Ninja: Part One

 

 

And in the midst of the battle I saw her lying on the ground. From where I was standing orange hair was visible. I imagined she had blue eyes also. Maybe her element was fire, but more possibly water. The night crawled across the landscape, and I knew I was running out of time. Arrows, make shift bullets, and spears soared above my head as I crawled on the ground, trying to reach her. A single thought crossed my mind; what was I doing? Was I going to save this girl? I scaled the few rocks that were in my way, and broke into a sprint. Slippery moss defeated my winners run, but I was soon up again. An angry Cyclops holding a club charged at me, full force, swinging back and forth, expecting to kill.

“No,” I grunted, swinging my boomerang that bared the carvings of my tribe on it. The metal crescent bounced off of its head, giving me enough time to run away in its confusion. My breathing came in heavy pants, but I wasn’t afraid or discouraged. A familiar ‘swooshing’ sound caught my attention just in time. I jumped in mid sprint, catching my boomerang. A loud thump signaled my victory, that the monster had fallen.

 

I was finally in ear shot of the child. Her desperate cries of pain should have been enough to make me change course, but they had the opposite effect. I bolted faster, and halted to my knees just as I reached her. I stopped, hands in mid air, and gasped. Her whole body was paralyzed, that much was obvious, but the most shocking was her convulsing chest. And she wasn't small in age like I had predicted. This child must have been in her high teens. Such a young warrior.

“You have - to help me,” She demanded in a gruff voice, her piercing auburn eyes visible in the darkness. My hands immediately gravitated toward a bag at her bleeding side. After rummaging through it, I found what I wanted; a curative antidote.

“Here,” I whispered, and shifted her body so that her head was on my knees. The bottle tipped and the dense liquid slid down her throat. I screwed the bottle cap on and watched her. Slowly, after a count of five minutes, her body calmed down, and she stopped twitching.

“Thank you so much,” Her sweet voice surprised me. The back of her head slowly turned left and right, “Unfortunately, I’m still paralyzed and bleeding,” Her eyes squeezed shut.

I slowly moved her upper body to the grass, tore the sleeve off of my shirt, and wrapped the cloth tightly around her bleeding hips. My fingers applied presure as I looked around and watched the war slowly die out. Men and creatures were crawling back to their holes, their homes. Men were left for dead in the calming night.

“What division are you from?” I suddenly asked. Her eyes averted from mine.

“A ninja,” A sudden hiss sounded in the distance, “we have to,“ Her voice was cut off by the screech of another dieing creature. I could tell by the voice inflections.

“Let us move,” I stood and tied her small bag and mine to my pants.

“Give me a few more minutes and I’ll be walking,” She argued.

“How long have you been out here?” I secured her swords to my other side.

“Not for very long. I was attacked by a dwarf. He caught me by surprise and jammed my side with a spear, but a sedative was connected to the end,” Her eyebrows shoved together in frustration, “I would’ve had him if –“

“Hey! Can we just get out of here?”

“I said give me a few more minutes and I’ll be walking,” Her argumentive side melted when she suddenly she cried out and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. I dropped to my knees.

“We need to get away,” I slid my gloved hands under her, and picked her up bridal style.

“Okay, fine,” Those were the last words for a very long time. For as much pain as she was in, I was surprised she maintained such a guarded front. Her face stayed cautious, too, as we walked through the darkness. She didn’t say a word. I wondered what was wrong with her, besides the fact she had been taken down by a dwarf. I was pretty sure that dwarf was just lucky, had a rabbits foot in his pocket. If she had been watching or paying attention he would have been dead in a flash. I was sure of it.

 

After we cleared the battle grounds I would be able to set her down, find herbs, and cure her, but doing that was easier said than done. The terrain leading to the forest was ugly, and treacherous, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The girl, whose name I realized I didn’t know, twitched periodically, but otherwise she was quite. I had walked for hours, and realized I couldn’t feel my left foot anymore. The rush of a stream could be heard nearby, so I stopped there. I dropped her from my back and onto the grassy earth.

“Wake, child,” My fingers hovered above her forehead and I noticed the crescent shape above her left eyebrow. In all of my years I hadn’t seen anything like it. The detail resembled the perfection of markings on palace walls. Whoever engraved that must have taken some time. I lightly grasped her shoulder and when I did I could tell that she really wanted to be jumping up, pulling her swords from her back, but instead she only grunted.

“Are you quenched, child?”

“No,” Her eyes stayed closed, mouth fixed into a straight line.

“Okay…”

Her voice softened, “I would really like it if you would gather some herbs. Please.”

“Okay, I’ll be back soon,” I broke into a run, towards the heart of the forest. A blur of trees was all I left behind. And just as I had left, I heard a loud screech. My legs carried me back to our camp site quickly, but when I got there nothing was wrong. She was lying just as I had left her, looking asleep, but the items of her bag were spilled onto the ground. I tip toed over to her bag, picked it up, and pulled it to the other side of the clearing. There was an array of ninja equipment. Claws, hooks, throwing stars, and exotic fans were scattered. This kid wasn’t lying; she really was a ninja. 

The bushes stirred in the background, and I slowly pulled a knife from my pocket, inching closer, maintaining my stance. Suddenly, from behind me, the dust stirred and a haze of orange swung around me. The dust settled and the girl was stood in front of me, a ninja’s stance, holding those warrior swords; one in each hand.

Author's Note

So, I've been watching Avatar: The Last Air bender all day, and I was inspired. What do you all think? I quite enjoyed writing this one. ^^