced toward where her Alpha was fighting with Master Quill in a deadly dance of claws and blades. She sighed then had to fight a coughing fit. She turned her attention back to the two kunoichi. She spotted the younger one, Lilian, pause on a hand sign and frowned, thinking, before she felt the ground rumble beneath her feet. She glanced down see cracks forming around her. She crunched and pushed off the ground. The ground opened up when she left the ground. She raised an eyebrow at the amount of power Lilian had used. She recognized the jutsu as Fissure Earth.


    In normally circumstance, Fissure Earth was often used in the farm land to create long narrow rows to plants their crops in the spring and early summer. Yukina had spent a few summers working on some of the farm lands the Luna Pack had on the edge of the Village. However, this time was different, the attack Fissure Earth rippled out.


    Lilian¡¯s eyes widened. She knew what she did wrong. She had used too much power in the attack and the jutsu was spreading out toward the other fights. She cursed. She didn¡¯t know a way to counteract the jutsu. She was sure there was a way to do it, but she hadn¡¯t had the time to research it. She hoped the others would be able to get to safety or at least avoid falling into the fissure. She glanced at her teammates and saw one branch of the spreading fissures were heading toward Ralph. She screamed his name.


    Enzo glanced at Ben. He didn¡¯t know what exactly happened between Douglas, Padme, and Ben. However, he knew it didn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what had happened. Padme stood there, frozen like a wild animal. The fear in her eyes was gut wrenching to Enzo. He knew what had caused that fear, the reason why she stood a bit closer to the men on her team and away from him, Ralph, and Raizen. It was disgraceful for a male to do that to a female. It didn¡¯t matter how race, or social status. Females were precious. They were the reason families happened, how a house transformed into a home, and in Enzo¡¯s household, his mother¡¯s word was law and be respected until he moved out and took a wife, then his wife¡¯s word was law and be respected. He was planning to raise his son the same way.


    Enzo grabbed a scroll he had bough the other day on his day off. It was a simple storage scroll. He placed a knee on to the ground and opened the scroll, letting it unroll a few feet. He didn¡¯t have much to store inside the scroll, yet, but he was planning to change that. He bit his thumb, drawing blood before he pressed it against one of the storage scrolls. A series of leaves erupted up from the seal. Once the leaves settled, Enzo saw he had summoned his spiked ball and chain. He smirked. He was still trying to memorize which seal he had storage his weapons.


    The spike ball and chain was one of his favorite weapons. He had been working on mastering it for nearly half a year now. It was the prefect weapon for both close quarters fighting and range, despite the fact it was clunky to use and it took a lot of strength to handle. He had learned, the hard way, if he wasn¡¯t careful, he could easily destroy something important. He reflected, briefly, on his punishment for destroying the item important to his father and ended up cleaning the entire blacksmith shop. A task that took him nearly a week to do and during his school break after that, he had to help his father build the item. That had took nearly a month to do.


    Enzo straightened up, holding the handles of his weapons, letting the chain connecting them hang in front of him. He was excited for the chance to use his weapons. He hadn¡¯t been able to use them, yet. Mostly due to the fact, this was his second mission, but his real fight as a ninja. He took a breath to calm his excitement. He could enjoy a fight, but he worried if he got too excited, he would mess up and do something stupid.


    ¡°So, you two are going to protect what is left of that whore¡¯s honor?¡± Douglas laughed, ¡°She doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a whore,¡± Ben¡¯s voice held a hint of a growl in it as he spoke, ¡°She deserves to be protected and cherished, just all women. You will pay for what you did - with your life.¡±


    Douglas grinned at Ben when he spoke, ¡°Were you planning to make that whore your wife, worthless ninja?¡± he shook his head unimpressed, ¡°I should have finished the job and slit her fucking -¡° he grunted in pain.


    Enzo saw the glint of mental flying through the air before Douglas¡¯s voice was cut off by the grunt of pain as one of Ben¡¯s kunai sunk into his shoulder. Blood flew into the air and trailed down from the cut. He turned his attention to Ben.


    Ben had a stoic expression, but his eyes blazed with fury. He stood, still, with his arm outstretch in front of him. The air around felt a bit to warm for Enzo, despite the fact he had grown up with a forge attached to his house and often had to help his father with his workload when he had the free time. Ben dropped his arm and growled, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have even touched her in the beginning, you worthless pile of flies.¡± He half turned and walked to Douglas¡¯s right.


    Enzo¡¯s eyes darted back and forth. He didn¡¯t know if he should get involved or not. From the way it looked, Ben was more invested in protecting Padme then just averaging a teammate. If that was the case, Enzo probably should stay out of it. However, if it was just averaging a teammate and defending a woman¡¯s honor, he could jump in and help. He didn¡¯t know what to do, but he tightened his hold on his weapons and half turned, going to Douglas¡¯ left. He glanced at Ben, but the older ninja either didn¡¯t see him or didn¡¯t want to acknowledge him.


    Ben lunched himself across the space between himself and Douglas with his red color fist raised high. He brought it forward and slammed it into Douglas¡¯ cheek.


    Douglas grinned as he stood still. His eyes sparkled with a joy. He spoke in a gravelly voice, ¡°Nice punch. I can do one better.¡± He curled his right fist and punched upward.


    Ben jumped back, avoiding Douglas¡¯ first attack. His hands flew a series of hand signs and flames erupted around his fists. He lunched himself back at Douglas before he threw a series of punches at Douglas. His expression was cold while his eyes glowed with an internal fire.


    Douglas¡¯ eyes widened and tried to dodge the flaming punches. He brought his arms up in order to defense him. He grunted whenever Ben managed to land a fiery punch. He lend to the side and managed to throw a right hook at Ben.


    Ben cocked his head to the side. The right hook sailed past his cheek. He stepped forward and drove his left fist into Douglas¡¯ midsection. Douglas took several steps back. Ben didn¡¯t allow him to recover and kept pushing him back.


    Enzo¡¯s jaw dropped. He couldn¡¯t believe Ben or anyone was capable of doing that. He really thought Ben was a sword-user with a limited jutsu abilities, but he was wrong. He noticed Douglas backed up toward him and he tightened his grip on his weapons. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his thundering heart. He couldn¡¯t believe he was about to have his first real fight.


    Ben continued to drive Douglas toward Enzo. Once Douglas stepped into Enzo¡¯s battle zone, Enzo brought the spike ball behind him. He took another deep breath and snapped his arm forward. The spike ball arched up before it flew down. It racked down Douglas¡¯ back. The ball landed on the ground with a thud and a small dust cloud rose.


    Douglas let out a pained filled yell. He arched forward. Ben paused and took a deep breath. The flames on his hands expanded. The older ninja strike out and landed a hard punch along Douglas¡¯ jaw. There was a crack. Douglas¡¯ scream increased as flames licked up Douglas¡¯ skull. He side stepped, trying to avoid Enzo and Ben as he tried to put out the flames with his hands. However, the fire engulfing Douglas¡¯ head turned blue as it flickered and grew.


    Enzo watched, frozen in place. Horror filled his being. His eyes widened. His breath came out ragged and harsh. He knew what the fire was doing. It was cooking Douglas¡¯ head to a crisp. The scent of burnt flesh swept through the area. It caused Enzo¡¯s stomach to roll. He dropped the handle for the spike ball and lifted his hand to cover his mouth and nose. It smelt horrible.


    Douglas¡¯ screams died away. His knees gave way and hit the ground. The rest of his body slammed against the dirt. The blue fire faded away into smoke. He didn¡¯t move.


    Enzo wanted to walk over and check to see if Douglas was breathing, but he didn¡¯t. He watched Douglas¡¯ back to see if it moved. It didn¡¯t. He glanced over at Ben.


    Ben unclenched his fists. The flames went out as a small stream of smoke rose up. Enzo blinked, surprise, as he finally noticed there was a faint golden glow surround Ben. That must have been the Tiefling¡¯s rage, he mused. He had heard rumors of Tieflings¡¯ glowing rage. It was a power unique to their race. Ben must have inherited from the Tiefling parent he had. Enzo didn¡¯t know if it was his mother or father.


    Right now, Enzo didn¡¯t want to ask. He didn¡¯t want to bring that rage on to himself. He glanced back at the body of Douglas. He had the smell of burning flesh in his nose. He rubbed at it, trying to clear it of that sickening scent. He had a hand in this. He had helped to kill Douglas. He wondered briefly if he could count that as his first kill or not. He would figure that out later.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ben¡¯s voice rang out as he placed a hand on Enzo¡¯s shoulder.


    Enzo jumped. He wasn¡¯t expecting Ben to do that. He looked up at the older and taller ninja before he nodded, not trusting himself to speak.


    ¡°Was that your first kill?¡± Ben asked.


    Enzo nodded as he fiddled with the chain of his weapon. He didn¡¯t know if he needed to keep it out or not. He glanced toward the other fights.


    Ralph and Anakin was still facing off against Nas. So far, the fight appeared to be in Nas¡¯ favor.


    Lilian stood off to the side in her fight against the female shifter as she preformed a series of hand signs. Padme had her short sword out and tried to slice her enemy to pieces, but she was having trouble.


    Master Quill faced against Madam Luna and they traded a series of blows as they fought. It was amazing to watch Quill, a skilled sword master, to fight against a shifter.


    There was a faint rumbling sound as the ground shook. Enzo and Ben grabbed a hold of each other in order to keep their balance. Enzo glanced at the battle field, hoping one of the ninja managed to find the barrier rune and managed to destroyed it, but he saw the reflective shield still up.


    ¡°RALPH!!! WATCH OUT!¡± Lilian screamed across the battle field. Enzo spun and saw the ground had a series of fissures, spreading out like cracks on a windowpane. He wondered which jutsu Lilian had used to do that. He sucked in a breath. He reached down and grabbed the handle of his spiked ball. He ran.

 Chapter 18 The Thiefs Battle

    It didn¡¯t take him long to find the series of documents he wanted, but he didn¡¯t expect them to be under a seal. He sighed. He wished it had been easier, but where would be the fun in that, he questioned. He studied the seal. It was a basic locking seal. He blinked. He couldn¡¯t believe a simple locking seal was protecting the series of documents leading to the Isuma Clan¡¯s destruction. He wanted to laugh. He would find out the truth behind that night and see if he was related to the Isuma Clan. He knew he was. His Master had informed him of his blood relation. However, it didn¡¯t stop that feeling in his gut telling something was wrong. He would figure it out.


    He wanted to open the seal and start reading the documents, but he didn¡¯t know how much longer he would have before his jutsu wore off on Madam Luna and her loyal pack. He knew Madam Luna would inform the Ninja of what he did to them. The Black Hands would be on him within minutes after they get word of what happened. He was a decent fighter, but he was no where skilled enough to take on the Black Hands. He shoved the scrolls involving the Isuma Clan into a storage scroll he had brought with him, just in case.


    It took him longer then he would have liked to put every scroll he managed to find about the Isuma Clan into the storage scroll. He had to keep searching through the various boxes for the 2013 year. Somebody had been kind enough to label some of the boxes with the month, but there were several boxes with the same month. He had assumed they were in order from the way the person who had organized the boxes had them numbered as well. He kept glancing toward the front of the room to the secret Library door. He strained his ears to hear if anyone was approaching.


    ¡®So far, so good,¡¯ he thought as he rolled up the scroll and placed it in his pack. He put everything back, trying to make it look like it wasn¡¯t mess with. Secrecy was important right now. The longer it took for someone to realized someone had been in the Secret Library, the more time he had to get away from the Hidden Bark Village. He wanted to be as far as from the Village when that happened.


    He didn¡¯t know if there had been any break-in to the Secret Library before. There was a chance Lord Jackson wouldn¡¯t have announced it because it was the Lord of the Hidden Bark¡¯s personal library filled to the brim of dark dealings of the Village. When he was younger, he had heard rumors of it, but nothing with hard evidence of such a library existing until he had a deal with his Master.


    His mysterious master knew a lot of the Hidden Bark Village and even acted like he had been to the Hidden Village in the past when there was another lording over the Hidden Village. When the thief had tried to questioned him about it, he had been punished. It was a lesson he didn¡¯t forget. However, it didn¡¯t lesson the urge to know who his mysterious master was and how he came by his knowledge of the Bark Village. He allowed his mysterious master to vent about certain things over the Bark Village. His master had once complained it was a strong village with no master lording over it, the last time he had been living there or the village clans had a weak alliance with each other and often fought or raided the other clans for food, water, and wives. His master had claimed it had been a wonderful time to be a ninja, but he would change the subject soon afterwards. The thief had spent many sleepless nights, pouring through his memory of the various History classes he had been forced to attend for an answer. It didn¡¯t help. He didn¡¯t know who his mysterious master could be. He shook his head. There was no use in reflecting right now. He had to get out of the village before he was discovered.


    He stood up and walked to the front of the room. He knew taking the same route he had used to get into the Secret Library was risky, but using the other route involved going through the Lord of the Hidden Bark¡¯s Office held more risk, despite the fact, it was probably faster.


    He paused at the end of every bookcase and peered around to check the aisle way was clear before he moved on. He didn¡¯t dare move fast through the library right now. He worried if he did, there would be some sort of alarm set off due to his movement speed. However, the moment he reached the end of the aisle way he had been working, he felt a strange prickling sensation on his back. He glanced over his shoulder to see if he had been spotted. He frowned when he didn¡¯t see anything in the shadows of the library. He took a breath and grabbed one of his special kunai. He half turned and threw down the aisle way, aiming it high. He watched it arched down after a bit and landed in the wooden floor with a thud.


    He turned, grabbing another kunai. This one wasn¡¯t special. He didn¡¯t have many special kunai left. His master had the ability to make more and it would be something he would have to bring up the next time he saw his master in person. He tightened his grip on the handle and slowly peered around the edge of the bookcase. He frowned when he didn¡¯t see anyone there.


    The prickling sensation didn¡¯t faded. He turned to look behind him. There wasn¡¯t anyone there. He looked deadpan when he thought about looking up. Didn¡¯t he just argue a hour or two ago that no body looks up when they were searching for someone? He slowly raised his head to look at the top of the bookcases.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    A pair of floating golden eyes watched him from on top of a bookcase.


    He blinked as he stared at the floating eyes. A chill went up his spine. That was the most eeriy thing he had ever seen in his life. He wanted to use some sort of light to figure out what those eyes belong to, but it could possible give away his position or alert someone that there was a person in the secret library that shouldn¡¯t be there. He took a step and hoped, extending his right arm up. His hand cupped the edge of the bookcase and he placed a foot on a shelf, hoping it would support his weight. He pulled himself upward and spotted a black cat. He gasped.


    A black cat had been sitting on the bookcase. That had to be a bad sign.


    The cat arched its back and hissed. Anger flashing in its eyes. It turned and pushed off the edge of the bookcase and landed on the next one before the feline repeated the motion, heading to a spiral staircase on the far side of the room.


    His jaw dropped as he watched the cat. That was bad. If the cat managed to alert someone to the fact he was in the secret library, he would have more trouble on his hands then he would know what to do with. He sat on the bookcase and threw a leg over the other side so he was straddling the bookcase. He grappled with a pouch and pulled out kunai. He didn¡¯t bother looking at the kunai before he threw. A second later he wished he had took the time to glance at it.


    The kunai had a paper bomb attached to it. The paper bomb was special designed to have enough fire power to destroy a wall.


    He swung his leg back over and jumped down from the bookcase. He landed in a crunch and turned to face the doorway. He ran. He was inches away from the door when the paper bomb exploded with ear-ringing boom.


    The room shook. A series of loud bangs echoed through the room. He lost his footing and fell forward. The bookcase fell away from the paper bomb. He groaned as he curled up into a ball. He hoped that fucking cat died. The room stopped shaking. He lifted his head and peered toward the spiral staircase.


    He shook his head in amazement as he saw the damage the paper bomb made. A gapping hole in the floor of the Lead¡¯s office allowed light to flood the room. The bookcases closest to the paper bomb were blown back and tipped over on their sides. He heard voices ringing down from the Head Office as he took noticed some of the bookcase were on fire. That added some more danger to leaving the Government Tower alive and free.


    ¡°What the hell happened?¡±


    ¡°Is it an attack?¡±


    ¡°It is the Madam Luna Pack?¡±


    The thief watched a figure drop into the room. The robe he wore floated out behind him as he fell. He landed on one of the tipped over bookcases and turned his head back and forth.


    The thief didn¡¯t dare move. He knew that was. Lord Jackson, the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village and the most powerful ninja the Village had to offer. The thief resisted the urge to whimper. He had grew up, hearing how powerful Lord Jackson became during the last war the Village had to fight in. An ice like feeling spread through his torso. How the hell would he be able to escape the Village if the Lord of the Bark Village on his tail?! He shook his head, trying to clear it. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves.


    He watched as the Lord of the Hidden Bark peered through the Secret Library as several of the Black Hands dropped down to join Lord Jackson and started to put out the fires with their water jutsus. His ears picked up the sound of running footsteps, coming from the hallway leading to the Secret Library. He felt the color draining from his face and he slowly turned his head to stare at the closed doorway. He slowly moved to the nearest tipped bookcase and wiggled into the space created by the bookcase landing on its neighbor. He rolled onto his stomach and slipped under the bookcase, silently thanking whichever god watching over him as he found himself in a shelf area. He controlled his breathing and saw the door swung inward to reveal several pairs of feet stepping into the room.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    ¡°The library wasn¡¯t like this when we left it a hour ago.¡±


    ¡°That sounded like an overpowered paper bomb.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The feet approached before they stopped.


    ¡°Lord Bark!¡± they snapped. The thief knew they had saluted once they had spotted Lord Jackson.


    ¡°At ease,¡± Lord Jackson said. The thief squeezed his eyes shut as the bookcase groaned and pressed down on him as there was a heavy weight land on the other side of the bookcase. ¡°Have you seen the person who did this?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± they replied. Their voices were strong as they spoke.


    ¡°We were patrolling hallways. We already check the library nearly an hour ago, sir,¡± one of the guards explained. One of them continued to talk, but the thief tuned them out.


    He rose an eyebrow, looking at the feet in surprise. He had been inside the government tower for nearly a hour. He frowned and thought about it. He bobbed his head up and down. It made sense. He had traveled through a secret back door to the tower to the library before he had even started his search for the Isuma Clan papers. He blinked and he narrowed his eyes as he spotted a set of paws walking around the edge of the book case.


    The black cat had survived that explosion. The thief wanted to reach and struggled the hairball. The cat crunch down and peered at him. It meowed before the accursed creature started to paw at the thief, hiding under the bookcase.


    The thief noticed the voices had stopped talking. The weight on the bookcase shifted and the footsteps moved over the bookcase. The thief saw a third set of feet appear before the colors representing the Hidden Bark Villages on the robe of the Lord Bark settled around his ankles. The thief wanted to curse.


    ¡°What is it, Sirius?¡± Lord Jackson asked. His hand reached and stretched the black cat¡¯s head. The cat looked up at Lord Jackson before he peered under the bookcase, meowed, and extended a paw, trying to swipe at the thief.


    The thief silently cursed as a knee appeared and placed against the wooden floor and fingers curled around the edge.

 Chapter 19: Master Quill vs Madam Luna

    Quill Rogers leap into the air and flipped over the charging shifter. He landed in a crunch and twisted around on the balls of his feet. He watched as Madam Luna skidded to a halt and faced him. He rolled his shoulders back. He didn¡¯t dare take his attention off Madam Luna. She was the most dangerous enemy within the barrier. He had to trust the rest of the teams nearby to figure out where the Barrier Holder was hiding and kill them before his students and himself ended up dead by the shifters¡¯ hands. He had to trust his students as well to help Team 17 fend off the shifters. He had taught his students the best he could at their level. He took a deep breath and push thoughts away. He had focus on the here and now, just like his own teacher had often stressed when he tried to look ahead at the future.


    Quill reached over his right shoulder and pulled out his sword. It escaped with a hiss of metal scraping against the leather. He positioned the sword at angle in front of his chest. It was the best way to ensure a defensive and attacking stance. He waited, thinking. Usually, the seasonal clean up missions was one of the safest missions to bring new students on because the Luna Shifter Tribe took care of the Trouble makers before they had arrive. This time, it was different. He didn¡¯t think Madam Luna would attack anyone. In the past, she had tried to avoid that, citing her pack wasn¡¯t strong enough or had the numbers to do a successfully attack on the Hidden Bark Village, even though some of the younger shifters thought otherwise.


    Madam Luna growled. Her amber eyes flashed. She turned and walked around in a circle. Quill followed her, keeping her in front of him. It would be dangerous if she managed to get behind him. They walked in a circle until they were back in their original positions. The pile remains of the rack cage he had made sat in the middle between the two. Quill had thought Madam Luna would have stopped her attack if she was locked away. He wasn¡¯t surprised that she had managed to break out. Earth Jutsus wasn¡¯t his strong suit. However, the way she was acting, it was like she was under some sort of Jutsu or spell. His eyes widened with that realization. He knew what he had to do.


    Quill brought his sword up by his right shoulder and leap forward two feet, closing the distance between himself and Madam Luna. The Alpha snapped her jaw at him, but didn¡¯t fall for his faint. Her eyes darted between himself, the sword, and the fights breaking out behind him. He jumped forward, this time closing the distance. He pulled his left hand away from the sword hilt and preform a serious of hand signs, one handed before he slapped his hand back onto the sword hilt. A mini cyclone wrapped his sword blade and he swung it at Madam Luna, sending a series of wind blades.


    Madam Luna tried to leap backwards, but she couldn¡¯t move fast enough as the wind blades from the mini cyclone cut through the air and sliced in her fur. One of the wind blades cut home on her hind leg, sending blood through the air and spattering against the ground.


    Quill watched Madam Luna¡¯s eyes as they flashed between to the lovely shade of green summer grass and amber. Luna shook her head and she looked at him with angry amber eyes. She charged at him. His mind race. He had to figure out a way to stop her. He bit back a curse as he realize the option he had. he brought his blade in a defensive position between himself and Luna, but he held back on his speed.


    She bit down on his left forearm. He cursed as pain rippled up his arm. His left hand let go of the sword, concealing the wind jutsu. His right hand allowed the sword to slip from his gasp. The sword fell point first into the ground. One of Luna¡¯s forepaws landed on his chest, trying to push him onto the ground. He grabbed it with his left hand and held tightly. She looked surprise as her eyes darted up at him. He grinned and said, ¡°Sorry for this.¡± He punched her hard in the side of her head, once. Her jaw tightened on his arm as her eyes become unfocused for a moment then refocused. He tried it again, bit harder. He achieved the same result. He punched the side of her head for a third time and watched with some grim satisfaction as her eyes rolled up in her head and her jaw loosen. He lowered her to the ground. He ignored the blood running down his arm as he formed the two hand sign for release, summon the correct amount of spiritual power then he pushed it away from him and Madam Luna.


    Quill heard a gasp from Madam Luna as her eyes snapped open to reveal they had returned to the summer green grass. She looked up at him for a moment then she shaky stood on her legs and shifted back to her humanoid form. Quill glanced down at her and felt heat rush to his face. He reached up and tugged off his jacket before he offered it to her.


    She chuckled, ¡°I forgot how prude you non-shifters were.¡±


    ¡°Not all of us enjoy running around in the nude, Madam Luna,¡± Quill shoot back, ¡°However, I need you to stop your tribe from running amok in the village.¡±


    ¡°That could be somewhat difficult,¡± Madam Luna admitted as she wrapped herself up in Quill¡¯s jacket. ¡°The asshole who put me under his jutsu also put the rest of the pack under their own jutsus.¡±


    Quill hummed, thinking about that. That was impressive feat when he thought about it. It required a huge amount of spiritual power to keep one under their control for a certain amount of time, but an entire pack. ¡°How long have you been under the jutsu?¡±


    ¡°Since late last night,¡± Madam Luna stood up. Quill¡¯s jacket rested on her upper thighs. ¡°He took us by surprise. He managed to catch myself and my Beta in the jutsu first and had us order the rest of the pack into submission before he cast his spell.¡±


    ¡°Any clue on where he could be at, now,¡± Quill asked. That give him some insight on who the culprit could be.


    ¡°Nope,¡± Luna growled, ¡°He didn¡¯t share his plans with us, just the fact when the Ninja teams arrived to preform the seasonal clean up, we were to attack them.¡±


    ¡°Damn,¡± he muttered. He looked at the various fights. Padme and Lilian had been able to defeat Yukina, but he spotted a large fissure spreading across the battle field. Ben was talking softly to Enzo as their opponent lay on the ground with a pool of blood spreading out. Ralph and Anakin were still fighting their opponent. ¡°It would appear you already lost of your pack.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Madam Luna sighed, ¡°I will lose more before the day¡¯s end if we don¡¯t hurry.¡± The two hurried over to Ralph and Anakin.


    Unaware of what was going on with the Seasonal Clean up, Raizen sat at the kitchen table, looking over the Hidden Bark Newspaper when there was a sharp rapid pounding on Raizen¡¯s front door. He frowned as he looked up, glancing at the clock. It was nearly lunch time. His wife, Keiko, half turned away from the stove, giving him a curious look.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think your students show up until dinner time,¡± she stated.


    ¡°They¡¯re not suppose to,¡± he explained, ¡°It must be something else.¡± He stood up from the kitchen chair and winced as he pulled on his wound. He still couldn¡¯t believe he was caught off guard by that one armed man and his mysterious weapon. He was lucky that the village was able to provide a short term paid leave so he could heal up, but it still might his students was taking missions. He mentally winced at that. He needed to be their teacher, not be at home sitting on his ass, healing up, but he knew if he didn¡¯t take the time to heal up, now, he would regret it later. Besides, he had promise his wife he would be a lot more careful on his various missions so he could be around to help raise their children.


    Raizen opened the door and saw one of the Ninja messengers standing on the welcome mat. A quick, analyzing glance over the messenger informed him whatever news was brought was not good. The Messenger panted hard with sweat trailing down from his hairline. His eyes were wide and wild, looking as he glanced over his shoulder. Raizen heard a howl in the distant. He frowned. Wasn¡¯t that the Luna Shift tribe? He knew Madam Luna had given the Hidden Bark Village permission to clean up the Gray Distinct a part of their treaty requirements. There was another howl. It sounded much closer this time then the previous sound. The Messenger glanced over his shoulder and Raizen spoke as he sensed his wife walking behind him and peered over his shoulder, ¡°What is the matter?¡±


    ¡°The Luna Shifter Tribe has attacked the Village,¡± the Messenger informed Raizen, ¡°They are moving toward the Government Tower.¡± The Messenger panted, ¡°Right now, we do not know their motives, but Lord Jackson has required everyone who is able to stand and fight to do so. The civilians are ordered to Shelter in Place until the order for all clear is given. The Retired Ninja are ordered to stand guard on the rooftops and be ready to defend the Civilian areas with their lives, including the nearby Hospitals. The expecting females and females with young children are ordered to report to the closest Hospital where they will be protected by the Police Force and three Teams of Black Hands.¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± Keiko whispered. They both knew it was a serious matter. The last time, a such call went out was several years ago when the Village was attacked by a rival village. At the time, Raizen and his wife didn¡¯t have to worry about a possible miscarriage and they both had to be on the front lines, but now, it was different. He wouldn¡¯t be able to watch his wife¡¯s back.


    ¡°We acknowledge the orders,¡± Raizen replying not only for himself, but for his wife as well. The sound of pounding feet alerted them to the enemy. Raizen looked up as the Messenger turned. A large black wolf the size of a small black bear flew up the dirt covered street toward Raizen¡¯s house. ¡°Inside now!¡± Raizen barked, stepping aside. Keiko stepped back as the Messenger stumbled inside the house. Raizen slammed the door, locking it. He walked past Keiko, heading to the front closet where he kept some of his ninja weapons and other supplies. He slipped on his vest before he slammed his feet into his boots. He laced them as fast as he could. He glanced up at his wife.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Keiko bit her thumb and placed it in a small rune circle. The rune glowed purple and spread, going up and down around the door frame, activating the series of protection runes Keiko had been putting in place there since she had left active service. Raizen had agreed to it since Keiko had made enemies throughout her time as a Black Hand. Anything to protect her and their future children.


    There was a shift in the air as the protection runes took hold. There was a loud and large thump on their front door as the couple assumed the big wolf slammed against it. They watched the door, wondering if it would hold. There was another thump and loud, echoing growl from the other side of the door. The door held with the help of the protection runes. They glanced at each other.


    Raizen stood up and asked, ¡°How long are those supposed to last?¡± the wolf slammed against the front door again and again. The runes glowed brightly for several seconds.


    ¡°Supposed to be five minutes,¡± Keiko admitted, ¡°But that is depending on the strength of the enemy.¡± She watched the runes¡¯ brightness slowly dimmed. ¡°This flea bag has to be one of the strongest of the Luna Pack.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should stick around to find out,¡± the Messenger advised.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raizen agreed and Keiko nodded. They fled to the second floor and escaped through an window to the next building over, via rooftop.


    Keiko glanced up and down the side streets. She could have took the rooftops. It would have been faster, but the three civilians with young children she had found wouldn¡¯t have been able to follow. She sidestepped out of the alley and waved them across as she kept alert, glancing up and down the street before she direction her gaze up and down the alleyway. She knew something had been following them for a several streets. Whoever it was, they had been suppressing their spiritual powers to the point it could be easily be missed as a rat or mouse in the alley way.


    A young red headed mother carrying a baby in her arms hurried across the street, trying to keep the baby from crying. She stopped just inside the alleyway, peering back. She was quickly joined by another young mother holding two of her children in her arms with a couple pre-teens following behind. The five of them looked paled as their eyes darted around.


    The last of the civilians mothers struggled with one of her youngest who bawling his eyes, reaching behind them. Keiko barely made out what the kid was trying to say, but it sounded like he wanted its kitty. She wanted to snap at the mother to get the kid to shut up, but she knew it would come too harsh for a simple civilian to handle, especially in this high stress situation. She didn¡¯t need to take the chance of the mother bursting out into tears as well. It would just draw more attention from whatever was stalking them.


    Keiko sighed as she turned her gaze up and down the street, waiting for the random attack to happen. The kid wasn¡¯t doing them any favors. She was half tempted to use a sleeping jutsu, but she knew it was not going to be appreciated by his mother. She glanced behind the mother and screaming kid and saw the dark shadow in the alleyway. It was much closer then it was a few minutes ago.


    She muttered a curse. She couldn¡¯t use her favorite clone jutsu to check the path ahead to see if it was clear or not. This situation only enforced the idea of Civilian basic training so they can better defend themselves then rely on Trained Ninja and the Police Force for protection. She glanced over her shoulder as she tried to keep the strange dark shadow at a distance. However, she knew if she cause enough noise through her jutsus, several of the retired ninja would come and check it out. Until then, Keiko was on her own and the only thing she could do was forced the civilian mothers and their children onward.


    ***


    Back over in the Gray District, Enzo took a deep breath and turned his attention onto the other fights. Lilian and Padme appeared to be holding their own, despite the fact they had stopped fighting for the time being. Lilian had a shocked expression over her face as she gapped at the large fissures spraying the battlefield. When he turned his attention onto Ralph and Anakin, they appeared to be having trouble. Ralph favored his sides, but Enzo didn¡¯t know why. Anakin was being tossed around the battlefield like a rag doll by his opponent. Enzo would have thought Anakin would have handle Nas by now or at least, Ralph would have. Ralph had some excellent fighting grades back in basic training and had been rated to be one of the top fighters of the class.


    ¡°Do you think we should help them out,¡± he asked Ben.


    Ben looked up from Douglas to Enzo then over at Anakin and Ralph fighting Nas. He frowned as thoughtful expression crossed his face. He studied the fight before he spoke, ¡°Anakin shouldn¡¯t be having trouble.¡± He paused. He crossed his arms over his chest and stroke his chin, ¡°In fact,  with Ralph¡¯s help, Anakin should have already made minced meat out of him. The fact he hasn¡¯t gotten me worried.¡±


    They watched as Anakin went after Nas, but Nas spun on his heel and landed a hard punch into Anakin¡¯s midsection, tossing him back a few feet. Nas returned his attention onto Ralph as he got up from the ground.


    ***


    Ralph walked, settling a glare onto Nas. He was often picked on when he was younger for being an orphan. Many of the bullies he had faced tauted him for having no family and being unwanted. He considered Nas lucky for having a pack to turn to when things went south. Ralph thought back to all of the times he got beaten up in the random alleys by random bullies who hated his guts for some reason. Nas reminded him of those bullies. The feeling in his gut grew stronger. It was Rage.


    Ralph was getting ticked off about getting beat up and stomped on by Nas. It was a worst feeling then getting looked down upon for having no family to call his own. He remembered what happened the last time he had lost control of his temper. It was the only one time he had ended up in the Police Force custody for the night.


    Ralph shifted his training bag up higher on his shoulder. He didn¡¯t bother looking where he was going. He knew the path well enough to walk it blindfolded. It was the same path he had took since he had enter Basic Training at the Academy. He did look up when he noticed a pair of shoes enter the top edge of his vision. It was Draco Clover, a follow ninja two years up from Ralph. This was not the first time Draco had approached Ralph. The gray haired ninja in training knew it wouldn¡¯t be the last time either. However, some time during the fight, the Police Force had shown up and took both of the teens into custody. The Police Force kept them for the night to cool off, despite how much the Clover Family had demand Draco to be released. Nobody came for Ralph and demand his released from jail.


    Ralph blinked as he felt the ground shake under his feet. Lilian¡¯s voice reached him and he turned to her to see the ground cracking and falling apart, creating a large fissure, splitting the battlefield into large chucks. Ralph struggled to keep on his feet as he tried ignored the pain in his midsection. He knew he will have a series of colorful bruises by morning. He winced as he fought to stay on his feet. If he fell into one of the fissures, he would have to spend some time in the hospital, healing. With that thought in mind, he hoped he didn¡¯t have to visit the hospital from this fight. He kept an eye on the ground as he moved away from the fissure and waited until the ground stopped shaking.


    It took a couple minutes, but the ground stopped shaking. Ralph reached down to his weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai. He slipped a finger into the ring at the end of the kunai and twirled it around his finger before he grabbed the hilt tightly. He turned his attention to Nas who swiped at Anakin, again, but the older ninja just bounced backwards, staying out of Nas¡¯ reach.


    Ralph took a deep breath and a sharp pain rippled through his chest. He winced as he steeled his mind against the pain. He darted forward and came up on Nas¡¯ blindside before he knelt and swiped his leg toward Nas¡¯ knee.


    Nas growled loudly as his knee gave out. He half turned, a clawed hand extending out to Ralph. However, Ralph already moved out of his reach, bouncing back a few extra feet. Nas stomped toward Ralph and recovered, stalking toward the gray haired young ninja.


    Ralph narrowed in his eyes, glaring at Nas as the familiar bubble of rage spread through his body. He darted forward. He threw the kunai at Nas. The shifter lend to the right, allowing the kunai to sail past him. Ralph noticed Anakin grabbed the kunai as he stood straight before it hit him. He brought his attention back to Nas and sucked in a breath, trying to angle his face downward as Nas delivered a right hook onto Ralph¡¯s nose.


    Ralph saw stars as he felt the bridge of his nose crack. It wasn¡¯t the first time he had dealt with a broken nose and it hurt just as bad as the first time he had broke it. It just meant he knew how to deal with it. He took several steps back as breathing through his nose became hard and he felt the warm blood flowing down his lips and chin. He parted his lips. He reached and wiped his mouth and chin with the back of his left hand before he wiped it against his pants. He blinked away the stars and saw Nas raising his left fist. Feeling the rage spread through his body like a burst of energy, Ralph lashed out, raising his right leg up and slamming his shin against Nas¡¯ expose rib cage. He ignored the sting of pain in his shin as he brought his leg down and heard Nas grunt of pain. The strong rage feeling drained from him. At least,he didn¡¯t black out this time, he mused.


    ¡°Ralph, right behind you,¡± Enzo¡¯s voice rang out and he leaped over Ralph¡¯s head before he delivered a strong kick to the top of Nas¡¯ shoulder. Nas lend sideways. Enzo touched the ground before he bounced back to stand beside Ralph. ¡°Nice busted nose.¡±


    ¡°On your left,¡± Ben called out and he slid past Ralph, his arm stretched across his body. Once he was close enough, he drove it into the side of Nas¡¯ thigh. He rolled forward over his shoulder and onto his feet. He hurried over to Anakin.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Ralph replied back to Enzo, ¡°Anakin and I got this, you know.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Enzo said, nodding, ¡°Your busted nose says differently.¡± They watched as Nas fell to the  side and Anakin jumped forward, spinning the kunai Ralph had thrown and slammed it into the back Nas¡¯ head. The four young men watched as Nas slumped to the ground.


    ¡°I had it, Ben,¡± Anakin turned to Ben.


    ¡°Of course, you did,¡± Ben agreed, ¡°but how many times did you have to get hit before you did?¡±


    Anakin¡¯s hand went up, fingers curled into a fist, exception for one finger. Enzo snorted. Ralph grinned, trying not wince as any movement in his head caused pain to ripple out from his busted nose.  Ben grinned and said, ¡°When and where?¡±


    Anakin bleached at that answered. Ralph and Enzo glanced at each other then glared around, trying not to laugh.


    ¡°Anyway, how are the girls doing,¡± Enzo changed the subject. The four of them turned to watched the fight between the girls.


    ¡°They are doing fine,¡± Master Quill spoke up. Ralph turned his head to look at the other teacher. He straightened up as he noticed Madam Luna was standing next to Master Quill. The rest of the group also noticed her. Master Quill raised his hand when Anakin¡¯s voice rang out then died, ¡°I will explain in a moment.¡± He turned to Madam Luna, ¡°Madam, if you could please ask your shifter to stand down.¡±


    ¡°With pleasure,¡± Madam Luna stepped over Nas and walked over to Yukina.

 Chapter 20: A Thiefs escape

    Keiko kept glancing over her shoulder as the group she was protecting head to the safety of the nearest hospital. She knew they were being followed, but the stalker kept out of sight. It was infuriating. She half wished the stalker would attack them already so she could just get rid of the problem. She ran her eyes over the group of civilian women and children. They looked fearful. The children had tears in their eyes. It pulled at her heartstrings.


    Keiko gasped and she placed a hand over her midsection when her baby kicked. A flicker of worry went through her. She hoped the stress didn¡¯t cause any problems for her and the baby. She took a deep calming breath. The baby had been active lately and kicked her insides like a true ninja.


    She rubbed her stomach and stopped at another interaction. She poked her head out to peer up and down one of the main streets. It was clear. She glanced over her shoulder to see the rest of the group staring at her. She waved them to cross the street as she directed her gaze behind the group.


    The shadow darted across the alleyway. Keiko¡¯s eyes widened. It was a large black wolf. The wolf darted into the shadows of the building, hiding behind a large pile of debris. Her heart thundered in her chest. She reached down to her waist and grabbed a kunai. She held it at her side while the civilians ran by. Mentally, she ran through her jutsus and chose one that was powerful, but didn¡¯t cause a lot of strain on her spiritual powers or on her physically. She waited until the last mother darted past with her children in toe. Keiko half turned and gave the leading civilian woman a look before she issued one command, ¡°Run to the Hospital, now!¡±


    Keiko turned away and lifted her hands. She ran through the hand signs for the jutsu and summoned the amount of spiritual power she needed before she sucked in a deep breath. Her midsection protested at the deepest of the breath, but she powered through it and held up her right hand close to her mouth and blew through the small space her curled hand made. Flames race through the alley way.


    The hiding wolf let out a whimper and jumped back, transforming into its humanoid female form. Long black hair flowed down the nude form of the woman. She shifted her hair to cover herself the best she could. She just stared at Keiko for a long moment before she spoke, ¡°My mother, Madam Luna, is under a jutsu, so is most of the pack, Madam Black Hand.¡±


    Keiko raised an eyebrow at that. She had heard rumors of Madam Luna having a daughter, but kept her hidden away for various reasons. One of those reasons could be the fact the Princess of the Luna Pack was highly sought after by other shifter packs and the humanoid demons who roamed the Dead End Forest. She ran her eyes over the Princess and see why the Princess was desired by many males. She pushed those thoughts away and spoke, ¡°Was that the reason why you were following me, Princess?¡±


    The Princess shook her head. She went on, ¡°The ninja in question who did this to my pack went to a secret library. He had been rumbling on about a dead Clan called the Isamu and how he could be related to it. Unfortunately, I lost him a few years ago when he went under ground. This is my first time being in the Hidden Bark Village and I have no clue where he could be at.¡±


    Keiko blinked. There was someone thinking they could be the heir of the Isamu Clan? The only survivors of that clan were orphans, now, and had their birth records sealed away in the Secret Library of the Lord Bark. However, it raised how did this mysterious ninja know about the Secretive Library. She cocked her head to the side, ¡°It didn¡¯t explained why you were following me.¡±


    ¡°I suppose not,¡± the Princess replied, ¡°I got lost and saw you had the mark of the Black Hands on your forearm. I thought you might be heading that way with the civilians.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Keiko replied, ¡°I was taking them to another safe location and I will be staying with them.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± The Princess nodded, glancing down at Keiko¡¯s midsection. She turned on her bare heel and shifted into the black wolf. Her tail swished back and forth before she ran away from Keiko.


    Keiko watched her go. She tensed as she sensed several presences running above her. She turned with her kunai at the ready and saw as they leaped down from the rooftops, a team of Black Hands.


    One of them stepped forward, saying, ¡°Madam, we are here to make sure you get to the hospital, safely.¡±


    Keiko nodded. They hurried to the Hospital and she informed them what she had learned from the Princess of the Luna Pack.


    ****


    Raizen darted through the streets, gasping for breath. He felt lightheaded as pain rippled through his chest. He was pushing himself to run toward  He reached down and opened one of his pouches along his waist line. He pulled out a small package holding two small red balls. He ripped open the package and tossed them into his mouth and dry shallowed them. He hoped the Monkey Energy Pills worked soon.


    He didn¡¯t like using the Monkey Energy Pills often. He knew the aftermath. He would be bedridden for at least a week once the Energy Pills faded away. Keiko would beat him for taking the pills. She didn¡¯t like him pushing himself when he was already injured. However, he felt guilty for pushing his new students onto another teacher and the fact it was their second mission. He really needed to step up his game.


    The Monkey Energy Pills were a blessing in disguise. The Gagneux Clan had a chain of restaurants throughout the Village. They had several clan members go onto the science department and created the Monkey Energy Pills. The Monkey Energy Pills gained popularity during the last major war. When it was discovered about the after effects of the pills, it was stressed to the ninja who took them to be extremely careful and limit how many they took.


    Raizen shook his head. He would worry about the after effects later when he didn¡¯t have to worry about his students and his wife. He forced himself to stare ahead. He bounced through an alley way, climbing to the rooftops and hurried to the Gray District.


    ****


    Meanwhile, Lilian couldn¡¯t believe she had did that. She couldn¡¯t believe she had that much power to cause that chain of reactions. She watched the battle ground as she released the breath she was holding as she watched the fissures settled down and stop spreading out.


    Padme let out whistle and Lilian glanced over to her as the older female ninja commented, ¡°That was impressive.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Yukina spoke up, ¡°If I wasn¡¯t fast, I would have fallen into those fissures.¡±


    Lilian gave her a look of surprise. She was not expecting the female shifter to admit that. She glanced toward Padme. She didn¡¯t look shocked by the admission. A howl echoed from where Master Quill stood. Lilian glanced in that direction to see Quill and Madam Luna walked together.


    Madam Luna didn¡¯t have a wild look anymore. Instead, she looked like a Lady wearing very dirty clothes. She raised her head again and howled, loudly. One by one, the fighting teams stopped and the shifters stepped away. Most of them looked confused by what was going on.


    Lilian glanced around, also, feeling confused.


    Yukina snorted, ¡°Majority of the pack was under a jutsu, informing them you were our enemies.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you undo the jutsu,¡± Padme asked.


    ¡°My sister and I weren¡¯t around when the jutsu were put in place,¡± Yukina shrugged, ¡°We had to act since we didn¡¯t know how to undo the jutsu and had to let it run its course unless we ran into a friendly ninja.¡± She bounced away, heading to Madam Luna.


    Lilian turned to Padme and blinked at her with a puzzled look on her face. She heard an explosion in the distance. She turned to back to the Village and saw a pillar of smoke raising up and the barrier flickered, once then twice before it fell apart.


    ***


    Raizen was half way the Gray District when the Monkey Energy Pill was working. It was a relief. He felt energized from the pills, but he knew he was playing a dangerous game. He pushed himself a bit harder to reached the fight. However, he reached the half way point when he saw a shifter standing by a large rock with a glowing rune on it. He skidded to a stop on a rooftop. He knew that rune. He looked toward the Gray District and muttered a curse. The Pack had placed a barrier up. He turned and went back to the edge of the rooftop and peered down.


    The wolf paced back and forth, unaware that Raizen was above him.


    Raizen pulled out a kunai from a pouch attached to his thigh and grabbed a paper bomb. He hoped one paper bomb would be enough, but he knew there was a chance it wouldn¡¯t be. He had a good amount of him with kunai. He tied the string to the Kunai and threw it down as hard as he could. He watched as the kunai cut deeply into the rune and the paper bomb smoked. The wolf turned to see the kunai in the rock and the paper bomb before the wolf ran off.


    BOOM!


    Smoke exploded in the alley way. The nearby glass windows shattered. The building shook. Raizen covered his face from the flying debris. He waited until the smoke cleared and satisfaction shot through him. The Barrier rune was destroyed. He turned, ran across the rooftop, and jumped once he reached the edge. He had to go check on his students.


    ****


    Ralph sat down on the ground with a groan and lend against a large rock, closing his eyes as he tried to relax. He panted through parted lips as he watched the shifters changed back to their humanoid forms with fur covering their privates areas. He licked his dry lips and tasted blood. His busted nose had stopped bleeding, but he knew once his nose was straightened, it would start bleeding again.  He wasn¡¯t looking forward that. It would be safe to visit the hospital once things died down and get checked out. That was one bill he wasn¡¯t looking forward to paying. Once he was able to, he would have to start picking extra D ranked missions. He mused he could ask Raizen, Lilian, and Enzo how they felt about picking up extra missions for some extra money.


    ¡°So, besides the busted nose,¡± Enzo¡¯s voice rang out and Ralph opened his eyes, looking up at his teammate, ¡°Where else did you get injured?¡±


    ¡°I think my ribs are bruised,¡± Ralph commented, ¡°I don¡¯t think they are broken.¡± He blinked as he noticed Lilian walking over.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that Fissure Jutsu,¡± she immediately spoke up, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was that strong.¡±


    ¡°So, that was you, Lilian,¡± Raizen¡¯s voice rang out. Ralph tilted his head back as he arched his back to see his teacher standing on top of the rock. ¡°That was impressive. It looks like it helped changed the tide of the battle.¡± Raizen jumped from the large rock to stand beside Ralph. He looked down at Ralph, ¡°You need to visit the hospital.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ralph admitted.


    Raizen turned back to Lilian, ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize for that strong of an attack. Anything to help change the tide of battle to your side¡¯s favor is extremely helpful.¡± He paused as he peered over the battlefield. ¡°I think it is safe to say - this D-rank mission will be upgraded to at least a C-rank.¡±


    ¡°Will we get a bigger paycheck,¡± Enzo asked, hopefully.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Raizen nodded, ¡°Anytime a mission has to upgraded to a different rank in middle of the mission, you will also get an upgrade in pay.¡± He turned back to them, ¡°This is one of the reasons why creating a mission report is important. It helps to protect you if a client tries to accuse you of anything and a record of what happened.¡±


    ¡°Have you had that happen, Master?¡± Lilian asked, ¡°A Client trying to accuse you of something, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raizen said, sighing. ¡°The fact I was truthful in my mission report helped as well as a mind walker confirm my report over what the Client was trying to accuse me of.¡± He glanced down at Ralph. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll talk with Quill for a moment then I¡¯ll take you to the hospital to get checked out. All three of you, to be on the safe side.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Team 17 replied.


    ~~~~


    ¡°What is it, Sirius?¡± Lord Jackson asked. His hand reached and stretched the black cat¡¯s head.  The cat looked up at Lord Jackson before he peered under the bookcase, meowed, and extended a paw, trying to swipe at the thief.


    The thief silently cursed as a knee appeared and placed against the wooden floor and fingers curled around the edge. He watched as who he assumed to be Lord Jackson started to lift up on the bookcase. He glanced over his shoulder, hoping to find a way out of this situation, but he couldn¡¯t backwards. In fact the only way he could get out of this situation was up. He turned to see the bookcase had rose a foot and his eyes widened as the cat named Sirius launched at him. He cried out.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone under there!¡± one of the Black Hands exclaimed. Shocked laced their voice. The thief threw himself backward as Sirius took a swipe at him with claws extended. Pain lanced up his back as it hit the edge of the bookcase. He kicked out at Sirius. The animal hissed, its fur standing on edge.


    The thief glanced toward other side. He groaned. He watched as the edge of the bookcase rose up, passing the other edge of the neighboring bookcase. He chewed on his bottom lip. He had to take the chance of escaping that way. He was no near strong enough to face down the Lord of the Hidden Bark Village. The Black Hands protecting the Lord were equally as strong or slightly weaker then the Lord Bark.


    The Black Hands were the trained elite of the Bark Village. If a ninja was selected to join to the Black Hands, it was because they had proved to be one of the strongest in their field. Rumor had it, the Black Hands trainees had to go through a series of secretive training courses over the course of five years before they were able to claim to the other Black Hands they were one of them. Of course, they had to train another year in their specialized field to claim that title of Special Black Hand.


    The thief managed to get that information from his master. He did find it strange his master knew a lot of the Hidden Bark Village. It gave him the impression his master was originally from the Hidden Bark. He half wished he could have find the list of names who was banished from the Bark Village, but he wouldn¡¯t know where to start looking for that information. It would have gave him some idea on who his master was since the banished list also gave the clan information and physical description, much like the Village¡¯s Wanted Book handed out every quarter with the updated information on the Banished last known whereabouts.


    He shook his head. He would have time to think about it later. Right now, he had to focus on the present and his escape path. He glanced back to the far edge of the raising bookcase where it was rose high enough where he spotted two of the Black Hands kneeling down and bend over, getting to peer under the bookcase.


    He sighed and steeled himself for a fight. His hand darted through a series of hand signs and he sucked in a deep breath as he held up his right hand close to his lips and blew through it. A large fireball erupted toward the Lord of Bark and the Black hands. He heard Lord Jackson cursed as the Black Hands pulled back the Bark Lord as the fireball caught the edges of the bookcase on fire.  The bookcase started to fall back down onto the Thief, but the Thief shifted and raised his legs up, catching the bookcase on the bottom of his feet. He bent his knees then shoved upward. The bookcase swung up, giving the thief enough time to turn onto his knees and hands before he pushed off the floor. He darted out from under the bookcase as it started to fall back to the ground. He landed, weirdly on an overturned bookcase and glanced over his shoulder to the Black Hands and Lord Bark. He half turned as he stood up. He watched with amusement as they blinked at him in surprise.


    ¡°GET HIM!¡± Lord Bark yelled, an arm raising up and pointed at the thief.  The Black Hands darted from their places on either side of the Lord Bark.


    The Thief muttered a curse and reached for his pouch, grabbing a paper bomb. He didn¡¯t bother tying it to a kunai as he threw it at the nearest Black Hand. He jumped back and turned in time to duck under an arching sword. He mentally reached out to the kunai he had threw earlier. It was a special one with runes engraved on the hilt. He found it and sent some of his spiritual power, activating the runes. He vanished in a swirl of black energy.


    The Black Hands came to a stop and questioned where he disappeared to. The Thief rolled his eyes and glanced around. He blinked. He didn¡¯t realized the kunai had flew half way across the room. The group of Black Hands turned in a circle, looking for him. He spotted Lord Bark slapping a hand to his face and trailed it down. He shook his head. He couldn¡¯t believe he had managed to outmaneuver the Black Hands.


    They were supposed to be the Elite groups of Ninja. The most trained out of all the ninja in the Hidden Bark Village. Just one of them should have been enough to capture him. He sighed. Apparently all of the stories he had heard while he grew up was just stories and tall tales. He shook his head in disappointment. He shifted his weight and felt the bookcase he had landed upon shift to the right and slid that way. He jumped off of it, heading to the hole in the ceiling. He didn¡¯t want to use this path. It cut straight through Lord Bark¡¯s office. However, it would appear he didn¡¯t have another choice since his original way was cut off by the Black Hands and Lord Bark himself standing in front of that doorway.


    The noise had been enough to catch the Black Hands¡¯ attention and one of them cried out, ¡°There he is!¡±


    The thief glanced over and his eyes widened as the group of 15 ran at him. He looked forward and put on a burst of speed, bouncing off the fallen bookcases to the spiral staircase. He grabbed the railing and hauled up himself upward, not bothering using the steps. He reached the floor of the office and rolled through the opening. He didn¡¯t bother pausing to catch his barrings as a Black Hand ran at him.


    He swept his leg at the side of the Black Hand who tired to caught the flying leg, but missed as the Thief slammed his shin into his enemy¡¯s ribcage. The Black Hand¡¯s mouth opened as air escaped and he stumbled back away from the Thief.


    The Thief brought his leg back down and crunched down as he reached around to a pouch at the back of his waist band. He pushed off the bookcase he stood upon as he grabbed the smoke bombs he was reaching for before he tossed the smoke bombs at the ground. He turned in mid-air as the smoke bombs went off. Grey smoke rose and covered the Library. The Thief stretched out his senses, using them to ¡®see¡¯ where the spiral staircase was. It should be several feet in front of him. He resisted the urge to grin. He was almost home free. He knew once he made it through the hole of the Leader¡¯s Office, he would burst through a window and find the shortest route out of the village.


    He reached out as he sensed the spiral staircase. He grinned under his black mask. He grabbed the railing of the spiral staircase and placed his feet on the bottom of the railing. A chill went down his spine. He twisted his head to peer behind him as his danger sense alerted him to something. He narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn he spotted something flying through the smoke. He pulled himself upward and over the railing, ducking low. He heard something pinged off the railing where he had been hanging on the side. He glanced up. He spotted a large throwing star falling along the side of the spiral staircase. His eyes darted up, noticing the smoke had started to clear the Library, disappearing up into the Office. He stood up and jumped, grabbing the edge of the railing above him, pulling himself up and over the railing. He managed to do it once more before he sensed the Lord Bark approaching, fast. He pulled a kunai and stood in a defensive position on the steps with his back toward the center of the spiral staircase, slowly climbing the steps up to the office.


    The Thief blinked and spotted Lord Bark standing just around the curve bend, several feet down. Lord Bark stared at him with emotionless, hard eyes as he climbed the stairs, coming toward the Thief.


    The Thief¡¯s heart thundered in his ears as he tried to keep the distance between them, but he stumbled backwards. He had felt his foot slipped on the edge of the step and he went down. A sharp pain went through his back side causing him to wince. He slapped the palm of his hand against the pole of the railing to stop himself from sliding down another step. He glanced toward Lord Bark and stumbled to his feet before he climbed backwards. His knees shook as he tried to increase the distance. He knew what was going on. Lord Bark was using his killing intention to slow the Thief down.


    He took a deep breath, trying to steel his nerves. He mentally fought against the Killing intention. He knew Lord Bark was strong to earn his position as the Lord of the Hidden Bark Village and he had heard the rumors of just how powerful the man had become over the years he had served as an average ninja before he achieved the rank of a Black Hand then became the Lord of the Bark. He remembered when Lord Jackson became Lord Bark of the Village. He had been 5 years old at the time and the celebrations after he took the position had lasted nearly two weeks. Lord Jackson had been a war hero and a favorite for many clans both Ninja and Civilian. He still was.


    The thief reached behind him and grabbed a smoke bomb before he threw it. He saw Lord Bark  crunch and dart forward to cover the distance before the Thief did. The smoke bomb exploded, sending tan colored smoke up. The thief ducked down, trying to disappear in the smoke, and suppressed his spiritual powers down. He sensed Lord Bark soar over him and head up the stairs to the office. He mentally reached out to the kunai, located across the library, jumped the railing, and pulled himself to it. He vanished in a swirl of black light then reappeared on top of the toppled bookcase. He turned to look at the spiral staircase.


    Lord Bark had backtracked and grabbed the railing before he launched himself over the edge. His spiritual pressure rose, showing his anger at the simple trick.


    The thief grabbed two more of the kunai and waited, slowing adding some of his spiritual power to it until Lord Bark had made it half way across the library before he threw one at the Leader of the Hidden Bark Village. Lord Jackson ducked under the flying kunai, allowing it to soar behind him and embed the sharp edge at the side of a wooden step.


    He waited a heartbeat more before he darted to the right as Lord Jackson bounced over the bookcases. He watched as the Black Hands and Lord Bark followed him. He mentally reached out to the kunai he had thrown and pulled, again. He vanished in a swirl of black. He blinked and reached out to the railing of the spiral staircase, grabbing it with his free hand. He hauled himself over the railing and crunched down. He peered back to see the Black Hands and Lord Bark came to a stop. He pulled out the special kunai and tucked it away. He hurried up the spiral staircase, taking the steps three a time. He sensed Lord Bark¡¯s anger rose several knots as the older ninja realized what had happened. He pushed some extra power into his legs and soared up the rest of the stairs. He glanced around the office when he entered it. He spotted an open window, letting a cool summer air in. He hurried over to it and climbed out of it.


    The thief dropped down to the slated roof and slid down a few feet before he reached the end and pushed off. He heard the singles crack under the force of his jump. He ignored it. It won¡¯t be long before the Black Hands would be after him. He didn¡¯t know if Lord Bark would be as well. He didn¡¯t want to wait around to figure it out. He bounced along the rooftops. He heard the intruder single ring out. He muttered a curse under his breath. He summoned more power and directed down his legs, making them glow slightly with runes of power.


    The wind blowing in his face increased as it stole his breath and his hair rippled around his head. He swung his legs forward in time to land in a crunch. He panted as he slowly stood up. He glanced behind him, seeing the Black Hands spreading out from the Government Tower in all directions. He turned his attention to his hands, staring in wonder. He didn¡¯t expect that surge of power to be the result of the blood magical rune he went through a couple months ago at his master¡¯s orders. He flexed his hands. He felt restless with all that power still raging through his veins. He would be to escape from the Hidden Bark Village. He crunched down and pushed off, leaving behind a large intention where he had pushed off. He wanted to laugh.


    ¡°THERE HE IS!!¡±


    The Thief glanced in the direction where the voice came from. He spotted a team of four Black Hands darting over the rooftops to reach him. He grinned under his black mask. He turned his attention forward. He was nearly at the wall of tree surrounding the village from the farmlands. He knew once he got past that line, it was a short leap to reach the river.  He glanced over his shoulder. The nearest team of Black Hands were still several houses away.


    He shook his head and pushed off, causing another hole in the rooftop. It was easy sailing from here. He cleared the wall of trees, causing one of the higher, thicker branches to break off when he pushed off of it, causing it to crashed to the ground. He reached the river bank. He glanced over his shoulder.


    The thief was disappointed the chase had ended. He shrugged and jumped into the middle of the river with a loud splash. He had better things to do then pout over the lack of a good chase.

 Chapter 21 The Aftermath 1

    ¡°Have you had that happen, Master?¡± Lilian asked, ¡°A Client trying to accuse you of something, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Raizen said, sighing. ¡°The fact I was truthful in my mission report helped as well as a mind walker confirm my report over what the Client was trying to accuse me of.¡± He glanced down at Ralph. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll talk with Quill for a moment then I¡¯ll take you to the hospital to get checked out. All three of you, to be on the safe side.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Team 17 replied.


    Ralph thought about what Raizen said with a frown. He didn¡¯t want to believe a client would try to bend the truth to fit their lie, but on the other hand, he had been warned in the Academy¡¯s Basic Training, there would be clients that would try to cheat, lie and steal what they could from the Hidden Bark Village, no matter how well a Bark Ninja preformed during their mission. He glanced toward Lilian. She stared at the ground with a trouble expression on her face. Her eyes glazed over with unspoken thoughts. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but a loud clear toll rang out through the village.


    At first, he frowned, wondering what was that sound. He glanced up at Raizen. The older ninja froze. His back straightened as his eyes widened with horror. Ralph thought about the sound. He knew it was a rare familiar sound from the time he had spent in the Academy. It clicked as he remembered the lesson over the various drills every student to preform every year.


    The civilians were supposed to hid in the closet cellar while the Police Force required to lock down the Village. The ninja on the other hand, were called to duty. That sound echoing through the buildings was the Intruder Alarm. Someone had invaded the Hidden Bark Village.


    A cold block of ice settled in Ralph¡¯s stomach as his heart picked up. He glanced at his teammates. Enzo¡¯s face had lost all color while Lilian¡¯s eyes had widen to the size of dinner plates as they remembered the drills and the lessons. A part of Ralph wondered a moment later when he glanced up at his teacher, waiting on his instructions on what to do next.


    Raizen frowned as he watched them before he spoke up, ¡°Team, I know you have went through the various drills over what to do when there is an intruder inside the Village¡¯s walls.¡± Team 17 nodded. ¡°However, since I am your Teacher, I have the ability to give you your orders.¡± The team nodded again. ¡°My orders are simple - ignore the alarm.¡±


    Ralph blinked while Enzo stumbled over his own feet and Lilian bleached. Ralph looked at Raizen sharply and asked the one question they had, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°You three as well as myself, are not in a position to help propel this intruder,¡± Raizen explained, ¡°The Black Hands will be able to handle this problem without our help. We all are injured or drained.¡± He gave a pointed look at Lilian when she opened her mouth to protest. ¡°On top of that, you three have graduated from the Academy this month. We haven¡¯t really started your training in the various jutsu available to you at this level.¡±


    They heard a crashing sound. Ralph jerked his head back and stared up at the nearby rooftop. The sound came from there. Lilian jumped onto the nearest stack of boxes with Enzo following her.  Ralph wanted to join them, but he didn¡¯t know if his ribs would let him to test his endurance like that.


    ¡°Lilian, Enzo, get back here!¡± Raizen barked. They paused on the top of box and peered over the edge of the roof. They glanced at each other. Lilian turned to Raizen and held up one finger while she mouthed the word enemy.


    Ralph frowned. There was one enemy? His thoughts race. How was the village having trouble with just one enemy? He rolled his eyes at himself as he remembered the ambush from the local shifter pack. Most of the Village was distracted from the shifter attack. It would have been the perfect opportunity for someone to sneak into the village and do some damage. Nobody would have known about this mysterious enemy until later if they didn¡¯t trip something or ran into someone.


    A sharp wind blew through the alleyway causing Ralph to flinch as his gray hair whipped around his head.  Raizen cursed loud enough for Ralph to hear. Meanwhile, Lilian and Enzo ducked down from the edge of the rooftop as the stack of boxes rocked back and forth. Enzo fell off the stack of boxes and landed on his side. Ralph winced as he heard a loud crack. Enzo let out a small cry of pain and rolled over off his side. He sat up and turned his attention to his arm. It had a strange bend to it, halfway through his forearm. He held it up and saw the lower part hang down.


    Lilian landed in a crunch and slowly stood up, a couple feet away from Raizen. She looked at their teacher, saying, ¡°I think that was the intruder. He was wearing all black, just like a Black Hand, and there was smoke coming from the Government Tower.¡±


    Raizen blinked and commented, ¡°Government Tower? That¡¯s not good.¡± He turned to Enzo, ¡°Let¡¯s get you three to the nearest hospital to check out.¡± He helped Enzo to his feet and took a scroll and a long strip of cloth before he straightened out Enzo¡¯s broken arm with the scroll and wrapped the cloth around it. He tied it. ¡°It will hold until we can get to the hospital.¡±


    ~The Hidden Bark Village Hospital~


    The hospital was packed when Team 17 got there. Ralph spotted most of the people were civilians, hiding in the hallways with a team of Black Hands standing guard in the lobby. He claimed a seat, sitting with Enzo and Lilian as they watched the Black Hands give the All-Clear and the non-pregnant women, children, and men slowly filed out of the Hospital as the pregnant women were given a check up to how well they handled the stress of the situation before they were too sent home.


    As Ralph waited, he saw teams of Ninja who apparently fought of the Shifter pack slowly filled the waiting room then the Nurses went around to judge how bad their injuries were before the Ninja was directed to a large room. Enzo was informed to go to Room B while Lilian had to report to Room G. Ralph, on the other hand, had to go to Room A and Raizen had wait in Room E.


    ~Room A~


    Ralph stepped into Room A and glanced around. It was mostly empty with a total of 10 ninja sitting or laying down with a bloody bandage wrapped around some part of their body. He went to a random chair and slowly sat down with his ribs crying out in protest. He hoped he didn¡¯t crack one of his ribs. He sighed, trying to ignore the sharp pain rippling through his rib cage.


    It didn¡¯t long for Ralph to wish he had brought a scroll or book to read as he watched when three Nurses entered the room and made a beeline to the worst of the injured Ninja. The Nurse team worked together to help the worst of the injured.


    The door swung open and Ralph turned his attention over the door as a doctor stepped in with a few more nurses. A Nurse walked over to him while the rest hurried over to the other injured Ninja.


    ¡°Hello, sweetheart, my name is Vivian,¡± the nurse introduced herself as she pulled out the clipboard from under her arm. She glanced down at it, ¡°What is your name?¡±


    ¡°Ralph Barkson,¡± Ralph said. His voice sounded strange to his own ears like he had a plug nose. He blinked at that thought. In a way, he did have a plugged nose. It had gotten bust in that fight. Hopefully, it wasn¡¯t broken.


    ¡°Birthday?¡± Vivian asked.


    ¡°October 12, 2011,¡± Ralph replied.


    Vivian nodded before she went on, ¡°Address?¡±


    ¡°2574 Maple Road, Kenshin District,¡± Ralph admitted, feeling a rush of embarrassment. Everyone knew the Kenshin District had the unwanted Orphans who were often struggling to make a living for themselves. It should have been named the Bark Bastard District.


    However, the nurse didn¡¯t make a comment about that as she went on about her business, ¡°Were you on a mission when these injuries accrued?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± he nodded his head and blinked as a wave of lightness washed over him.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Vivian made a note on the clipboard, ¡°it would mean the Village will take care of the medical bills so you don¡¯t have to worry about it. Just remember the Village will pay up to 10,000 Gold Coins in a year before you have to start paying the bill yourself.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Ralph said. It was something the Academy went over recently, before he had graduated. Just like the nurse had said, the Village would pay to cover a ninja¡¯s medical bills if they were injured while they were out on a mission on the Village¡¯s behalf. Of course, there have been rumors the Village Elders wanted to lower it to 8,000 per year to get ahead of the wave of new ninja, but that proposal was shot down thanks to Lord Bark citing that they would have to increase the missions output over the next few years, saying it shouldn¡¯t be hard to do since the Curse of the Holy Sword would be activating within the next few years and there was always trouble brewing when the Holy Sword changes hands of power. The money came from the taxes collected at the end of every month from every working citizen. He had heard the Village Elders had wanted to increase the Medical Expense pool in order to include the Police Force since they work inside the village to protect it from unruly citizens. In one of the various classes he had during Basic Training, Ralph had learned the Police Force had their own medical expense pool paid by the Police Union dues, coming out of their weekly paychecks.


    However, the downside of the Medical Expense Pool, once a ninja hit the 10,000 gold coin for the year, they would have to pay for the rest of it themselves. It was apart of the deal the Ninja Force had with the Civilian Village Elders. The other downside to the Medical Expense Pool, the deal stated the injured Ninja couldn¡¯t use the Expense Pool to pay for medicines their doctors prescribed.


    Vivian set the clipboard aside and went to work, patching up the various cuts Ralph had gotten during his fight. She confirmed that his nose was broken, but she fixed that fast causing Ralph to black out and blood to stream out of his nose. However, by the time he came to, again, she was sitting back on a stool, waiting for him.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Ralph asked. His voice sounded normal again. ¡°Not long,¡± Vivian replied, ¡°A few seconds.¡± She glanced down at her clipboard. ¡°It says in my notes that you were hit several times in the ribs.¡± She looked up. ¡°Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Ralph replied. He was not looking forward to whatever she was planning to do.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Vivian stood up, ¡°I need you to take off your shirt so I can take a look at your chest. Depending on what I feel and see, you may need to see Scanner to tell if you have any broken bones or not.¡±


    Scanner, Ralph knew, were specialized nurses who had the ability to use their spiritual energy to look through their patients¡¯ bodies for any broken bones or anomalies. He really didn¡¯t understand the entire process of it, despite the fact he had gone through the process at least three times before.


    Vivian went through the process of taking his vitals and wrote them down. She finally said, ¡°I will be back shortly. I have to go put in the request for a scanner.¡±


    Ralph nodded and waited until she had disappeared from the room. He glanced over at the other nurses in the room. They were busy with their other patients. He reached for the hem of his shirt and started lift as he took off his shirt. He fought back tears several times as he pulled his shirt over his head, causing him to pause a few times to catch his breath. Even breathing hurt like hell. He really hoped he had just bruised his ribs, not broke them. He steeled his nerves and continued on until the shirt landed on his lap. He sat there, panting as he fought back tears and against the pain. He didn¡¯t want to do that again - the act of putting on and taking off a shirt. He waited.


    ~Room B~


    Enzo sighed as he sat down on a cot and set his broken arm on his lap. It felt good to sit down, finally. He was used to standing for long periods of time, helping his father in the forge, but his body was screaming for him to relax. He swung his legs up onto the cot, lending against the headboard. Yeah, it felt really good to sit down. He glance toward the doorway to see his teacher turning away from the door way. He couldn¡¯t believe Master Raizen waited to make sure he had a cot in a room before he went to his own assigned room. He yawned and blinked, tiredly.


    ~Room E~


    Raizen rolled his shoulders as he entered the room. He had been sitting in the waiting room until each of his students had been sent to a room before he went to the room he was supposed to visit. He glanced around the room out of habit. There wasn¡¯t any strange about the various ninjas sitting in the room. He assumed they like him were already injured before the start of the battle and came in to get a check up.


    ¡°Another one!?¡± one of the nurses said, exasperated. ¡°I swear, if I ever end up as the Head Health Adviser of this village, I wouldn¡¯t allow any of you back onto the field, no matter what was going on until you are fully healed.¡± She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. ¡°Go sit over there.¡± She snapped an arm and pointed at a random cot. ¡°It will be a while until one of us will be able to attend you, so, it get comfortable. Lucky, we don¡¯t have too many fetal injured ninjas, but we have a lot of pregnant women who wanted to get checked up, in case the stress of the day effected their baby.¡± She walked away, but Raizen could hear her mutter, ¡°Even the ninja women are here, in Room F.¡± Her voice trailed off as she went to another ninja who had his arm up in a sling.


    He turned his thoughts to his wife. She should be in Room F, assuming she managed to arrive safely. He snorted. Of course, his wife arrived safely. She was a forced to be reckon with, considering her Black Hands training. He knew he didn¡¯t have to worry about her. However, she was carrying their child. If she was getting a check up, he would be glad. He knew she would have pushed herself to make sure the civilians she ran into on the way over would have taken care of first. He sighed, trying to ignore how his ribs ached. He knew he would hear about his current injuries from whichever nurse who attended him and how he shouldn¡¯t push himself to get to his students. He hoped his students were getting better treated then he was. After all, it was their second mission, but first one to go horrible wrong. He went to sigh again, but winced as strong tinge of pain went through his chest.


    He walked over the random cot and sat down. He laid on his back and felt relief go through him as the pain in his chest drifted away. He yawned and blinked back tears.


    ~Room B~


    Enzo blinked as someone shook his leg. He jerked up, sitting straight. He stared at a nurse, wearing a dark purple scrub with a bright yellow pendent over the left breast. It took him a moment  for it to click in his mind. The nurse was a scanner. He was in one of the rooms at the Hospital. He sighed.


    ¡°I know the drill,¡± he said, in a glum tone.


    The nurse laughed slightly under her breath before she spoke up, ¡°I see you have experience with us scanners.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Enzo admitted, ¡°I help my father in his smithy. There have been times where I got injured or my father has.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Well, my name is Harper,¡± she introduced herself, ¡°I will be setting your bone in your arm and see if there is anything else broken.¡± She stated before she went to work on his forearm. He glanced around the room.


    The room didn¡¯t feel as crowded as it did when Enzo first sat down. There were several cots open and the ones who could walk had disappeared from the room. He didn¡¯t doubt they were heading home to rest.


    Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t long to set and put his arm in a cast. He stared at his new cast with some wonder. A part of the cast encircled his thumb and he couldn¡¯t move his wrist. He frowned. He knew it would be out of ninja work for a bit and possible helping his father with the family smithy.


    ¡°How long will this have to stay on,¡± Enzo asked, looking up at Harper. He hoped it would be off within a few weeks.


    ¡°It depends on how fast you heal,¡± Harper replied, ¡°I have seen bones mend in a little as 4 weeks or as slow as 10 weeks.¡± She paused with a thoughtful expression on her face, ¡°Of course, it could be longer then that. I read about those cases in my medical training.¡±


    Enzo¡¯s eyes widened. He really hoped he was a fast healer. He couldn¡¯t afford to go 10 weeks without doing some mission work and getting a paycheck for it. Granted it would be one way to force Raizen to sit down and actually teach them some ninja based jutsus and other ninja lessons they didn¡¯t learn in the Academy.


    However, he would be holding his team back. He knew Ralph needed the money, having no family to help him out in hard times. Lilian would have her allowance to fall back on, that was assuming she was taught how to save and spent her money on what she needed.


    Plus, his father would get backed up on orders. With the recent increase in orders, his father could afford to hire another smithy, but it would depend on their skill. A skilled Blacksmith wouldn¡¯t work for another Blacksmith unless they didn¡¯t have another choice. On the hand, his father could easily find a few apprentices who were willingly to work hard from the Merchant Class. Teaching new apprentices would take time, but it would give his father a few extra pairs of hands around the Smithy.


    Enzo sighed. Either way, the next few weeks are going to be boring. His activities would be limited. He glanced up at the nurse to see she was still standing there. He spoke up, ¡°Thank you, Ms Harper.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just doing my job, sweetie,¡± Harper replied with a gentle smile, ¡°On the bright side, your arm is the only bone that is broken and you will be able to relax at home once the other nurses discharge you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, again,¡± Enzo nodded before Harper walked away, going to the next patient. He sighed. He was thankfully that his arm was the only bone broken in his body. On the other hand, it could spell trouble for himself and his family down the road. He glanced around to see there were a few nurses carrying clipboards as they went from patient to patient, talking with them briefly before they handed over the clipboard then left the patient. It was a couple minutes as the patient looked over what was on the clipboard, got up, and walked through the door of the room. Enzo didn¡¯t doubt they were heading home for the night with their discharge papers and instructions on what to do next with their injury.


    ~Room E~


    Raizen sensed the person before they approached him. His eyes snapped open and he looked around the large room. Nurses were bristling around the room, pushing a cart. He turned his attention to the waiting nurse. She glared at him and placed her hands on her hips. He wanted to sink down into the cot, pulling the thin blanket over his head to hid from her glare, but he was an adult male who stared down more dangerous people and creatures then a glaring nurse.


    ¡°You were supposed to on bed rest,¡± she started, ¡°Not running off to the middle of a battle field.¡±


    ¡°My students -¡° he protested, sitting up. He winced, hissing through clenched teeth, as the action pulled at his injuries.


    ¡°I know,¡± the Nurse cut him off, ¡°They were in danger.¡± She sighed. ¡°I know that. Your wife already explained the situation before you had arrived and it was noted in your chart.¡±


    ¡°How she is?¡± He perked up. He hadn¡¯t heard anything about his wife yet.


    ¡°She is in the waiting room, already discharged, waiting on you,¡± the Nurse said with a gentle smile, ¡°So, let¡¯s not keep her waiting any longer then we have to.¡±


    Raizen sighed with relief. He knew that was all he was going to get out of the nurse right now. He laid back on the cot and allowed her to work on him. It didn¡¯t take her long to get his vitals, and changed his bandages. He was surprised that none of his injuries reopened. He considered himself lucky when it came to that.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the nurse straighten up and looked at him, ¡°another nurse will be by with your discharge papers. Please, review them and follow the instructions to the letter or else you will be off work longer then you can afford to be.¡±


    Raizen nodded, understanding the threat. In a militaristic village like the Hidden Village Among the Bark, the medical staff had the final word if a ninja could back to work or not. They weren¡¯t afraid to use their power to stop someone who they thought was too injured to take on a mission. He had seen it personal happen to a friend of his who refused to listen to the nurses.


    The medical staff went straight to Lord Bark, himself, and informed him that the Friend wasn¡¯t allow to work until he got a clean bill of health from someone in the Medical field. It took him a year before he got a clean bill of health because he was stubborn and tried to get back to work before someone in the medical field would allow him. He ended up drying up all of his family¡¯s savings, the benefits he had through the Village, and had been put under house arrest by the orders of the Lord Bark who used the Black Hands to make sure Raizen¡¯s friend stayed put. Hell, Raizen was sure his friend¡¯s wife would have left him, if she didn¡¯t disappeared, mysteriously, through weird circumstances, outside the Village.


    Once his friend got the clean bill of health, he took every high paying mission he could and spent his non-mission time, searching for his wife. Raizen didn¡¯t remember when was the last time he had seen his friend. Hell, he didn¡¯t know if his friend was still alive or not.


    ~Room B~


    Enzo was almost bouncing in his cot when the discharge nurse stopped by his cot and handed over the discharge clipboard. She didn¡¯t let the clipboard go at first until Enzo looked up at her and she explained, ¡°Make sure you follow this to the letter. You have to get a clean bill of health with someone in the medical field before you are allowed to take missions again. If you refused to get a clean bill of health with us first, you will be put under house arrest until you receive a clean bill of health. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Enzo nodded.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the nurse started, ¡°You can go as soon as you sign here,¡± she pointed at a line and handed Enzo a quill. He took it and dipped it in an ink well before he signed on the line. She flipped to another page, ¡°and Here.¡± She pointed at the next line. He signed his name. ¡°There you go.¡± She took the two pages he had signed. ¡°You will have to keep the rest and you can leave whenever you want.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Enzo grinned brightly at her. She nodded and walked away. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He grabbed the small pile of papers and stuffed them in his pants pocket. He would have to look over them later. He walked to the front of the room and walked to the waiting room.


    He blinked in surprise and his jaw dropped slightly. He spotted Master Raizen coming out of another room a bit further down the hall and walked toward him.


    ¡°Howdy, there, Enzo,¡± Master Raizen¡¯s eyes scanned over him.


    ¡°Hey there, Master,¡± Enzo started, nervously, ¡°As you can tell, my arm is broken and I won¡¯t be able to do any ninja work for 4 to 10 weeks.¡±


    Raizen nodded his head, before he spoke, ¡°I figure that.¡± He paused, ¡°Of course, you would have to get a clean bill of health before we can go back on missions again. We will be able to work in other ways, depending on how the others are doing.¡± He glanced around the waiting room. ¡°It looks like you are going to be meeting my wife and we will escort you home. I don¡¯t know when Lilian and Ralph will be released just yet. I have no doubt I will be coming back here through the night and escorting them home as well.¡±


    ¡°Damn straight you will,¡± a feminine voice rang out behind Enzo. He jumped and turned on his heel to see a pregnant woman, crossing her arms over her chest. That was the first time he had met Keiko Watanabe and it was one encounter Enzo didn¡¯t think he would ever forget.

 Chapter 22: The Aftermath 2

    ~Room G~


    Lilian sighed as she tried to sit down, gracefully like a lady when she really wanted to do was flopped down on the cot. She yawned as she relaxed into the cot. She blinked away the tears and glanced around. There were a lot more people in this room then she thought there would be. It could be the fact, this room was being used as a check-up room for the pregnant civilian women played a large part. She watched as various mid-wives hurried back and forth between three or four women at the same time. She glanced over at the doors as they swung open and Padme stepped in with another Kunoichi at her side.


    Padme obviously scanned the room before Lilian saw her eyes widened with surprise and she hurried over to Lilian, quickly claiming one of the cots next to her. Padme¡¯s friend followed close behind.


    ¡°So, you are here, getting a check up, as well,¡± Padme started.


    Lilian nodded, ¡°Hopefully, it is just exhaustion and I will be back to working within a few days.¡± She paused, thinking, ¡°However, it don¡¯t think that would be the case for Ralph. He looked pretty beat up the last time I saw him.¡± Her gaze drifted down to the tile floor. ¡°So did Master Raizen.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Padme said, ¡°Maybe your team will get a few days off to heal and rest before Master Raizen will start teaching you again.¡± Lilian looked up at the other teen. ¡°It will be a bit before the nurses will give you guys a clean bill of health, especially how Master Raizen and Ralph looked after the fight.¡± She took a breath before she went on, ¡°I say it will be at least three weeks before Ralph will be able to go back on a mission again. Master Raizen could be another week after that.¡±


    Lilian sucked in a breath. She hoped that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°What kind of help is there for us newbies starting out and getting hurt on a mission like this?¡± Lilian asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Padme replied, ¡°I never had to go through what you just went through. I did go through something personal, but that was different. The Village did pay me through the medical disability fund as a result of what happened.¡± She shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure there is something you guys can do to get some help on the short term.¡±


    Padme¡¯s friend spoke up, ¡°I doubt it. They would have to complete some many missions before they could qualify for short term benefits and long term benefits.¡± Lilian turned her attention to the other teen girl. She looked familiar for some reason.


    The mysterious teen girl had long blond hair, streaked with black strands like she had wanted black highlights or black strikes through her hair, but she didn¡¯t want to fully dye her golden blond hair black. Her red eyes glowed as she studied Lilian. Her dark colored skin informed Lilian the teen had spent a lot of time out of in the sun or she held a dark tan, naturally.


    ¡°What clan are you from,¡± Lilian asked, cocking her head to the side.


    ¡°Thorne,¡± the other teen replied with a slight smirk. ¡°Jade Thorne, at your service, Miss Lilian Sakura.¡±


    Lilian blinked as the name clicked in her head. The Elders of the Sakura Clan had complained about the Thorne Clan and their sneaky tactics when it came to gathering knowledge on other clans and their secrets. She knew the Thorne Clan was secretive due to their nature of fishermen and other water based trades.


    The Thorne Clan originally started out as a fishermen Clan after they had arrived on the shores of the Hidden Bark Village during the 17th Century while they were looking for new land to settle. If Lilian remembered, the Thorne Clan were called Dannish, from the outside world. Over the years, the Clan would sail out to deeper waters and often returned with more men and sometimes women they picked up. These folks were called Pirates and ended up marrying into the Thorne Family, expanding it into several families which were protected by the Thorne Clan.


    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Lilian finally spoke, ¡°I have heard of you.¡± That caused Jade to smirk. If it was in amusement, Lilian didn¡¯t know. ¡°I was under the impression that there weren¡¯t any Thorne or Thorne¡¯s Protected Clans among the Ninja Class.¡±


    ¡°There is a few,¡± Jade have an one shoulder shrugged as she admitted, ¡°However, we did take part of the village wide battle today.¡± She glanced around, ¡°Just like many of the Police Force and Ninja did. The attack took many of us off guard.¡± She paused. ¡°We have several members of our families end up in the Emergency Ward.¡± She looked pained, ¡°Including my father, one of my younger brothers, and a few of the clan members and the protected clans.¡±


    ¡°I understand that,¡± Padme said, ¡°That attack did take us by surprise, too. We,¡± she motion at herself and Lilian, ¡°were over in the Grey District, doing the seasonal clean up mission, when the Alpha of the Luna Pack went crazy.¡±


    Lilian nodded, before she spoke, ¡°My teammates were injured. I believe one of them is in Room A, getting looked at, while the other one is in Room B.¡±


    Jade¡¯s eyes were wide as she glanced between the two of them.  ¡°So, the attack originated in the Grey District.¡±


    Lilian noticed one of the nurses headed their way and turned her attention to the nurse. She saw out of the corner of her eye, Jade and Padme also turned their attention to the oncoming nurse.


    ¡°Alright, ladies,¡± The nurse gave them a wide cheery grin, ¡°Take a seat and fill out these forms. Someone will be around soon as they can to take them and review them.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ~Room A~


    Ralph didn¡¯t know how long he was asleep, just the fact he had been drifting in and out of the sleeping state for a long while. He was dimly aware of people roaming around him. He could heard cries of pain, but it was they were coming from a distance, instead of several feet away. Pain flared when he rolled onto his side and he rolled back onto his back.


    He sensed the hand before it landed on his bare shoulder. He pulled his eyelids open, still feeling like he hadn¡¯t gotten sleep. He yawn, bringing up a hand to cover his mouth. He blinked away tears and looked up. There was a nurse with a bright yellow pendent over the left breast on her dark purple scrubs, indicating she was a Scanner. She was pretty with her blond hair curled around her face. Her big blue eyes peered down at him. He blinked, pushing those thoughts away. It wasn¡¯t the time to wonder off in his thoughts.


    ¡°Howdy, nurse!¡± Ralph tried to be cheery, trying to sit up. He used his right elbow to push himself up, but a tinge of pain rippled through him when he moved, making him freeze with his weight resting on his elbow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± the nurse ordered. He froze before he nodded and shifted back to his original position. ¡°I am Haku. I¡¯m going to be scanning your body to see where you have broken bones and how many you have.¡± She held up a hand and it glowed a light green. Her hand moved over him as he laid there, looking up at the ceiling as a warm feeling drifted over him. It was the soothing kind of warm. He took a deep breath and winced. ¡°Hmmmm.¡± Haku hummed as she drifted her hand over his chest a few times. She stopped and grabbed the clipboard before she wrote something down and returned to her work.


    Ralph noticed Haku did that a few more times and a dread feeling settle in his stomach. He probably had a lot of broken bones then he thought he did. He pushed those thoughts away. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the rest of his team. He hoped they were alright.


    He knew Lilian would get a clean bill of health. She looked more exhausted then injured. Enzo probably was the same way, except for his arm. His teacher, Raizen, looked tired, but he still had the same injuries he had the day before. It would probably be a few weeks before they could get more mission related work.


    While he didn¡¯t like the sound of that, Ralph knew the dangers of pushing one¡¯s self too far. He had seen it done with another Barkson. The Barkson ended up dead on a mission, a few years back. The orphan¡¯s friends knew what was going and the Team the Orphan Barkson was assigned to was not the same since.


    However, he did wonder how long it would be before he would be able to take missions again. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t be long. If it was, he didn¡¯t know how he would pay for his bills. He hadn¡¯t been working long enough to get help or save up an emergency fund.  He tried to push that away from the forefront of his mind. He would try to worry about it later.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Haku finally said, ¡°The Doctor will be by once he had the chance to look at the results.¡± Her hand stopped glowing and she grabbed the clipboard before she walked away, writing on it.


    Ralph knew that was it. From the way he understood it, Haku¡¯s spiritual pressure traveled through his body, noting the places where he had broken bones and marking the places on a specialized piece of paper the Scanners used. Later, the Doctor would review the paper and go from there. He sighed, trying to relax into the bed. He knew it would be a bit before the Doctor would make his or her way to Ralph.


    ~Room G~


    Lilian couldn¡¯t wait to go home, curl up in bed, and sleep until she woke up. She glanced around the room, resisting the urge to sigh. It has felt like she had been waiting forever for a doctor to swing by. The nurses had came around and grabbed the clipboards from Padme, Jade, and her nearly half¡¯n¡¯hour ago. She knew how the emergency center worked, but come on! She wanted to go home already and sleep.


    She lend back on to the cot and stared up at the ceiling. Voice drifted around her. Several of them were the other patients. Others were the nurses still station in the room. She glanced to her right, seeing several patients had family members around them. Perhaps, the family members were patients as well, she mused, and they decided to keep each other company. She wanted to sigh again. Her parents weren¡¯t come to visit her unless she was admitted. They already warned her of the possibility of ending up in the Triage Center for a mission. She doubt they thought it would be on her second mission. She sat up and glanced over at Padme and Jade.


    Padme had curled up on the cot. She had pulled the blanket over her. One of the nurse had been around and passed out blankets to everyone who was waiting. Padme used an arm as a pillow as she slept on the cot.


    Jade was the same way, sleeping, covered by a blanket. She had thrown an arm over her eyes to block out the bright light in the room.


    Lilian envied them. She couldn¡¯t go to sleep. She was the opposite of the rest they were getting. She wanted to move and head home. She sighed. She heard footsteps approaching and she glanced over to see a nurse walking toward them. She waited.


    ¡°Alright,¡± the Nurse started, ¡°the Doctor has looked over your reports. He won¡¯t be able to see you, but said from the report, it sounds like you are experiencing energy related exhaustion. He suggests taking the rest of the week off of ninja work.¡± The nurse handed Lilian a piece of paper. ¡°A copy will sent to the Government Tower in the morning, along with everyone¡¯s paperwork.¡± Lilian took the piece of paper and glanced over it.


    The paper was the standard issue work related excuse.


    The nurse went on, ¡°The Doctor suggests to visit your personal doctor within the next week to get release for work again.¡± Lilian nodded. She would have to make that appointment. Her mom had claimed that Lilian had chosen the Life of the Ninja and had finished the Basic Training, she could start doing adult responsibilities as well. ¡°We sent a runner to your Teacher. He will be here shortly to retrieve you.¡± Lilian nodded, again. ¡°Once he is here, you are free to go.¡±


    The Nurse turned to Padme and reached down to shake her awake, but kept her distance once she had placed a hand on Padme¡¯s shoulder. Padme jerked awake, tossing back the cover and attempted to find a kunai to defend herself before she was fully aware of what was going on. Jade, on the other hand, jerked so hard that she fell off her cot and landed with a thump. She muttered a loud enough curse where Lilian heard and raised her eyebrows at it.


    The Nurse just shook her head and informed them of the same thing she did with Lilian. They nodded. The Nurse turned and walked away as Lilian spotted Raizen walking into the Triage Room. She grabbed her paperwork and walked over to him.


    ¡°Hey,¡± She greeted her teacher.


    ¡°Let me guess - Energy Exhaustion?¡± Raizen said. Lilian nodded. ¡°That happens often enough with me and the other ninja.¡± He allowed a smile to cross his lips. ¡°Let¡¯s get you home. Enzo already is home and resting up. Ralph is in still the Triage Room A. I doubt they will let him go until morning.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡± Lilian asked. There wasn¡¯t a clock in the Triage Room G.


    ¡°Nearly 11 pm,¡± Raizen replied.


    Lilian sighed as she was escorted home by Raizen.

 Chapter 23: June 20 2027 The Morning After and The Price of Truth

    Ralph inhaled deeply, noticing the too-clean smell of bleach as he laid in the hospital bed. He kept his eyes closed. A faint breeze drifted across his cheek as he smelt the fresh cut grass and fresh air. Someone must have left the window opened. The sounds of songbirds singing as the market opened up for the day. He exhaled slowly. He heard the nurses in the hallway as they walked up, talking.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe third shift left the stock room like that,¡± a nurse complained. Ralph mentally labeled that nurse as Nurse A.


    ¡°It could be due to the changes in Management,¡± another nurse, Nurse B, commented, ¡°I know Doctor Basil is after the Head Assistant position to Doctor Cullen, once Doctor Poll leaves.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it doesn¡¯t explain the medicine shortage,¡± a third Nurse said, ¡°This is the fourth time this month, I have discovered we were short on a particular medicine we need. I don¡¯t know how that is possible when I do inventory every morning and before I leave for the day. I double check the records as well.¡±


    Their voices drifted away. Ralph finally opened his eyes and blinked, rapidly. He didn¡¯t expect to be almost blinded by the sunlight inching into his room. He sighed before he pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing as pain rippled through his body. He slowly reached out to the bed controls and pushed on the button to incline the bed. He heard the clockwork mechanism click as the head of the bed slowly rose. It felt like it took forever until the bed¡¯s incline was at the perfect height. He let go out of the button and relaxed into the bed. He let out a relieved sigh as he closed his eyes for a long moment.


    When he reopened his eyes, he glanced around the room. It was the average hospital room - white walls, cold white tile floors, and a pair of white curtains swaying the morning breeze. The only color in the room was the dark brown couch and the dark door frame. He blinked and directed his gaze back to the couch. His lips parted as he stared at the couch.


    Raizen laid, stretched out on the couch. An arm curled behind his head, acting like a pillow. The older man had a white blanket covering him. Ralph guessed Raizen either did that himself or a nurse did sometime during the night.


    Ralph didn¡¯t know how long he stared at his teacher. He didn¡¯t know how to react. In the past, whenever he ended up in the hospital, no one ever stayed with him or checked in on him during his stay. It was strange. A good kind of strange, but strange never the less.


    Another group of nurses walked up the hallway, just outside Ralph¡¯s door. One of them spoke up, ¡°Have you guys been to that new restaurant in the Celtic District?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Andy¡¯s cousin opened that restaurant?¡± a second nurse replied. Ralph frowned. This group of nurses were different from the first three.


    ¡°I think so,¡± the first nurse, Nurse D, said. The sound of wheel rolling over the tilted floor. ¡°I was thinking the three of us could go at lunch and eat there.¡±


    ¡°I heard the Honor District got a new restaurant called Panda Pantry,¡± the third nurse, Nurse F, spoke up, ¡°We could go there after work?¡±


    ¡°The Village is expanding, lately, hasn¡¯t it,¡± the second Nurse, Nurse E, commented with amazed note in her voice, ¡°I mean we didn¡¯t have some of these restaurants or stores a few years ago.¡±


    ¡°What do you expect?¡± Nurse D asked, ¡°Every time we see an inflex of new villagers, we see a boom in new businesses as they adjust to our lifestyle.¡±


    ¡°So, you are not worried that some of the newer villagers are not going to upraise against our Government,¡± Nurse F said.


    ¡°Assuming they do,¡± Nurse D stated, ¡°Our Ninja and Police Force will take care of them.¡± There was a pause before Nurse D went on, ¡°I am worried there is a few of them who will refuse to adjust to our lifestyle. Hopefully, Lord Bark will caught them before they can do any damage to the village and expelled them from the Village.¡±


    ¡°You mean make them disappear from our society,¡± Nurse E¡¯s tone held a correcting tone to it as she spoke, ¡°I have worked in the Government Tower and Intelligent Center. You don¡¯t want to know what goes on in the depths of those buildings.¡±


    There was silence after Nurse E made that statement. It was an open secret. Everyone who stepped out of line disappeared. They would make reappearance, eventually, and melted into society without making any sort of trouble, again. However, Ralph did notice these folks were watched closely by the Intelligence and The Black Hand for months, sometimes, years after they had disappeared and reappeared. He strained his ears to hear if they had moved on or not. He started to think they did when Nurse F spoke up, "A neighbor of mine was like that - spoke out against what type of Government we had, how our government was oppressive and how it wasn''t right, etc. Then one day about four months ago, he was missing and his wife and children was extremely upset. He is still missing."


    Silence filled the hallway for a long moment before Nurse D spoke, "Well, we know this happens, so, let''s focus on our work." Footsteps patted against the floor, fading away.


    Ralph had seen some of the night time raids as they were called. The Black Hands would sneak in and take the outspoken person and drag them out of their house before they would be loaded up into a wheeled cage wagon. Ralph got curious one night when he had spotted a night time raid happened and followed the mysterious Wagon. The Wagon would drive to the Government Tower, going to a secret entrance, unloaded the outspoken person, and dragged them through the secret doorway. He didn''t get any closer than a nearby rooftop. He didn''t need to. When he turned around to leave, a Black Hand stood there, watching him with unwavering gaze and he tried to explain that he was simply curious and wanted to see where The Black Hands had taken the troublesome person, finishing with that he didn''t need to more then he already did. The Black Hand nodded and stepped to one side, allowing Ralph to pass. The teen never went to that secret entrance again, knowing the next time he could the one who was dragged beneath the Government Tower.


    Ralph directed his thoughts elsewhere. It did him no good in thinking about what was hiding behind secretive entrance to the Government Tower. In fact, it might get him into major Trouble. He sighed. He wondered if the nurses he had heard so far were arriving for their shift or getting ready to leave. Maybe it was a mixture of both. He gazed out of the open window, listening. He heard footsteps traveling up and down the hallway. Their owners not speaking as they hurried.


    He turned his thoughts to his teammates, frowning. He didn''t remember being admitted to a room last night or was it early this morning? A soft moan echoed from the couch where Raizen laid. He turned his attention to his teacher to see him stirring awake. Footsteps approached. Ralph''s gaze flew to the door as the footsteps got closer and a voice spoke, breaking the silence, "I can''t believe Doctor Pool is finally retiring." It was a male voice. Ralph silently dubbed him as Nurse G.


    "It''s about time," a female voice said, Nurse H, in a relieved tone, "He''s been here for 30 years." There was a slight pause before she went on, "I really thought he would be the type to die on the job." A series of chuckles echoed. "But seriously, I thought all the wars he went through, he would have died somewhere on a random battlefield."


    "It''s pretty impressive," a new voice said, Nurse I, "While I do think he deserves a long retirement, it is a sad thing we are losing him."


    "Why?" Nurse H asked.


    "Think about it," Nurse I started, "The Knowledge he holds can be priceless, especially if we end up in another war."


    "I don''t think we will any time soon," Nurse G spoke up, "The Curse hasn''t been activated, yet. Plus the White Hall House is still recovering from their own battles at Sea." There was a long pause. Ralph glanced over to the room door to figure out if the trio of Nurses moved on or not. "If anything," Nurse G broke the silence, "We might have a small battle or two when nearby villages over resources within the Dead End Forest."


    "Define a Small battle," Nurse H drawled, "Because a Small Battle could be one of our Clans being wiped out and their Clan compound just sitting there, slowly crumbling to dust while the clan orphans are spread out in order to make sure that Clan doesn''t raise up again."


    An awkward silence.


    "I know the topic of Isamu Clan is a sensitive topic for you, Chelsea," Nurse G slowly spoke, "But it happened 13 years ago. It is time to let it go."


    Nurse H -Chelsea? - made a noise of protest when Nurse I cut in, "Anyway, can we get back to the topic we were discussing? Doctor Pool is retiring. I heard his retirement party is next week. This could be the prefect time to figure out who will be taking his place on the Team of Doctors we have here at Miracle." There was a pause. "So, who do you think will move up on the Team or do you think Doctor Cullen will hire from outside of Miracle?"


    A series of hard footstep pounded by the door. There was a pause. "What?" Nurse G protested, "I just told her the truth! She needs to let the Massacre of the Isamu Clan go."


    "I hope you realized she was going marry into that Clan," Nurse I''s voice held an icy tone, "And she was four months pregnant when it happened. She has been raising her child by herself for the last 12 years. Her heart still belongs to Jacob." There was another series of hard footsteps pounding on the title floor.


    A deep sigh echoed from the Hallway as Nurse G walked by.


    Ralph frowned. He didn''t remember the hospital being this drama filled the last few times he was here. Never the less, he was learning a lot from conversations happening in the hallway. He wondered what others kind of conversations he would hear before a doctor or nurse saw him. He glanced around and saw a pitcher of water with a glass sitting next to it on the nearby night stand. He sighed and tossed back the covers. The chill morning air sent goosebumps over his bare legs as he noticed he was wearing one of those cloth hospital gowns. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed when Raizen''s voice rang out, "Don''t get up."


    Ralph jerked his head back and watched as Raizen sat up, rubbed his eyes, and tossed back the blanket covering his lap before he stood up. The younger ninja thought Raizen was still asleep.


    "I just want some water. I can get it, " Ralph spoke in a defiant tone. Raizen stopped in mid-stretch and narrowed his eyes. Ralph felt an alarm bell go off in the back of his mind. He wondered, briefly, if the glare sent at him would been the same type of glare a father would give his rebellious son. He wrestled with his choices: get out of bed and grab a glass of water or allow Raizen to help him and get him a glass of water.


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    "Your Doctor said you will have stay in bed unless you have to use the loo," Raizen stated, "it means I will be around to help you with everything else." Ralph didn''t like that. He was not disabled where he needed to be waited on hand and foot. He opened his mouth, but Raizen cut him off before he could speak, "The Doctor will be in a couple hours and will have the final say on when you are able to take missions again. They will have a word with me before making that final decision, Ralph." There was a pause as Ralph chewed on his inner cheek. Either stay in bed and be able to go back on missions or get out of bed and be put on medical leave for a bit longer then he could afford to. He sighed and pulled his legs back up on the bed before he covered them back up. He glanced at Raizen who looked pleased about Ralph''s decision. Ralph resisted the urge to roll his eyes.


    Raizen walked over to the nightstand, limping slightly. Ralph mused it must have been sleeping on that couch. He didn''t know how comfortable those couches were. Plus, his teacher was still injured. Raizen didn''t move his injured arm as he grabbed the water pitcher with his good hand and poured some water into the glass, filling it up, before he set the pitcher on the night stand. He grabbed the glass and turned to Ralph.


    Ralph took it and brought it to his lips, taking a sip as Raizen returned to the couch. They didn''t speak as the market noise grew, letting them know the Market had opened and villagers were shopping for what they needed for the day. Ralph didn''t know how long they sat there in silence, but he jerked his head around when he heard female voices in the hallway.


    "I can''t believe the amount of overdoses cases we are experiencing with the homeless," a Nurse said in an exasperated tone. Ralph frowned as he tried to remember which letter he had left on. Maybe It was I? No, he remembered I was talking about Doctor Pool and his retirement. Maybe it was J? He don''t think he had used J yet. If he did, oh well. He dubbed the exasperated Nurse as Nurse J. "That was the 15th one this month."


    "I''m trying to figure out how they are getting these drugs," another nurse, Nurse K, stated, "Some of the reports I have been hearing from the science department are strange. They don''t know drug these people are using."


    There was a loud sigh before the third Nurse, Nurse L, added her input, "Either they are telling the truth or they can''t tell us." The Footsteps stopped. The silence was heavy before Nurse L went on, "Our science department are the most highly skilled scientists'' on par with the Mercy Kingdom''s Scientists or the Scientists from Earth and the other realms Avalon has been connected to over the centuries."


    Ralph raised his eyebrow at the closed door, wondering what was her point was. It was common knowledge that the Hidden Bark''s Science Department kept track of the latest developments in the other Kingdoms and Nations inside and outside of Avalon. With each new group of villagers, they brought knowledge with them about how the World worked, how to treat diseases, New Knowledge on various topics and new methods to get information through various means. He didn''t know if there was talks of improving the health systems or not.


    "I''m lending towards they can''t tell us due to orders, higher up," Nurse L stated.


    Ralph glanced over to Raizen. His face was stoic as he watched the doorway. His eyes were hard.


    "That new group of villagers," Nurse K started, "Didn''t they have a shipment of white powder with them?"


    "According to the rumors I have heard, yes," Nurse L admitted, "However, they were keeping quite on what it was."


    "So, you are telling me that our Science Department might have decided to test out the white powder on our poorest citizens to see what kind of effects the powder has?" Nurse J asked. A strange silence fell between the three women. Ralph felt his mouth, suddenly, too full with his saliva, but he couldn''t shallow. His eyes darted back over to Raizen. He sat on the couch with his back straight.


    "Who said these people were our citizens?" Nurse L argued. That was an interesting point being made. Ralph had seen some of the homeless around his neighbor and with one look, he could tell they were new to the Village and were classified as ''Undesirables'' for various reasons. He didn''t know how many times he had lose some of the Undesirables as they roamed through the alley ways, stumbling around in the dark, moaning for some kind of substance they wanted. He had also witness a couple of them busting into a ground level apartment once before and heard a woman''s screams of horror and pain before the Police Force showed up. He didn''t know what had happened to those Undesirables after they were led out in handcuffs. "Anyway," Nurse L spoke up, breaking the dark silence, "We got work to do. I''m sure our Government will do what Lord Bark''s thinks is the most important to protect us and other non-fighters."


    "Yeah," Nurse K''s voice trailed off as trio walked away from the door.


    Ralph glanced over at his teacher. Raizen''s shoulders slowly relaxed. His fist opened and Ralph saw the older man was holding a kunai. Ralph''s eyes widened. Raizen was ready to launch himself through the door and attack those three women over the topic they were discussing. There had to be some truth behind what was said. Nurse L appeared to be most knowledgeable over the possibility of what was going on in the Hidden Bark''s Science Department. Ralph wondered why. Did she have experience working with in the mysterious department? Did she personally know someone who does or did? Perhaps she had witness something she wasn''t supposed and she knew what kind of risks she was taking by talking about the science department? Of course, she could be dumb and not realized who was sitting in one of the rooms, waiting for the moment to attack her.


    The strange feeling Ralph had been experiencing for the past few minutes slowly faded away. It was like the infamous deer caught in the lantern lights look when a speeding carriage came barreling down the dirt path, a paralyzing fear of not knowing what to do until it was far too late. He shallowed the mouthful of saliva and did it, two more times. He brought a hand up and wiped at the corners of his mouth. Thank goodness, he didn''t start drooling from the amount of saliva he had produced. That would be embarrassing.


    Ralph gave Raizen a side way glance, wondering if he would be allowed to ask such a question. Raizen caught him and raised an eyebrow at him. Ralph gulped as his eyes darted over the blanket covering his own lap before he asked, "Was there any truth to what she spoke about?"


    "Ralph," Raizen started, "It is above your pay grade. I barely make enough to know the Truth of what she speaks. My wife, on the other hand, does make enough to know the Truth." The man on the couch sighed. "It is an open secret that our science department has done and will do questionable things. Most of it is on Need to Know basis. You already are using some of the benefits of the science our scientists have been able to create and expand upon. We do have a few scientists from the other nations within Avalon and outside of it. They have been most helpful in various ways to improve our lifestyle and increase our value to the White Hall Family of Camelot." Raizen lend back against the couch. He looked uncertain. "I do know there will be a lot of interesting developments in the coming years that my child will benefit from and you will learn about as it is release to the public."


    Ralph nodded. He didn''t understand what Raizen was trying to hint at, but he understand it was above his pay grade for a long while. If Raizen barely made enough to be in the know, the Science Department must be doing a lot of questionable experiments and learning from the results of the said experiments.


    "Anyway," Ralph started and trailed off. He need to change the subject. He didn''t know how long it will be before the Doctor would see him and give him an update on his condition. He racked his brain for a topic to talk about. An idea sparked. "How are Lilian and Enzo? I haven''t seen them since we were separated yesterday into the different triage rooms."


    Raizen gave him a grateful look before he replied, "Lilian is just exhausted. She will be back at full health within a week." He stood up and grabbed himself a glass of water. He took a sip and went on, "Enzo will need a bit longer to heal. He broke his arm and depending on how fast he heals, he could out of commission for 6 to 10 weeks."


    Ralph let a whistle. 6 to 10 weeks. "What are we doing to during that time?" He asked, "I''m not sure if I can go that long without a check."


    "I think after these first two missions, it may be best if we have a few days off from missions and train in various techniques," Raizen nodded. Ralph opened his mouth to protest. Raizen raised a hand and continued, "We will still take a couple low rank missions, depending on how you and Enzo are healing. You might have some limitations on what you can do. We just have to work around those limitations, once we found out what the limitations are."


    Ralph sighed. At least there was a chance he would be able to take on missions, still. He took a breath and felt a tinge of pain in his ribs. He ignored it as he asked, "What kind of techniques will you be teaching us?"


    "That kind you fight with," Raizen said. Ralph blinked then glared, allowing the unspoken ''duh'' hang silently in the air. Raizen grinned at him before he explained, "I have to see which elemental affinity you three have before I start teaching how to use the elements to your advantage." Ralph cocked his head to the side. Raizen noticed it, "And yes, you three will be taught how to use the other elements you don''t have an affinity in. The attacks will be weaker, but it can still give you an advantage over your enemy." Raizen paused, with a thoughtful expression before he asked, "Is there anything you would prefer to learn about, Ralph?"


    "How to create seals," Ralph beamed. It had been one of his hobbies since he heard about the Great Seal Master Alexander and he had been trying to learn more and more, but the local stores and the library didn''t have a lot of information on seals. He shifted slightly uncomfortable at the next topic he would like to learn about when he informed Raizen of it, "And How Clans are formed, their hierarchy, and what kind of purpose they have in the Village and within the Family Structure." He wasn''t for sure if he had worded that correctly or not.


    "Clan formation?" Raizen raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you thinking about forming your own Clan within the Village?"


    "I don''t know, yet," Ralph admitted, "I do want to have a proper family name instead a Bastard name and a large family." He stared pass Raizen, out of the window. He often wondered why he hadn''t been adopted when he was younger. There were a few families who had expressed interested in him, but something happened and they changed their minds, often choosing another boy or girl to adopt. Eventually, he knew he had become too old to adopt and decided to take his own fate in his hands. A dream of his slowly changed. If he couldn''t have a family to adopt him, he would have a large family of his own.


    "Well," Raizen started before he paused, thinking. "I don''t know the formal paperwork about Clan formation for the Village, because most of the time a Clan is formed is when we get a new group of Villagers and they might form a clan, using one family name with the rest of the families being protected families." He tilted his head back. "I think it might do some good if I did teach you and Enzo how the Ninja Clans worked with Lilian''s help, if she is willingly. It may help you down the road when you start making your own family, if it gets Clan status or not."


    There was a squeal of excitement, echoing through the hallway like a siren. Ralph jumped in his bed and jerked his head around to look at the door. His heart thundered in his chest. His body tensed and he felt pain ripple through his body. He tried to ignore it as Raizen moved from the couch to stand beside a stand up closet, standing sideways with a kunai in hand. He watched the doorway.


    "YOU GOT ENGAGED!!!" someone screamed, "Congratulations!"


    "Shhh!" someone else replied. This voice was deep, indicating it was a man speaking, "It is not even 7 in the morning. We still have patients who are trying to rest. You can''t be screaming in joy about this in the hallways!"


    Ralph let out a sigh as he relaxed.


    "And beside, I know some of the patients are from the Ninja Class," the same person spoke up, "Your squeal just set every of them on edge. Especially after the chaos with the Luna Wolf pack, yesterday afternoon."


    "I''m sorry," the first person, Nurse M as Ralph dubbed her, replied. Her tone was apologetic. "I was excited for her."


    There was an embarrassed sigh, "I was too, still am," Nurse N said, her female voice was soft. Ralph had trouble hearing it, but he was able to hear when he strained his ears. "Like he said, it is still early in the morning. Most of our patients are or were asleep or at least resting. Hopefully, you didn''t wake them all up."


    "I said I''m sorry," Nurse M moaned.


    "I know," Nurse N replied. There was a pause as wheel rolled over the tilted flooring then "Do you want to be one of my bridesmaids?" Nurse N asked. The question obviously took Nurse M by surprise as there was a long silence then another squeal. Ralph groaned. Raizen rolled his eyes.


    "Quite, you two," Nurse O spoke up, "The Patients!"


    "What kind of wedding are you thinking about having?" Nurse M asked Nurse N.


    "Perhaps a Spring wedding," Nurse N replied, "Beyond that, we haven''t talk about any more plans for the wedding."


    "Women," Nurse O muttered loud enough as he walked by the door. The hard silence that followed that statement informed Raizen and Ralph that the two women heard and now, there was a good possible that the male nurse was getting two glares.


    "Never a dull in the village," Raizen muttered as he returned to the couch.