Greetings again, dear friends at Nifty.org!
It is I once more, Darc Blackwind with the second installment of my new novel Ronin. Forgive me for taking so long, but a lot has happened as of late and I hadn't any time to write. Anyway, here she is! Hope you enjoy reading her!
Darc
Chapter 2
The day was drawing to a close as Seizan sat at a table in the local restaurant, sipping his green tea and waiting for his meal to arrive. That's what he liked about this village most, the laid-back setting and the warm smiles from people he didn't even know. It was far different from the city of Edo, twenty or thirty leagues from there. Edo was the capital of the land, where most people went to for work or otherwise. He had grown up in that hellish rat-race, and coming from his experiences there, he wanted to stay as far away from there as possible.
As he watched the sun set far to the west, behind the silhouetted mountains, his thoughts drifted back to what Lord Ikimura had told him. "Deep in the mountains lies an abandoned shrine portraying the great battle of the Myojin of Pandemonium's Reach against the Oni of the Black Mist," the middle-aged lord said straightforwardly. "For the past month, I have been getting reports of terrible horrors that rise up in the darkest time of night to ravage those that used to tend to the shrine. I would like you to discover the cause of this constant assault on the Honden of Chaos' End." Honden of Chaos' End, hmm? Seizan thought as he sipped at his tea, enjoying the fluid immensely. The shrine of the Myojin of Pandemonium's Reach and the Oni of the Black Mist. . . . Makes you wonder what kind of horrors the shrine of a demigod can summon. . . .
The gentle sigh of the chill autumnal breeze brought him back to the present. It was getting colder and colder at night, gradually. This is such a delicious time of year, he reflected as the gentle zephyr caressed the side of his face on its way out to sea. Autumn has always been my favorite time of the year, then winter, for it is never too hot, nor too cold, and it isn't as bright as summer or spring. . . . Winter is dark and cold, just like I like it. . . .
The decrepit old man from earlier that morning walked up to the ronin and handed him a tray full of delicacies of the east, fresh sashimi with dipping sauce, tempura in udon noodles, steamed vegetables, and a delicate miso soup. "Aye, here you go, ronin," the old man said as he set his meal down before him. "Enjoy. The sashimi is freshly caught from today."
"My thanks," Seizan said as he picked up his hashi and began eating the steamed vegetables first, strangely craving them over the fresh sashimi. Crunching a fresh bamboo shoot in half and loving the taste of it, his mind drifted back to what Ikimura told him. "I'll send you to the shrine with my best demon slayer, Naoko. She will meet you upon Ogata Road tomorrow morning at sunrise," the lord said, handing him his gold.
Pocketing it, Seizan bowed. "I'll be there first light tomorrow. What will Naoko look like?"
Ikimura smiled. "She is a young woman in black, trained in the arts of the Koga ninja. She has been the one to slay the most demons that have tried to raid Kashida. The reason Jigen and Nida lost five men to that demon upon Ogata road this morning was because she wasn't there." Nida blushed at hearing that. Looking down at his crestfallen demon slayer, the lord smiled. "Don't worry, Nida. You've yet to fully achieve your potential. Naoko is Koga ninja, you aren't. Indeed she is more skilled at dealing with spirits, for they are a part of her upbringing."
"I ask permission to end my life. If it weren't for this ronin, my lord," Jigen said, kneeling before his master, "that fire oni would have ravaged the village. I feel I have failed you. . . ."
Ikimura gazed down upon his retainer with compassion. "No. Your life still has use here. You are still a skilled demon slayer, and you still need to train more to follow in your footsteps, Jigen. . . . So you won't commit seppuku. Understand?"
"Yes, my liege. . . ."
Seizan smiled, finishing off that succulent bamboo shoot. Jigen, you're the one who brought the beast to his fiery knees. . . . he thought ironically. Obviously you're not a novice at fighting the demons. . . . He sipped his tea, finishing it. Slowly the sky darkened, the stars high above coming out of their hiding places among the heavens to shine brightly as diamonds strewn across cloth of the finest violet velvet imaginable. The silhouetted mountains from the west glowed fiery-red as the sun finally sank below the zenith of the horizon. Looking out upon the slowly thriving streets as people made their way home from work, he couldn't help but smile upon these simple individuals. So many stories to be told of their simple lives, from growing up here and either becoming soldier or worker, he realized how far apart he really was from them. He indeed was an alien in this town, yet for some reason, he yearned for the peace of their lives. Battle was all he knew, all he cared about, but there was always a part of him buried beneath the frostbitten exterior that yearned to learn of peace, never having to pick up his sword and defend himself or his loved ones again. Seiko. . . . he thought as he looked up at the stars, seeing them glimmer brightly. Shaking his head, he got those thoughts out of his mind as quickly as he could. Turning his attention back to the sashimi and tempura, he devoured it all ravenously and left the old man five gold coins. "Take care, learned elder. I'll be back tomorrow. . . ."
"Aye, good night, young master," the old man said as he continued to dust that mat in front of his restaurant, obsessively keeping it spotless.
Sighing, Seizan adjusted his katana in his sash as he walked down the sidewalk. Not many people were out at night anymore, thanks to the constant threat of demon attacks. Smiling, he laughed quietly. Let them come. . . . he thought indifferently. I could do with a bit of exercise after that large meal anyway! The sigh of the night zephyr whistling through the slow, near-deserted streets was an inviting call, almost a cry out for desire to Seizan. His shadow long and formidable in the gentle candle light of the streets, he realized he was being watched. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and that curious tingling sensation one has when he feels endangered heightening his senses, he thumbed the hilt of his katana. His footsteps echoing off the paper walls of the homes surrounding him, he smirked. "If you're going to strike, it would be wise to do it now, while my sword is still in its sheath."
He heard an annoyed hiss as the sudden loneliness of the night descended upon him like an unimaginable wraith. "Is it you, Ryoko?" he asked as he felt that familiar sense of a wandering soul, forever cursed to tread the earth alone.
From out of the shadows in front of him, the demoness walked toward him, her head low. Since the previous night, Ryoko had somewhat been a mystery to the ronin, and yet, he felt a very familiar bond with her. Her platinum hair glistening in the gentle star- and candle light, he couldn't see her face, for it was bathed in shadow. Her dove-grey and black kimono ruffled in the chill breeze, giving him an almost tangibly cadaverous sense to it. "Yes, it is I. . . ." the beautiful woman oni said morosely. "Why art thou still here, gentle ronin?" she asked curiously, her face still bathed in shadow. "Thy mission was completed. . . ."
"I found more work. . . . What is troubling you, gentle wanderer? I can feel your sorrow. . . ."
Ryoko looked up at the man, her eyes wreathed in black face paint. Tears were painted on her cheeks just below her eyes, giving her a gothic sort of sense to her appearance. "I was just thinking. . . . I wrote a poem, however. . . . Wouldst thou like to hear it?"
Seizan smiled. "Yes. Good poetry is hard to find nowadays. I am sure thy gentle yet sorrowful soul has a limitless reservoir of delicious poetry. . . ." he said in the language of the gods, walking up to the demon spirit. "Would you honor me?"
Ryoko nodded, her eyes having a tangible sort of sadness to them. "It isn't really cheerful, gentle ronin. . . . Art thou sure?"
Seizan laughed. "I hate cheerful poetry. It just isn't what I can relate to. I would love to hear what you wrote, gentle poet. . . ."
"Here it is. . . ." she said morosely, looking back down at the ground.
Darkness
Enclosing my life
Such a horrible vice
No matter how much I sacrifice.
Such a venom
Is killing my past
Slowly as a dream,
And yet it is far too fast.
This poison
Causes such madness
A demonic toxin
That brings to life my innermost sadness
Trapped
Inside this barless prison.
No escape from this hell
No antivenin for this poison.
It is never-ending
Such a fate is my curse.
No matter what I do,
Everything ends for the worst.
I fell before
Though I don't understand this.
What have I done before
To understand what is so amiss?
It felt like a dream,
Too unreal to occur.
So many dreams,
Too many nightmares obscure.
You used to be my drug,
Though now you're my poison.
Such unholy loneliness,
For this cadaverous derision.
I no longer dream,
For you were my nightmare in the end.
Constantly searching for answers
To why my heart you wanted to rend.
My reality
Shatters about me like glass
Falling to the ground in shards
And yet you still laugh. . . .
Cold was my soul,
Untold was the pain
I faced when you left me,
A rose in the rain.
Forever devouring me,
This poison never dies
Lying, bleeding on the ground,
You'll kill me with your lies.
Such a horrid dream,
The poison blinds my vision.
I watch as drops of my blood hit the ground.
Do I get up or do I die there? It is only my decision. . . .
You sought to throw me in a cage,
A goddess in bondage, trapped in this barless prison.
New trust rebroken
You slay me with this new invasion.
I feel you crushing my soul.
Such binding pain,
Using this poison to destroy me,
I'm slowly going insane. . . .
Too many horrors
Come to life in this place,
Such a demonic architecture of genocidal design,
Such is the last time I saw your face. . . .
Hopeless desire,
Bound by this barless prison,
Such a terrible pain in my chest,
All because of this poison. . . .
Seizan was mesmerized by her poem. It was such a reflection of his own sorrow that if he felt that emotion again, it would have brought tears to his eyes. Walking up to the beautiful soul, he caressed the side of her face gently. "Wow. . . . Your poetry is so beautiful, gentle Ryoko. I love your soul. . . . Your sorrow has such beauty to it that it is indescribable. Indeed you are a goddess. . . . I am honored that you would tell me this, for it . . . describes a part of me. . . ."
Ryoko gazed at the ronin, her eyes having a hungry sort of quality to them. "You are not like others, Seizan," she whispered in the modern language. "Why hast thou come here to Kashida? Art thou searching for something as well. . . ?" she asked gently, reverting back to the language of the gods, her dainty hand caressing his as he caressed the side of her face, loving the contact. "Such a deep-seated hunger in thine eyes. . . . They are the eyes of a wanderer lost and seeking answers to things no one can ever answer. . . . Art thou bound by a barless prison as well?"
Seizan looked down at the ground, unable to answer. He felt strange, a malign sort of longing to take this woman in his arms and to let all his pent-up pain out. He hadn't shed a tear in so long that no matter how he looked at it, he knew deep down that it would be another decade before the battle madness wore off. When one is trained to kill, he hasn't room enough to harbor emotions like remorse or the ability to cry. "I suppose I am," he whispered as he began walking away, his head held low. One last caress and he was gone.
Ryoko looked upon his slowly shortening silhouette curiously. "The ronin is different from others indeed. . . ." she said to herself as she gazed at the fearsome man. She then vanished, a small flash emitting enough light to light the side of the street briefly.
Seizan gazed up at the stars as he sat down upon the dock's edge, weird thoughts running through his mind. "Bound by a barless prison. . . ." he whispered to his reflection in the strangely calm ocean waters crashing against the posts that held the dock up. Sighing, he looked back up, the stars glinting at him comfortingly. A gentle zephyr caressed the side of his face, sighing as it went past and smelling of salt. Why did Ryoko ask that? he asked himself silently as he watched the moon's perverted reflection in the wave-water of the pier. Swiping a strand of sable hair out of his eyes, he reflected upon what was to be done tomorrow. He was to meet the demon slayer Naoko upon Ogata Road towards the Honden of Chaos' End, and from there he would travel to the shrine deep in the mountains to the west and investigate what was happening up there. I have been a wanderer for so many years, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, letting the gentle breeze encompass him. It has gotten me almost killed so many times, it makes me wonder if my life was truly meant to be. . . . There is a certain comfort in the vastness of the road. No one to worry about minus bandits. . . . He shrugged, understanding that it was pointless to dwell upon such things.
The tide splashed against the posts of the dock lazily, their sloshing echoing deep into the night as Seizan gazed up into the stars. I've been on the road a long time. . . . he thought as he felt the gentle autumnal breeze caress the side of his face. And that was when he heard footsteps approaching the dock from behind him. Turning around, he saw Ryoko, her cherry-wood brown eyes ablaze with a fiery sort of passion. "Yes?" he asked lazily as he returned his gaze back up into the heavens high above.
Ryoko kneeled behind him and slid her arms around his waist, her hot breath tickling the back of his neck as she brushed her soft, pale, beautiful face against him. "I sense that thy spirit is troubled, gentle Seizan. . . ." she whispered delicately, her dainty hands caressing him. He shuddered and fell back into the warmth of her embrace, loving every caress she gave him. "That is why the snow goddess sent me, to ease thy pain. . . . She cares for thee, dost thou know that?"
"No, I didn't. . . . I haven't seen Keiga in so long. . . . How is the snow goddess?" Seizan asked, remembering his first meeting with Keiga, the goddess of the winter ice.
"She is well, though she worries about thy path. . . . That is why she sent me, Seizan, so I might help numb thy inner pain for but a little longer so that thou canst move forward into a destiny unimaginable by thy mortal standards. . . ." Her hands reached through the folds of his hakama and grabbed his hardening cock, her delicate fingers massaging the phallus into hardness equal to that of galvanized steel. "Thou art desirous tonight, gentle Seizan!" she whispered, her dainty fingertips running along the hot flesh of his glans, feeling his sticky precum and smearing it along his rock-hard cock as a lubricant.
His breath catching in his throat from such a sultry sensation, he moaned as he turned his head to kiss the demon spirit on the lips, his loins aflame from desire. Feeling her sigh as he kissed her, his tongue snaking its way into her mouth to dance with hers, she slowly undid the knot that held his sash in place. Getting up, Seizan let the beautiful woman take his kimono off, leaving him with just his loincloth and shoes on. She then removed his loincloth, freeing his seven-inch cock from its prison and descended upon it as though it were the most succulent lollypop in the world. Her tongue swirling around the head, her eyes gazed up at his face, watching it contort in immense pleasure. Slowly she engulfed its entire length, feeling his man-sword massage her tonsils sensuously.
Mouth-fucking Ryoko, Seizan moaned as he felt her fingertips massage his scrotum gently, coaxing him on to thrust his penis in and out of her mouth at a fever's pitch. Loving the sensation his cock rubbing the inside of her mouth so fervently, Ryoko used her other hand to reach behind him and finger his anus lustfully, pushing her index finger up inside him and rubbing the inside of his anus slowly. Groaning, Seizan could hold on no longer and erupted, arching his back and coming ounce after ounce of hot sticky cum in the wandering spirit's mouth.
Eagerly swallowing everything the ronin gave her, Ryoko saved a small amount of his cum in her mouth, undoing her own kimono and letting it fall to the dock to lay with his. "I want to fuck thee!" she moaned, her eyes possessing that passionate sort of fire that told Seizan that he was in for more fun indeed. Her hard womanhood standing full mast, Seizan grasped it about its base with his right hand and massaged the tender flesh, while mauling her breasts with his mouth and left hand, sucking on her diamond-hard nipples to the point of bleeding. Ryoko moaned passionately as she felt the imposing man pleasure her in a way that she hadn't felt before. She gasped in ecstasy as he bit her right nipple gently, sucking on it with insane, lustful fervor. "Take me, Ryoko," Seizan whispered as he descended on her hard cock and began sucking on it as though it were his last meal on Earth.
Ryoko moaned as she thrust deeply into Seizan's mouth, feeling him gag slightly at first from the intrusion into his throat. He then took the rest of her cock like a pro, slurping on the purple glans as though it were the most succulent piece of meat in the world. Arching her back and fighting for control, Ryoko stopped him and had him bend over for her. Taking the amount of his cum she saved, she greased up his anus and her cock, making both glisten with the delectable fluid. She then slowly descended upon him, grasping his hips and sawing her anxious cock in and out of the crack of his ass, teasing him. Feeling him moan in desire and agony from such a sensual torture, she decided to oblige his need by thrusting into his ass deeply, getting all the way to the hilt in the first thrust. Seizan gasped and screamed in agony as though he felt he was being torn in half from the sizable intrusion. Collapsing onto the wooden dock, he lay there, slowly adjusting to his lover's hard love-pole and feeling wave after wave of intense pain mingling with pleasure subside. Sweat glistening on his back in the gentle moonlight, his hair matted from the perspiration of feeling such lovely pain and pleasure.
"Art thou all right?" Ryoko asked worriedly, massaging the small of his back as she slowly adjusted his tight anus to accommodate her eight-inch cock.
Gazing up at his lover, he smiled. "Fuck me!" he whispered, ready to be fucked once again.
Needing no more encouragement than that, she slowly pulled out and thrust back in, making him moan in desire. She absolutely loved the feel of his anal walls on her penis, for it felt as though her cock was wrapped in hot, throbbing silk that responded to her every move. Clawing at his back and making him cry out in desire, she thrust into him deeply, grabbing his hips and slamming them down on her cock. Seizan wailed in intense pleasure as she spread his ass cheeks so that she may massage his anal ring and scrotum while fucking him. "Thou art so tight and warm, gentle Seizan! It feels like warm silk enwraps me!" she moaned as she increased her pace of fucking him, her fingertips massaging his anal ring. Fucking Seizan felt so good to Ryoko, she thought she might be addicted to it. Seizan felt the same thing, though he didn't understand why it felt so wonderful to be penetrated as such. Shrugging it off and arching his back to kiss his lover once again, he realized that it didn't really matter right now. All he cared about was Ryoko's hard cock buried to the hilt up his tight ass.
Ryoko's hands massaged his balls and cock while she fucked him, making him moan more deeply. His knees getting tired and scratched from the hard wood of the dock, he switched positions, so he was facing her as she fucked him. His back sending chills down his spine from the chill of the wood, he gazed up at her beautiful face, wrapping his legs around her pistoning hips. I can't believe someone as beautiful as her wants to fuck someone like me, he thought realistically as he began massaging her tits, pinching the nipples to make her moan and arch her back. Wow, she looks so beautiful like that, her platinum hair surrounding her divine breasts and stunning face. . . . I am indeed a lucky man to own such a beautiful spirit's passion. . . .
Ryoko's fingers massaged Seizan's hard cock fervently, wishing to make him cum in the same instant that she would, an orgasm in unison. Feeling him respond to her delicate ministrations, she fucked him hard and fast, her cock going all the way out of his ass and then thrusting it all the way back in, tearing his anal flesh to ribbons. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer, for she wanted so desperately to bestow upon this ronin her love that she began fucking him to the point where both screamed in passion. Feeling his anal walls contract to hold her there, she shoved her cock into him mercilessly, making him cry out as a small stream of blood started seeping out of his anus from the intense friction. And then she could hold on no longer, coming like a geyser into the ronin's violated butt, making him cum from such a feeling. Both moaned and arched their backs in the throes of a mind-boggling orgasm. Gasping from such an exertion of energy, Ryoko collapsed onto Seizan's chest and lay there, cuddling with him as her hard cock slowly withered and slid out of his violated ass.
The two lay there for hours, it seemed to Seizan as he held his lover tightly to him, feeling her hot breath play across his face. Both of them were a mess and in need of a shower. Laughing quietly to himself, he realized that it didn't matter in the slightest. He was more than content to simply lay there all night long and hold her. So what if the villagers found them naked on the docks in the morning. One should be so lucky as to take such a beautiful woman as Ryoko. In Seizan's case, he was doubly lucky for that. She carried that special extra something that he had craved since he was a child, training in the Miyamoto Legion to which he would eventually have to leave. He never cared for men, for they were disgusting in his eyes. He preferred women such as Ryoko, however. They were much more beautiful and delicate than he, and they could always satisfy that hunger that he never told anyone. It was his secret, and he would keep it until death and even after that.
Looking up at her lover, she kissed him. "What is on thy mind, love?" the spirit asked curiously. "Where is it that thou goest when thy eyes drift off like that?"
Kissing her on her forehead, Seizan smiled. "I'm just reflecting, that's all, love. . . ." he whispered as he gazed up into the inky blackness of the night, clouds glowing with the light of the moon high above.
"Thou art so mysterious," Ryoko said teasingly, biting his neck gently. "Doth it hurt thee so to speak of thy past that it will forever remain locked within the confines of thy mind?"
Seizan gazed down upon her, smiling a somewhat painful smile. "Perhaps. . . . I don't know anymore. It is so complicated that I lived when I should have died in a past beyond remembrance. . . . The only thing I truly remember is one phrase. . . ."
"Phrase?" Ryoko asked curiously, caressing the side of the imposing man's face with her delicate right hand.
"Yes. It was, `Now these tears of blood I weep to the skies. Not bitter drops, but water made divine. Each gem of sorrow slips, no longer mine. Hailing the coming tempest, thy vigilance shalt proffer to other cries.' Everything else past that day seems a blur to me, for I do not know how it came to pass. I don't know in the slightest what that means, so I've been searching for that answer for as long as I could. Perhaps that is why I'm a wanderer. . . ?"
Ryoko nodded gently. "I understand thee better now!" she said teasingly. "Thou art but a cherry blossom drifting upon the zephyrs of fate, gentle Seizan. . . ." she whispered as she held him tightly. And so, the two drifted off into sleep, arms and legs intertwined and both naked, too exhausted from sex to stay awake any longer.
The sun was just beginning to appear when Seizan awoke, once again alone and, also once again, fully dressed. Groggy, he shook his head and stretched the kinks out of his back. I wish she wouldn't do that. . . . he thought bitterly as he grabbed his katana and put it through his sash, securing it for easy access. Getting up, he looked around. It was still dark out, though the fiery-crimson aura of the sun was beginning to rise from the mountains to the east, turning those mountains into nothing more than black silhouettes and the sky above the shade of burnished metal. A thick fog had rolled in during the night, thick enough to obscure the vision of the town and of the boats docked. Smiling, he realized what that meant. Mist demons were out right now, and that most assuredly meant that he would get to fight again before embarking on the mission to the Honden of Chaos' End with Naoko. Stretching out his arms and legs from sleeping on that rickety dock, he began a leisurely pace towards Ogata Road, where he had slain the magma oni with Nida and Jigen.
The chill breeze beckoned him towards Ogata Road as though it were a sentient force itself. The houses hazy from the nearly-impermeable fog, Seizan walked through the deserted streets as the sun's light began to overpower the silhouette of the mountains. Casting a golden light upon the highest structures in the village the light slowly descended upon the streets. Basking in the delicious morning light and alpine air, Seizan kept his sense of hearing and smell acute, wanting to know exactly where the demons of the mist were. As the sun rose, it set fire to the sky, an explosion of red and magenta and orange powerful enough to give even the most unpoetic wanderer goosebumps.
The sleeping village slowly began awakening as he walked through the once deserted streets towards Ogata Road. So far, it appeared as though there were no demons about, but one as experienced as Seizan knew better than to let his guard down. That is the sort of assumption that tended to fill graveyards.
At last he had reached the junction of Tokaido Road and Ogata Road. All he could see was a silhouette of someone standing on the edge of the sidewalk. "Hello?" he called into the mist. Seeing the silhouette move, his right hand went to the handle of his katana. "Who are you?" The shadow kept walking, not answering nor showing any sign of attacking, yet. Seizan drew his sword out of reflex. "Answer! I am armed!"
The person who walked through the mist soon was visible to the ronin. "I am Naoko. You're the wandering ronin, Seizan, I presume."