The oni

The Oni

The night was charcoal black, the silver of moon unable to bring its light to penetrate the billowing darkness. The sounds of the market town were dying down as people returned to their houses, bedding down for the night or simply escaping the night to where the lights of the home provided a more convivial atmosphere for drink and conversation.

The shadow then that moved underneath the walls of Kasugayama castle could not be distinguished by the few embrasures lit upon the walls. It effortlessly glided along the ground, making little noise, the darkness shrouding its shape, making any potential observer unclear as to what moved through the night; possibly there was nothing at all?

Yet, a very real hook and rope issued from its body and with a strength to match any warrior of flesh and blood hurled its tool upon the walls of the castle. With effortless ease it glided up the walls, careful to issue no noise, lest any sleeping guard might be awoken from his slumber by an unnatural noise.

The shadow crept over the parapet, slinking into the angle of the wall, quickly surveying left and right, then launching himself forward quickly. It noiselessly plunged a wakizashi short sword into the throat of a guard, a guttural noise issuing from his throat as his lifeblood seeped from him. The shadow was already holding his thrashing body, leveraging it up and over the wall as they dying man gave no resistance.

The shadow reclaimed its hook, winding the rope back into its possession, then re-releasing it down the inside of the wall, once again it slinked down the wall as rapidly as it had advanced up it. The castle grounds were much harder to navigate, though the shadows purpose drove it on to seek its target through unending peril. It criss-crossed the ground as if smoke wafted across the floor. As it reached the castle tower, it produced two kunai, wedging each into a portion of the stone and timber work it made its way up the outside of the wall, gingerly testing each kunai to see if it would maintain his weight.

With two levels completed, it slinked through an open window, obliviously left open by an un-prepared guard. His folly left the shadow smirking under the billowing folds of its exterior, its crimson demonic face a twisted snarl of vicious intent. He raced across the hallway, rounding the corner and emitting a shuriken, its sharp metal twisting a turning towards a guard outside a doorway. It lodged into his arm, eliciting a sharp shout of pain, the shadow already upon him, stabbing multiple times into his armoured body.

The guard next to him cried out ‘Shinobi!’ and slid out his katana and in a perfect Iaido move swept his katana in a vicious upwards cut towards the ninja. The man nimbly leapt and rolled out of the way, sweeping out his wakizashi and dashing towards his foe. In the tight hallway the warrior’s movements were constricted, the ninja deflecting his blow, and sweeping under the sword thrust, grasping his kunai and lodging it in the guard’s throat.

Time was of the essence as he raced through the doorway, coming face to face with the avatar of the god of War himself, standing proud chested, his katana held two handed in front of him. Uesugi Kenshin charged his opponent; the ninja, pulling a second wakizashi from his belt dashed in and out of danger, slashing and stabbing at his opponent. With multiple wounds spilling blood from Kenshin, his strength evading him, the ninja moved in to finish the job.

Instead, multiple hatamoto burst into the room, heavily armed, one warrior quickly releasing an accurately aimed arrow at the shinobi. His demon face mask took the blow, reflecting the arrow and cracking in the process. Panic creeping into the shinobi’s mind, he tore off his ruined mask, sprinting back the way he had come, acrobatically jumping past two samurai and racing for the window, his weapons dropped he grasped his two kunai and raced out of the window.

The samurai chased after him, looking out into the darkness of the night, watching for any movement, as the castles alarm bells began to rang, warriors around the castle grasping arms and searching for the intruder. Instead the shadow once again slinked off the wall and glided away on the night’s wind, the darkness smothering any existence of it until it was no longer really there.