FicWad

A battalion of ninjas were making their way through the marshlands. They had been sent out into the foggy and wet area with a purpose and continued stealthily along waiting for any sign or life. Rumours had reached them of their whereabouts and they were there to confirm it or not. They had enough men to remain hidden but fight if necessary, but this wasn’t about fighting, it was only about finding where they were before coming back in larger numbers. They came to a river and some wanted to turn back. But the group leader saw smoke coming from the trees on the other side, it was them. They crouching and slid into the lake before wading across the water silently as if hunting their prey.
The group leader stopped suddenly, and the following ninjas halted to wait for a command. The leader wasn’t going to say anymore as he was in too much pain to make any kind of noise. Then as the water around him turned red from blood he sank into the water, getting the following ninjas ready for retreat. It was too late though, they were waist deep in water and already in some kind of trap, none of them could move as if they were strapped in place under the water and they could do nothing as the water pulled them in and drowned them all.

A group of ninjas were escorting a feudal lord along the road into the neighbouring country for some kind of event and things were going quite normal. It was a boring trip and it wasn’t until somebody was seen on the road ahead that the ninjas were concentrating. As they got closer, they saw a single male in the middle of the road walking the opposite direction to them. Before he could pass, the ninjas covered the road giving him no space to get past them. The feudal lord was also bored and spoke up, “What are you doing out here by yourself?”
“I am looking for some food to take back to my family.”
“So you are a peasant.”
“No. I am a ninja.” The ninjas readied themselves and two took themselves around the immediate area, showing there was nobody else there. The feudal lord, feeling quite brave wanted some entertainment, “You shouldn’t be alone ninja. KILL HIM!”
“Please I do not want any trouble.” The hired ninjas didn’t need anymore convincing and charged at this lone ninja. It would be their last mistake and the feudal lord could do nothing but watch as all the ninjas he had hired for protection were killed easily. It was just him and the lone ninja who approached him, “Please, spare me.”
“Next time when somebody says, I do not want any trouble, you should listen.”

In amongst the foggy woods next to a river, was a cave. This cave connected to the river from both sides via an underground tunnel, it was big and had plenty of escape routes, perfect for a group wanting to seek refuge among it. The problem was, two clans had come across its existence and did eventually cross paths. When they had view of each other, they stopped and stared, causing tension amongst the whole cave. The women and children were mostly at the back while the men up front eyed each other off. Both in their own way wanted to fight it out right there, but thought better of it. They had not gathered any information on their enemy but both were still confident of winning if it came down to it.
The leaders of each clan stepped out from their groups and slowly approached each other while the rest readied their weapons and techniques for any kind of trigger. “We cannot both stay here, we will go to the other side of the cave past the underground tunnel and we can cave it in so we know we are secure on that part.”
“Agreed, do we have a peace treaty for the time sake?”
“Yes. Until we can arrange something, we avoid each other when we are able to.”
The clans backed away and left each other alone, but this wasn’t the last they would interact with this tension. Members from opposite clans, a man and woman who noticed each other during the talks were quite fascinated by the other, not being able to take their eyes away, even when they drew further and further away.
Both clans had set up their stations and sent scouts to spy on the other clan and make note of their movements and defences. There was no need to fight for the moment, but defences were tight on both sides and there was the expectation that something would happen.

A man was washing himself in the river, from the dirt in his long white hair to his arms which had gone through a lot of hard labour. He was readying himself for another day of duties for the survival of his clan. Something caught his eye as he bought his hair out of the water and he instinctively drew a kunai he had with him and readied himself for a fight, but what he saw was much more exciting. It was the girl he had seen yesterday and couldn’t stop thinking about. She too was bathing in the river and when she saw him, she also withdrew a kunai she had and then sheathed it once she saw who it was and covered up.
The water seemed to shine and dance around her and she smiled, bringing a feeling the ninja had never felt before. He had not really had a lot of experience with this, but he bit his lip and took a deep breath and approached her slowly, with his hands up, showing he would not hurt her. She trusted him of course as she was also interested in him and allowed him to come to her. “You are that woman I saw yesterday. My name is Kaguya Shinjou.” The woman surprised by this backed off slightly, “I have heard of your clan. I thought you were all dead from your failed siege of the Hidden Mist Village?”
“We should be, but there were some of us that didn’t want to throw our clans life and abilities away. We took to hiding and the preservation and the restoration of our clan. What is your name?”
“My name is Mitsuko.”
“That is a lovely name, but I notice you only gave me one of your names, you must be in hiding like us?” Mitsuko nodded and looked down at the water. She wasn’t so different from this ninja. Shinjou suspected something and lowered his hand into the water and splashed it at Mitsuko. Shinjou was correct as the water was suddenly stopped in mid air, being controlled and manipulated by Mitsuko. “I have also heard of your tragic clan. Extraordinary abilities to be able to manipulate ice and water, what is your clan name?”
“I am not allowed to say.”
“I understand, people like you are being hunted down are you not. Running from those that fear you?” Mitsuko nodded and Shinjou understood perfectly how she felt as he himself had amazing abilities. He lifted his arm and a bone began to slide through the skin and out of the body, “It seems fate has bought the two strongest clans in the Water Country together. I do not have flowers, but take this for the time being.” He broke his bone off and handed it to Mitsuko who was amazed at this ability and saw how the Kaguya clan were so tough to beat in battle. Shinjou turned to head back to his camp, “I hope we can talk again some time.” Mitsuko didn’t reply, but she as well wanted to meet with Kaguya Shinjou again.