Chapter Seven - The City of Ruins

The end of the tunnels! But the placement of traps might declare the end of our favorite shinobi team.

They awoke as the sun was rising over the hills of Disbakao, although they had no idea of knowing that. For all they knew, it was still night out. They all woke up at nearly the same time. Kaname’s long, silky hair didn’t look nearly as glamorous as boys who didn’t know her would prefer. She would avoid the issue, saying women of the Uzuki clan were always beautiful, even early in the morning.

The boys who knew her didn’t care.

They didn’t have breakfast, and while Shinji and Kaname had the look of pain stamped on their faces, Orochi kept a straight face. Shinji found it odd – he knew he had heard Orochi’s stomach growl. But his face looked calm, and in control. Maybe it was part of his Hebi ancestry; perhaps having the blood of the snake god allowed them to control their emotions to an extent.

They couldn’t find anything to eat: any meat had long dissolved to dust, and the fruits and vegetables rotted away long ago. There was grumbling among Kaname and Shinji, but it mostly went on ignored ears.

“You can go on a few more days,” Orochi said. “We can’t be that much further away from the exit. Just keep that kounen of yours lit, don’t fall in any holes, and we’ll be fine.”

Shinji would have asked the Hebi to keep his mouth shut, but he was too hungry to do much of anything.

They decided it was for the best that they explored the city. None of them were prepared for this week long test, and were in desperate need of supplies. From the results of yesterday’s initial exploration, the group was betting certain they would not find even a scrap of food. But, as Kaname put it, ‘If we could find some beds to sleep on, there should be something we can use as supplies!’ The rest of the party was in agreement, which was a rarity ever since their first meeting.

At first, Orochi suggested that they try to form a map from what they remembered from yesterday. It ended in disaster: none of their memories fit in with the others. They all conflicted with the other. The ‘map’ looked like a giant scribble than a guide. It was quickly torn up.

“Let’s just explore, hoping we don’t get lost.” No one disagreed with the Hebi’s second proposal. They went as a group, with the philosophy that four pairs of eyes will detect items of interest better than just one pair.

They went down the central road, not expecting to find the market. They didn’t know it was the market when they found the circling stairs that led to the large open area, but the barely standing stands showed the four shinobis that’s exactly what this part of the old city was.

It was unlike the market in Disbakao. On the surface, the market was between rows of buildings; it was narrow, and straight, allowing shoppers to see all the shops with ease. Here, it looked more like a modern day arena, and how deep the market was into the ground, how wide it was. The stands swirled in, creating path on itself, but there were many routes to take.

When Shinji first stepped into the marketplace, his boots made a large clomping sound. He could just imagine the odd orchestra the thousands of clomping feet would have made when this city was full of life. There would have been thousands of stands, full of merchandise. Now, barely a few hundred remained. How many of their goods were useable today?

Barely any; if they hadn’t crumbled away years past, they did when the unsteady fingers touched them. It was a half hour before Kaname found some rope.

“Good for tying up idiots,” she said when Orochi turned the corner with a two small tokkuri jugs in his arms. Ignoring here, he tossed one to Kaname.

Shinji found some firestones, stones used to start fires. A simple spark, and BOOM!, a fire was born; perfect for campfires or lighting torches.

“Why do we need that when you have that Furyujin-Ur?,” Kaname asked.

“Ryuujin-Fu,” Shinji corrected. “Besides, I’m getting tired of lighting the way for everybody. And what if I get knocked out, or —“

“Okay, okay, I get it!”

At the end of everything, they didn’t find much. Three jugs for water, some firestone and rope, and one spiked boot, obviously used for climbing. Kaname volunteered for the job; in truth, she was the only one left after everyone else declines. She just made herself look good by saying she took the job of ‘climbing mountains thousands of feet high’ herself.

They made their way out of the marketplace, and through the abandoned streets of the city. The further they got into the city, the more it seemed like something horrible had happened here. It wasn’t necessarily that the appearance changed much, but it was more like an aura of dread had surrounded the ancient metropolis while the foursome rested.

“It would be best if we left soon,” Izumi said. “There is an unusual presence here.” Everyone nodded in approval.

They moved around the city for hours. From the long abandoned temple to the crumbling city center, to where the place of sacrifice was. They went from one end of the city to the other end, and they found no sign of a way out, minus the entrance they used to get in.

They didn’t seem to notice, but even if they did, they didn’t care. They were caught in the marvel of the ancient city. This was the place of their ancestors, the very city where their forefathers lived and thrived for thousands of years under the guidance of the Gods. This was as close to heaven as humanity would ever reach before Nirvana. The foursome were all absorbed in the sheer majesty of the place. Even Izumi would whisper “Marvelous” and “Fascinating” frequently.

“So this is the Buddha,” Shinji thought out loud as he eyed the massive statue of the bald prophet. He was the first priest to prophesize the coming of the Gods, and was believed as one of the greatest men to ever be granted life. No priest even came close to matching him in how valued he was.

It was a massive hall of statues, similar to the entrance to the city. There were dozens of statues where they stood, full of ancient warriors, god kings, and other figures of legend and myth.

“Kind of odd that somebody so fat would be so damn famous.”

“Now, Kaname, that just wasn’t nice.”

The Uzuki clansman snickered. “Oh shut up you stupid snake.”

In the background, Izumi sighed. “Imbeciles,” he muttered. He stepped away from the giant foot of the Buddha. “We should move now. As fascinating as this place is, we don’t have time to be idle.”

Orochi nodded in agreement. “A cave should be close by. Let’s get moving.” They got back into formation, and moved.

There was one thing that they all missed, however. Lying beneath the head of a Buddha, was an explosive tag. A marvelous weapon of war, it was no larger than a piece of parchment cut in half. It could be configured for a set amount of variables and triggers, but it always ended the same: it would blow up, like a bomb.

And as they passed under the raised blade of one of the god kings, that specific tag’s fuse was lit. Quickly, the tag began to burn away.

Then it exploded. The head was jettisoned off from the neck, crashed into the hallway…and it began to roll at high speed towards the four Hajin shinobis.

In wide eyes horror, they all stared at the giant rolling head of death.

Orochi licked his lips. “Run. Now.” Like bats out of hell, they dashed towards the cavern hole. They weren’t even in formation anymore; they were just trying to not get crushed.

Shinji was running so fast that he tripped over some debris. He fell face fist into the hard floor. Kaname heard Shinji fall; the others weren’t slowing down.

‘Damn that Hebi!’

She dashed to pick up Shinji. “Be grateful, idiot!” She pushed Shinji to give him a head start. By now the rolling head was close enough that it would crush the two of them if they tripped again. All they thought about was running.

They ran; the boulder was coming closer. They ran some more, and the strands of Kaname’s long hair was touching the boulder. They continued to run; they were almost at the cavern! But now, the wasuka was scraping against the rolling head.

“Run faster damnit!” Kaname didn’t clarify if she was yelling at Shinji or her own two feet. The possibility the order was directed at him gave Shinji a reason to quicken the pace.

The more they seemed to run, the more it seemed that the head was quickening its speed. Shinji started to believe that this whole place was cursed.

They leaped for the cave, hands stretched out. They fell into the very mouth of the cave; their two teammates grabbed their hands and pulled them out of the way. The stone head crashed into the cavern mouth.

In the darkness, Kaname ordered for light. Shinji was all too quick to oblige. The kounen fire lit the cavern, showing the pale expression everyone had.

Orochi calmly wiped dirt off of his shoulders. “It would seem, that sensei is trying to kill us.”

“Wasn’t it obvious from the wolves?”

“Madame, I was hoping for a difference between testing and downright bloodlust.”

“I agree with the girl,” Izumi said. “She is after blood.”

“Do we have a nut for a team sensei?” Kaname asked.

“Possibly.”

“She could just not like us,” Shinji noted.

“Idiot, if she didn’t like us, why the hell would she elect to be a team sensei?”

Shinji just shrugged.

“Fool, that isn’t how it works. The Marajin chooses Tajins for that role.”

“Whatever,” Kaname said, ignoring Izumi’s revelation.

“Let’s just go,” Orochi decided. Everyone else agreed, and got back into formation. Shinji once led the way with his kounen-lit arm, Orochi was behind him, Kaname followed the Hebi clansman, and Izumi trailed behind.

They moved into the cave, everyone’s eyes glancing in every direction now. After the boulder that had nearly crushed them, everyone was weary for the next trap. This wasn’t a simple test anymore; it felt like their very first mission. It was a scary feeling, being alone, with just your comrades that knew just as much of the situation as you did. The thought didn’t calm Shinji down. He just wanted to get the hell out of there.

They turned a corner, and found themselves facing a long hallway. It would be halfway through the passage when a threatening rumble brought their attention to behind them.

A giant boulder was coming their way.

“What does she think we are?! Treasure hunters?!” Kaname shouted.

“It doesn’t matter! Run!” Orochi ordered. The four began their second race of life and death.

They ran, quicker than before, the exhaustion of traveling through the cave evident on their breath. Sweat poured down on their skin; flying debris from the rolling boulder landing on their sticky skin.

Shinji was so focused on running that his eyes didn’t see a pothole in his path. His left foot fell in. He tugged, but his foot wouldn’t move.

“Help!” he screamed.

Orochi and Kaname turned to see their teammate in distress. Kaname gave Orochi a look that said ‘Do we really need to help him?’ Orochi nodded. They dashed towards their comrade.

“Pull!” Kaname commanded. Orochi did so, and Shinji tried to use his free leg as leverage. His foot didn’t budge.

The boulder was getting closer.

“Screw this! Orochi move!” She pushed Orochi out of the way and raised her foot.

The Hebi clansman saw what the overzealous woman had in mind. “Kaname no!” But he was too late: in a chi full kick, she broke Shinji’s leg free…but she kicked right through the cavern floor right into his ankle, twisting it.

Shinji released a blood curling scream, his blue veins bulging from his neck.

“Damn it girl,” Orochi lifted Shinji onto his shoulders. He nearly collapsed from the enormous weight of the boy’s blade, but somehow, it lightened tremendously when he got Shinji positioned. He could feel the cold sweat dripping from the boy’s fingers. He moved, but he could feel the presence of Kaname was missing. He turned back, and saw the girl was posed to strike at the boulder, her fist raised to pierce right into it.

“Kaname!”

“I’m going to show sensei just who exactly is boss around here! This is two boulders too many!”

The boulder came then; ready to flatten her flesh, to crush her bones. She sent her fist flying for the boulder…

It didn’t connect. The boulder hit her head first, sending her rolling back to the ground, right next to Orochi.

Her forehead was bruised; her eyes were shut. At best, she was out cold. At worst…Orochi didn’t even want to think of it.

He was about to call Izumi, but he heard his footsteps. The silent one picked Kaname up. “Let’s go.”

They ran. It was harder to outrace a boulder when one was carrying a body, but Izumi and Orochi managed to stay a few steps ahead of the boulder. Their breathing was harder now; their sweat stung their eyes. But the pain just made them move all the faster; thus was the life of the shinobi. Second place was failure and death; they had no other room but to be on top.

A gap was quickly approaching. With a single leap, the boulder would fall into the black hole, and they could take it easy now. But it was a long jump, and the extra bodies they were holding made it all the more difficult. One false move – tripping, miscalculation in how much power they needed, anything of the sort – and if the falling boulder didn’t kill them, falling dozens of feet to a cruel and painful death would.

Orochi looked to Izumi, and Izumi looked back to Orochi. They both nodded; they had said their plan without words.

When they reached the gap, the boulder was about to crush them. If they moved any slower, their fates would involve crushed bones and splattered brains.

“Jump!” Orochi said, more to time himself than to instruct Izumi. They leaped in unison.

For those short moments, time seemed to freeze. The rolling of boulder became a frozen sound. Breaths sounded more like wheeze. It took eons to blink. Sweat stung the skin.

They landed on the other side. The boulder rolled down into the abyss. Orochi stood up, sweat pouring down his face.

“Shinji, my hair,” he asked. Shinji nodded, and pushed the black strands of hair out of Orochi’s face. “Thanks.”

Orochi stared down into the deep hole. “Good thing we were good jumpers, right Izumi?”

“Yes. That would be a very embarrassing death.”

“Especially for a shinobi…”

“Especially for a shinobi,” Izumi confirmed.

They went on their away after the brief conversation. Shinji couldn’t find the strength to light his hand with as much kounen as before; it was barely that of a match now.

“We’ll make do without it,” Orochi said. It was more to put himself to ease than for the others.

The walk through the cave now was quiet, with the exception of Kaname’s breathing. None of them made a sound, for they had nothing to say. All that was on their mind was just how much longer they were going to be in there. Shinji knew that if he stayed in here much longer, his head would probably split from both the anxiety and the pain in his ankle.

They turned a corner, and Shinji’s eyes glowed. He could see light! It wasn’t light from any torches – not that they ever saw any. No, it was light from the sun! Just beyond this hall was the outside world.

Orochi took a step.

Then the cave rumbled, and behind them, a slate of rock crumbled away to reveal another boulder…

With iron spikes.

Orochi swallowed. “She really is trying to kill us!”

“Run!” Izumi said.

Orochi took no time to wait for Izumi. He began his escape even before Izumi opened his lips to speak. His pale hands tightened on Shinji’s wrists, to ensure in his escape that he didn’t drop his teammate.

Orochi’s heart beat so fast, he felt that it was about to leap from his chest. His sweat became as stick as glue.

He hit the ground hard. Immense pain went through his legs. He continued onwards ignoring it.

The light became brighter, telling him that logically that he was getting closer, that there was a chance of survival. But the fear that was in his heart told him otherwise.

Eventually, the sunlight was practically blinding him. He could barely see without squinting. He had been in the cave for far too long.

Orochi looked to his left, and he saw Izumi. His eyes were focused on the light. Ht didn’t show any sign of pain.

When they had nearly reached the exit, the two shinobis did the only thing their instincts told them to do. They jumped.

When they landed, they felt the softness of wet grass. Orochi rolled for a bit before the flat ground slowed him down. He stood up, and looked behind him. The boulder had caused an avalanche; the cave was sealed.

Orochi looked at Shinji. He had passed out. Orochi slowly laid Shinji on the ground.

The edge of Orochi’s eyes saw Izumi breathing hard against a flat rock. He had no critical wounds, minus a slight cut on his chin. Nothing a few bandages couldn’t heal. Kaname was on her back. Orochi couldn’t tell if it was because Izumi rolled her over, or if she landed there.

But it didn’t matter. The rapid beating of his heart didn’t matter, nor did the fear of death Shinji had expressed across his face. It didn’t matter that it was almost night time, and they had no idea where they were. The only thing that mattered was that they were alive.

It was another chance to die.

The shinobis were taught at a young age what the true meaning of the word ‘alive’ meant. “Alive” represented only a temporarily state of human life. It takes only half a second for a poisonous needle to penetrate the skin. Even if one was to die a natural death, each day was just one step closer to death. Eventually, a man will grow old. His skin will become wrinkled. His once firm bones will weaken from within. His voice will become hoarse. His muscles will ache.

And then, his heart will stop beating. The man will die, just like his father before him, and his son after him. Death is not a hunter unknown to its prey. To constantly celebrate life would be a foolish endeavor.

The philosophy instilled in him told him not to relish that they were alive. Orochi had to focus on what they needed to survive; they were low on rations. They needed shelter from the cold night, as well as dry wood for a fire. Shinji was unconscious, but luckily they had packed fire stones from the ancient city – they would be sufficient in starting the fire once –or if – they found the wood.

“I will find a water supply.” Izumi’s calm voice interrupted his concentrations. The Hebi turned towards him. Despite his heavy breathing, Izumi’s cold eyes were focused on Orochi. “You should find shelter.”

Just as quickly as Izumi had approached him, he turned his back on Orochi, and left.

Orochi pondered what to do. He agreed with Izumi that they needed shelter from the cold night, but he couldn’t just leave him here. However, there’s no way Orochi could carry both of them. And he can’t stand guard, watching over them as they slept – time was of the essence.

He took a long look at Shinji. The orange haired shinobi was sleeping peacefully on the damp grass. Orochi felt that he needed to give Shinji a chance. He was constantly saving his neck, one catastrophe after another. Orochi knew that Shinji was a shinobi; he had graduated from the Academy, just like himself. Orochi didn’t need to baby him.

With an empty look on his face, Orochi left Shinji and Kaname behind. They were shinobis; they would be just fine.