The Making of a Hero Pt 4 (Last)

**Two years later.**

An armored lookout in a guard tower aimed spotlights around the base, half-asleep from his long shift. He played with a yoyo in one paw to pass the time while the other was on autopilot, moving the spotlight around. He had a box with a blade on top along with a few empty drinking containers and a bow and arrow leaning up against it, gathering dust.

As he tried to stay awake, the young ninja hung by her legs around a nailed-in torch, lowered herself, and quickly snapped the guard’s neck. She gently let the body down, climbed off the torch and into the tower, and scoped the area. Same as last time. She, for the most part, expected this, but checked just in case. Oftentimes during the last two years, she paid when she didn’t.

She watched other sentries’ gaze while she maneuvered along the rooftops through patches of blindspots. Heel, toe, heel, toe, slowly but steadily inching towards the prize. The night was young and she had all the time in the world, so she used it when she could in exchange for efficiency. These sentinels she eyed while passing could make all the mistakes natural error allows, but the moment she makes just one, her secrecy’s in jeopardy and her life’s in danger.

In the back alleys, two guards, inconveniently wide awake, stood guard in front of the storage building’s only entrance. They must’ve just been switched out. She hopped down in front of them, startling them a bit and earning two weapons trained on her.

“Look, lemme get two bags of food,” she reasoned, “and I’ll be on my way.” They responded with Japanese, and although she couldn’t understand much, she could tell they weren’t down with the program. “You guys never get it…”

One ran at her and swung at her, only to miss and earn a broken neck not long after. After seeing that, the other only circled around her with his weapon drawn, expecting her to attack. Taking advantage, the ninja rushed into the storage building, shut the door, and hid. With wooden boxes blocking most moonlight from the windows and a torch or lamp presenting a fire hazard far too dangerous to risk, it was almost completely dark inside, pitch black.

The samurai busted in the door to fight her, soon realized his mistake, and left to fetch a lamp. With him gone, she went up to the one of the wooden boxes, pulled free a pair of kodachis, and pried off the top. Assorted fruit. She pried another open, bread. The fox replaced the kodachis in her paws with sacks and started filling up with the two foods.

Not long after she finished, Kyani heard the sentry come back with his friends. She hid the sacks in an especially dark corner, and disappeared amongst the long, dark, plentiful aisles of wooden boxes. After reacting to the dead body outside, they entered the storage building with their lamps and reluctantly looked around. She knew that if she was to escape, it wasn’t going to be pretty. One went off along, the one guarding the door originally, looked down all the aisles as the rest split up in groups of two. Suddenly, his feet were kicked from under him and the back of his neck met the edge of a blade, divorcing his head from his shoulders.

The rest, oblivious to what just happened, continued wandering through the storage. Stragglers that didn’t practically hug the lamp were tackled off their feet and did away with silently, leaving the others none the wiser. That left some groups with only the lamp holder remaining, and it was simple from there.

A stubborn group of three were inching along the aisle, one watching their back, and the other two checking through the shelves of boxes. The fox spied on them from the top shelf as they went on. She started pushing one of the boxes, ahead of them, off the shelf, and by the time one noticed, they were crushed by it. Kyani dropped down from her spot, nailing one on the way down with a kunai, and slicing at the other with one of her kodachis. Although blocked at first, she yanked the weapon from him and put the other kodachi through his chest.

Through the shelf, a kunai found another’s neck, and they happened to be holding a lamp. The lamp dropped and shattered, letting loose a fire that quickly spread on the wood to the wooden boxes, shelves, and the rest of the building. The ninja made a beeline for the door after picking up her food, and waited above the exit, promptly killing some who came out on her tail. As the fire reached the front wall, she had to leave, along with everyone who had escaped her and the fire. Everyone else who didn’t… had fallen to their fate. The intense heat on her back as she ran with her sacks let her know the storage was practically a bonfire at this point. She left, leaving black pawprints from the soot that was already beginning to settle.

A horn was blown, and the base rescued as well as went into lockdown. Some were directing traffic, some were taking shelter, and some were trying to put out the fire. But word spread quickly that someone unwelcome had caused the fire, and everyone was on high alert.

With a whole base both on lockdown and with prior experience looking for her, it didn’t take long for the fox to be spotted and hunted. She booked it to the base’s wall, now not caring about if someone saw her, but caring about what they were going to do afterwards.

Her whistleblower started mobilizing with orders from others, following the fox as she ran along the roofs. She buckled the sacks to her person and quickly outran him, but archers in towers already had eyes on her. Arrows rained on her while giving away her location. If she got out of range, another archer, or so help her if it was a group of them, picked up in their place. It felt like once she lost an unwanted tail, the ninja gained another.

The fox finally got to and hopped the walls, only to find out that they had replaced the guard tower sentry from earlier in not the most pleasant way. More arrows soared past the fox as the front gates flew open as fast as the samurais’ strength allowed. Countless droves of the armored enemies that mobilized at such short notice marched and rode forward, as if they didn’t have a wildfire to take care of. Either that, or there were a lot more of them than she could see at night.

Though they looked somewhat tired, it didn’t take away that there were a lot of them. She was astonished by the sheer size of the force, and when they all drew weapons (reminding her she was being hunted), she put her legs into overdrive.

The forest was much denser than she remembered. It may have been the adrenaline, but Kyani felt like she was going the slowest she’s ever been, even though she was speeding down the hill. Nonetheless, the front wagons, loaded with archers, were flying down the hill, and started gaining ground.

The arrows rained non stop, but the night proved the archers inaccurate. The ninja took a lot of them out by breaking the wheel of one and letting the others run into it. Two more remained, and as the ground started plateauing, she noticed that they had started losing speed, the carriages more than the wagons. The wagons were far from herself and their group, and so Kyani leaped into the brush beside her, climbed up a tree, and stood on a branch.

They spotted her quickly, but couldn’t get a clear shot, so the bows were only loaded and aimed. Once they slowed down enough, the ninja leaped across the path, earning a barrage of arrows and returning with a barrage of kunai. Aiming for only one wagon, everyone on it took a blade to the neck, and the empty wagon rode awry. She landed on another branch on the other side of the path, and did it again, this time aiming for the last wagon with the same results.

With the archers gone, the slow carriages filled with armored enemies were left. With no range weapons, they were much more manageable. No more arrows, what a relief. It didn’t take much to lose them in the night, but it seemed they weren’t going to retreat back to their base. Kyani shrugged it off and went back to the cave, figuring they’d be wandering aimlessly forever. That wouldn’t age well.

While she was putting away the food she had gotten, exhausted from the chase that had ensued, the sound of faint Japanese chatter, heavy, loud, plentiful footsteps, and metal rubbing against itself brought bad news. The noisy group echoing through the chambers had even awoken Sensei Figi, who half-stumbled into the kitchen, a little groggy.

“You hear that, too?” Kyani asked, pausing from her chore.

“Yes, I do…” all of a sudden, he snapped awake, took a half-filled sack, and started packing it. “You need to leave, Kyani.”

“Sensei, that isn’t necessary…”

“Yes, it is.” He stuffed a first-aid kit into the sack and gave it to her. “You need to leave, there’s an exit in my room. Go.” The footsteps continued getting louder.

“But… Sensei-“

“Kyani, you have to go, please” the hound told her, desperation in his eyes. “Pride took three of my children, I can’t let hatred take my last. I’ll hold them off as long as I can.”

She was picking up what he was laying down, that didn’t mean she was going to follow it. The last time she ran away, she had to watch her mother die in front of her, and it plagued the fox’s mind. Kyani took the sack from him, but in her mind, she knew she was not going to leave him to die alone. “Ok…”

“Do you swear to me you’ll leave?” She just stared at him, neither nodding or shaking her head, and said nothing. “Promise me, Kyani.” Again, she didn’t respond and ran off, away from the back exit. The aging hound fought back tears while he watched his last child run, to what he thought was their grave.

As she continued on into the chambers, Kyani wondered if she made a mistake. Both of them dying would obviously be worse than one, but it didn’t sit right with her that she was supposed to abandon her sensei like that. And then what would she do? Kyani would be alone again…

If anything, she wanted to take him with her, but the army marching through that cave expected to have a head for the wildfire, and when they found only traces of the two of them, Kyani and Figi would be hunted down. So she had to fight, both of their lives depended on it. The fox was close enough where the footsteps seemed distinguishable. She took a deep breath and told herself it was simply a test. A test that had both her life and her sensei’s life on the line, but a test nonetheless. She ran around the corner, and went into action.

Though in a cave, the army was marching without a torch or lamp. There were already torches on the wall, and it seemed pretty arbitrary. Although many were convinced the cave was abandoned, the general was blood-bent on finding the criminal responsible for burning down their food supply. A lieutenant was about to complain when the torches suddenly went out and everyone froze.

There was complete silence.

No one had seen what happened, but a collective, ear-piercing sound rang through the chamber, metal hitting the stone cave walls. Katanas being drawn from their scabbards echoed in response, but it was pitch dark. Commanding was his voice, but frightened was his heart, the general shouted in Japanese.

“Reveal yourself, you disgraceful swine!” It wasn’t a surprise there was no reply.

“Sir, I think we should lea-”

“No,” the general interrupted, “keep marching.”

“But, sir, I cannot see anything.”

“Everyone, follow the sound of my voice!” He shouted back. “You work on lighting a torch.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant pulled out a torch stick and started patting himself down, looking for a matchbox while the army marched on to the sound of the general’s *‘left, right, left, right’*. The lieutenant finally found the matchbox on himself and fumbled with it, wondering which side was which. In his attempt to find the top, he turned the box upside down, and matches fell out. A series of soft *drips* rendered the matches useless. He felt around the ground and found a handful, but they were wet. “Sir…”

“Left, right! Left, right!” He continued. “Yes, lieutenant?”

“The matches are wet…”

“Then dry them out,” he retorted, continuing his ‘left, right’ routine. And so the lieutenant blew on the matches, trying to strike them every so often. And to no one’s surprise, they didn’t light. He kept blowing and striking and blowing and striking, but to no avail. Suddenly, the ‘left, right’ chant stopped, and he also noticed there were only two pairs of footsteps, his own and someone else’s.

“Sir? Sir, where are the others?” He still couldn’t see anything, and now desperately blew the matches to dry them, waved them through the air, wiped them on his clothes under his armor, did anything to make them usable, as they were his only matches. With nothing working, he decided to just rub the matchbox over the torch, and with an uncanny amount of luck, it worked. Unfortunately, though, not early enough, as the light revealed he was alone. At least, in terms of his allies.

The fox struck the torch out his hand, and as the fire fell and died in a puddle of water, so did he. With the rest of them taken care of, she lit the torches again, and walked back to the kitchen. Upon entering the chamber, she was greeted with a close call, as her sensei ambushed and almost killed the fox, until he realized it was Kyani and pulled her aside.

“Why are you still here?!” He whispered.

“Sensei, I took care of them,” she explained. “We’ll be fine. No need to leave.”

“Is that true?”

“Yea,” Kyani replied, lowering Sensei Figi’s blade for him.

“You thwarted them off… by yourself?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘thwarted off’…” she answered. “Mind helping me clean up?”

“Oh?!” He was stunned by what she meant, but nodded and walked with her to the dark chamber. After lighting the torches again, they started moving the bodies out of the cave.

As they were tossing out one of the last bodies, something on their person caught the fox’s eye. A paper of some sort, and after taking it out, she saw it was a map. Skimming it over, she quickly realized that it was a map of the forest with various markers around it, mostly in Japanese. What she could read, though, were names that seemed attached to each base. Of course, almost all of the names meant nothing to her, but one name in particular stuck out.

Daimyo Doyo.

He was alive after all these years, and was promoted from commander to a daimyo. The tiger’s face surfaced in her mind again, and the hell that he had caused came with it. Her dormant rage bubbled up again as she stared at that name. She had the feeling that her village wasn’t the last, after so many years. The pain he caused her sparked vengeful thoughts in her mind once again, and she had the means in her paws to find him.

She heard Sensei Figi’s footsteps coming outside, so she folded the map and stuffed it in her pocket, deciding to keep this to herself for now.

“Are you ok out here?” The hound asked, seeing her stand over one of the bodies. “They’re still a few more.”

“I’m just reflecting…” she lied, turning around. “When I left the base, the storage building was on fire.”

“Was it?”

“It was.”

“I’m glad you’re ok, then,” he smiled before heading back in. She looked out onto the orange morning light, as if the red stains on her paws mixed with the golden rays that would normally greet her, weaving through the forest trees as the crack of dawn lit the sky that morning. She gazed upon the beautiful sight before heading back into the cave to finish up their task.

**An hour later.**

In her room, she stared at the map, the marker, and the ‘Daimyo Doyo’ next to it. All her stuff was already packed in a sack in the corner of her room, along with her wakizashi. She had already made up her mind. Oh so badly she wanted to run over there and stab him a million times for every life he took. At least, in her head, she wanted to avenge everyone he hurt, but deep down, Kyani knew she wanted to avenge her mother most of all.

Her mother.

The fox practically relived the moment, in the tall grass, watching her mother be executed. Kyani remembered clearly what her last words were, *‘Survive, I love you.’*

“I love you, too…” she muttered in response to the old memory. Wiping a few tears that seemed to sneak out, she stuffed the map, with a red circle around ‘Daimyo Doyo’, back into her pocket and left the room. He was living on borrowed time, and the time to pay his dues had come.

She hadn’t gotten any sleep that night. How could someone sleep like this? Knowing their mother’s killer is out there, ripe for the slaughter? Even though she hadn’t slept since she got back from the cave, samurai attack and all, she hadn’t felt more awake. She entered the kitchen with Figi sitting at the table. She took a seat next to him and started to eat breakfast. It was quiet for sometime until Sensei Figi looked up.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, earning a glance from the fox.

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure?” She nodded. “I know that look, Kyani.”

“What look? I’m eating.”

“The soup isn’t going anywhere…'' The fox realized she wasn’t eating all that gently, and was finishing faster than Figi. “What’s on your-”

She slammed the map on the table in front of him and walked off, “I’m going after him.”

“I suggest you stay, Kyani,” Figi protested, but not bothering to follow her.

“Why? Why shouldn’t I go after him?” She boldly asked, letting her emotions get the better of her.

“Vengeance is a vicious cycle, Kyani,” he explained, continuing to eat his breakfast. “If you kill him, his kin may seek you out, and then your kin will seek them, and so on for generations. You do not want to start that cycle, and you better *not* touch his kin.”

“So I’m supposed to sit here while he goes scot-free?!” She hollered, still ticked that her sensei wouldn’t just let her give Doyo what he had coming.

“Karma will catch up,” Figi explained, “he will get what is due.”

“And how many lives will he take by then?” Figi didn’t answer. “I’m sorry, sensei, but I have to go after him.”

“If you must, you may choose your own path, but you have been warned.”

She grabbed her belongings, supplies, her wakizashi, and the map, took one last look at her sensei, and left the cave. Getting to the entrance, she kneeled down near three marked graves, and had a moment of silence for her teammates. Afterwards, the fox stood back up, map in paw, and marched into the forest, with her sensei’s words and her vengeful desire battling in the back of her mind.

**The next day, nightfall.**

It was about seven or eight o’clock. Kyani had spent the better part of two days observing the daimyo’s movements, duties, routines, and most importantly, the best opportunities to strike. She had put off her moral decision for later, whether to take him out or not, and put her energy into stalking the daimyo for now.

It didn’t take long to find him, his face was engraved in the back of her brain, and his routine was that of a machine’s. Wake up, take a morning stroll near the river, breakfast, attend to his duties as a daimyo, lunch, relax at a blossom tree for prayer, dinner, resume writing what the fox assumed to be a war declaration, a piece of legislature, or something along those lines for the rest of the day, and go to bed. For someone who ordered a school to be burned down, he lived a rather simple and peaceful life. He was with others a majority of the day. The fox didn’t look forward to getting wet, so the riverside stroll wasn’t her first choice. Some things you just don’t do, and ambushing another at their place of prayer, what she assumed to be the blossom tree, was one of them. That left one opportunity, in his chambers while he wrote.

With Doyo at dinner, the unnoticed fox snuck into an ajar window to his bedroom, and wanted to plan her ambush, but Sensei Figi’s words grappled with her in Kyani’s mind. It was worse, now that she *had* to make her decision. She wanted to kill him, she knew she did, but her morals told her otherwise. She decided to search the room, sure she would find something to justify his death.

Searching his room up and down, she found nothing. The worst thing there was was a katana holder in his closet, and her ethical side immediately chalked it up to self-defense from those like herself. Then, there was what he was writing. On top of the desk, Kyani picked up what she realized was a letter, addressed to someone named ‘Hina’, in a stamped envelope, ready to be sent off. A quick skim over the letter, and she felt even less anger towards Doyo.

*Dear Hina,*

*Life since the promotion has been calm, thank you for asking. It has its perks and responsibilities, but stress makes its presence known every once in a while. I’m glad Kayla’s doing well in school. I do wish I could be there, and I do understand you trust me, but I don’t trust myself. Nor do I trust those I’ve hurt to not retaliate. I’ve been dealing with the burden for quite some time, as you know, and I’ve tried to change my life. I’ve tried to rid myself of violent tendencies. I’m a soldier back from war, Hina, and it takes time to wipe myself of my instincts. Especially with what I was ordered to do stained on my memory. I need time, and my patience can tolerate it, but I realize yours may not. As much as you say you love me because of starting this process, that doesn’t justify that the process is not yet complete. With that being said, this is something you may not want to hear. My past may catch up before I can finish.*

*Although the incident’s minutiae doesn’t concern you all that much, albeit major, I will tell you this. I’ve never mentioned this, but I believe someone may be hunting me. Call it what you may; a terrorist, a rebel survivor, a soon-to-be martyr, they’re hunting me. I do wish to say goodbye to Kayla as well as you, but I still do not trust myself. I don’t know what to do, Hina. If my little girl lost her father before she had the chance to remember his face, I would suffer eternally in the Great Beyond. And if I was the reason my daughter sat with the ancestors, I wouldn’t make the trip. Please write back as soon as you can. Thank you, Hina.*

*愛する人生を送る*

*Love,*

*Doyo*

Kyani’s battle ceased in her mind, and she decided on giving up her vendetta. The fox would never wish, let alone cause, the pain to another that she had to endure, even if that meant avenging her mother. She was folding the letter and setting it back into the envelope when the tiger swung the door open. They locked eyes, and despite what she had just decided, her rage boiled up again. That face, even with the battle wounds healed and the fear painting it, couldn’t help but spark the fox’s anger. Fiery fury that burned in her eyes as she glared at him, a look that would shoot down a dragon. He unsheathed his katana, and the memory-induced rage with the ninja’s instincts made her lunge at the tiger.

After she kicked the katana out his paw, he put his paws between the two of them in a feebish attempt to protect himself. Her anger got the best of her, and Kyani tackled him to the ground and pinned his arms with her legs, her mind deciding on which way to die would be best for his departure.

“Please,” he begged, turning away, “have mercy!”

“Have mercy?!” She repeated, sounding appalled and offended. “You dare ask for ‘mercy’ after what you’ve done?!”

“I’m sorry! Please!”

“You don’t remember?” She asked rhetorically, getting angrier by the second. “When you burned down my school?!”

His eyes opened in realization. “I’m sorry-”

“You’re ‘sorry’ someone came for you!” She brought down a dagger on Doyo, but the tiger resisted, pushing back for his dear life.

“I swear, it’s not my fault!”

“Bullshit.”

“The Shogun ordered me to, I had no choice!” She swiftly moved the blade to his neck.

“Don’t lie to me…”

“I’m not lying, I swear to it!” Doyo cried out. “He ordered me to attack the village, or it was my head!”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, we don’t ask questions when he demands something,” he replied desperately. Kyani stared at him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or lying to save his ass. “Please, I would take it back if I could’ve!”

She paused to think for a second. Her rage had calmed, and she remembered her initial decision. She gazed at the tiger, who seemed to be muttering a prayer to himself in near tears. Though she wanted revenge, he was the wrong person to enact it on. “Where is he?”

“W-What?” He asked, surprised.

“The Shogun, where is he?”

“He’s north of here, on the line of the forest and the mountains.”

“Good to know…” she let him up, walking back towards the ajar window.

He looked at her, still unsure that she’d let him go so easily. “You’re letting me go?”

“Go see your daughter,” she leaped out the window back into the night, leaving Doyo sitting there, stunned but grateful. Unbeknownst to both of them, one of the guards peeking around the corner into the room ran off to a messenger outside.

“Go!” He yelled at another. “Tell him now!”

“Woah, tell who?!”

“Tell the Shogun, now! We don’t have much time!”

“What?! Tell him what?!”

“She’s coming!”

“Who-”

“*Blackpaw’s* coming!” He repeated, changing his tone. “Go now!” The messenger ran off, out the gate and into the forest, just as Kyani did the same thing.

**Noon.**

Kyani, while eating a crust of bread, sat by a lake. She hadn’t stopped thinking about her choice she made the night before. Her heart still wanted blood for her mother’s death, but she didn’t want to become the monster. Either way, even if she wanted to go back to kill Doyo, she was sure she wasn’t getting the chance again.

Tonight was the night she would go after the Shogun, and then she thought about how the whole clan would react. Would it fall apart? Would it split up? Would someone simply replace him? One thought led to another, and she thought about what Sarah was doing right now. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other, and since the lynx said she was working on a rebellion, maybe there was a chance she’d be there tonight.

**Meanwhile…**

Rumors were already circulating around the Underground that there was a lone warrior trying to tear apart the clan, separate from their own initiative, stemming from the burnt down storage unit. “*What a perfectly ironic way*,” Sarah thought, “*to get them back*.” Guards inside and everything, and that, in her mind, was just a warning shot.

She knew Kyani was behind it, and according to intel from scattered spies, the fox had already given Doyo a piece of her mind. What confused her was how the tiger was still alive. As much as she was told that Kyani had a change of heart, it kind of hurt Sarah that when she had the chance, she didn’t make him pay what was due.

It didn’t matter, though. Word was that ‘Blackpaw’, Kyani’s nickname in the Underground and in the enemy clan, was going to be at the Shogun’s base that night. The moment she heard the news, the lynx had bugged her supervisor about trying to take forces on another attack. They gave in, with that permission, everything was falling into place. She knew that the Shogun would be prepared for Kyani, and with all eyes on the ninja, a well-planned attack would shake the clan’s foundation. And if the fox was able to *kill* him, well, let’s not get our hopes up just yet.

Her plan, though, would require Kyani’s cooperation. That’s why she had her team surrounding the place, their tents hidden in the forest from a passer-by’s first glance, in constant communication. The lynx didn’t need to find Kyani, she needed Kyani to find her. What she had in mind depended on a coercion of sorts, a diversion if you will. They already knew the assassin would be there, but not Sarah’s forces. Half of them would be storming the castle, making it seem that the Shogun was the only target, but the other half would be evacuating prisoners and rigging the place to blow. Once Kyani was done with her business, a little fire and gunpowder would set the whole place ablaze. Now to wait…

**Nightfall.**

This was it. No one, not Kyani, not Sarah, not the Shogun, could predict what would take place tonight. The fox was making her way to Shogun’s base, ready as she would ever be, when a torch’s glow came out the corner of her eye. She first thought it was a patroller’s light, but later realized it was a tent. Weapons at the ready, Kyani approached it cautiously, when a bobcat, dressed in rusted guard gear walked out. Without hesitation, he was snatched and dragged into the thick bush.

Before she could put him down, he yelled out, “Blackpaw! I’m Sarah’s cousin! I’m on your side!”

“Sarah’s here?”

“Yea,” he responded, a bit calmer. “Could you… maybe… put the knife away, and I can take you to her? She’s been waiting for you.” She put her dagger away and reluctantly helped him up.

“What’s with the guard outfit?”

“A disguise, what else?” He remarked. “Name’s Donte. Thanks for, y’know, *not* killing me back there.”

“Sure.” They started walking through the underbrush to a different tent next to the wall. “You guys have a lot of tents here, what’re you planning?”

“Well, for starters, none of this is me… well, some of it is… some of it is Sarah, but all of it is… in a way…” Donte faltered.

“Are you ok?”

“Yea, it’s just… I’ve heard a lot about you, and meeting you in person, it’s-... it’s a lot to take in… how’s it feel being admired?”

“Admired?” She asked, confused.

“Yea, y’know, getting respect amongst your rebels and whatnot?”

“Rebels?”

“Some say you’re a lone warrior, but I don’t know if someone could be out here alone…” he looked back up at her, “no offense or anything…”

“None taken,” they got to the tent where Sarah was.

“One more question… if I may…”

“Shoot.”

“Is ‘Blackpaw’ your real name?”

“No,” she responded, not bothering to correct it. Unfortunately, he followed up.

“Do you mind… telling me… what it is?”

“Donte, that’s-” just in time, Sarah popped out of the tent, dressed in armor herself.

“Blackpaw, about time you showed up!” The lynx interrupted. “Do come in.”

“I’d be glad to.”

“So, Blackpaw, about your na-”

“Donte, you’re not getting her name,” his cousin interrupted again. “Please get the others ready, we’re attacking at 10. Ai?”

“Ai,” the bobcat left for another tent, leaving them alone with a lookout who was soon ordered to leave.

“For rebels, you guys are pretty organized,” she complimented, sitting down in front of a map of the base. “Also, I didn’t know you had a cousin.”

“Yea, Donte’s an interesting character, but man, can he fight. Long time, no see! What’s been happening?”

“Not much…”

“‘Not much’?!” Sarah repeated, astounded. “You burnt down their food supply!”

“It was an accident.”

“Sure, it was, Kyani.”

“It was, Sarah,” Kyani reassured her.

“It was? Huh…”

“So what’s the sitch?”

“I’m glad you asked…” Sarah went on and explained the whole plan, its inner workings, and what Kyani needs to do, but she left out a crucial part. “... and the Shogun’s yours. You’ll have plenty of time to deal with him, hopefully uninterrupted.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Good,” just as they were wrapping up, Donte walked in with a horn in his paw.

“Everything’s in place, Sarah. Just say the word.”

“Excellent,” she walked out with Kyani, “see you on the other side, Blackpaw.”

“You too, Sarah.” The fox leaped the wall, and once she was out of sight, the lynx pulled Donte aside.

“She gets in the way, you deal with her. Ai?”

“But-”

“Her real name’s Kyani,” the name rang a bell in Donte’s head, “and if she’s anything like I remember, she’s too merciful. Especially with who she’s about to meet.”

“Sarah, I can’t-”

“Donte, I’m not going to tell you again.” He stayed quiet. “Ai?”

“...Ai.”

“Good. Now go to your post,” he ran off to the front gate as Sarah’s team.

The fox looked back as the gate was busted down by a force led by Donte, and another climbing a wall across the base with Sarah. Kyani then set her sights on the castle towering over the other buildings.

A decorated samurai, covered head to toe in special armor and an iron mask over his face, was escorted by two guards to his chambers. Once inside, one of the guards closed and locked the doors while the other closed the windows. Once everything was locked down, they stood guard at the door from the inside while the Shogun stood in the middle of the room, also staring at the one entrance and exit.

It was everything but quiet, and tensions were high. With the rebels now inside the bottom floor of the castle, fighting their way up to the top where the Shogun resided, the guards felt overwhelmed. They had planned for an assassination, not an assault. Little did they know, both would come. The Shogun was the first to know, as the two guards that stood in front of him dropped to a kunai each. He turned around to a masked figure who had held kodachi swords at each side of her.

“So I assume you are Blackpaw…” he stated, unsheathing a katana, “your reputation precedes you.”

“So you know why I’m here.”

“Shall we begin?”

“Gladly…”

Sarah was directing everyone everywhere. There was next to no security there to stop them, most of which was directed towards the castle, so the base was practically theirs. Barrels full of gunpowder were placed throughout the base, their fuses were lit, and the rebels scattered back to a rendezvous point. The lynx was going through certain buildings, looking for anyone that was hiding, when she stumbled upon a secret passageway.

“Ooh, what’s this…” she muttered, as a stone wall opened in response to a book being pulled. She trekked down the damp tunnel, a weapon in her paw, into what seemed like a bunker. She looked around, and in the corner, a female kishu looked up at her in fear, shielding and holding close two pups, as mothers do. A wicked smile spread across Sarah’s face. “Look what we have here…”

Kyani and the Shogun were going at it, and although the ninja was bouncing around the room thanks to her agility, her opponent was no average swordsman. Being there, just in the nick of time, to parry an attack or cut her shallow almost every time she came after him. Both of them obtained wounds, unfortunately the fox more than the Shogun.

She jumped off the wall behind the samurai, avoiding his blade, only to be kicked through the closed window, putting a hole in it. As she fell, in the corner of her eye, she saw the trio of kishus being shoved into a building. She grabbed the edge of a ledge, and the Shogun walked over. “It’s a shame that our battle has to be cut short.”

“This isn’t over,” she pushed off of the wall and leaped out of sight.

“It sure isn’t,” he muttered. After making sure she wasn’t coming back, he paced out the room. Rushing down the stairs and cutting down those in his way. He descended the floors, getting closer and closer to a back exit.

Kyani had landed on a roof and started running towards where she spotted the three kishus. She was told civilians were evacuated, and the way the rebels were handling those three did not look like they were getting them to safety, for recruiting or evacuation.

She expected a quick talking-to, and She would get back to the Shogun. She knew he was running into the forest, where he was a sitting duck. For now, though, she rushed into the building where the mother and her pups were tied up to a barrel. She ran over and untied them when a horn could be heard going off in the distance.

Suddenly, the ground shook as explosions went off around the base. Kyani turned to the barrel in the center of the room, and watched as the fuse ended.

“*Get down!”*

The barrel chalk full of gunpowder exploded just as the fox tackled the other three what she hoped was a far enough distance away. The stone building’s integrity was no match for the fiery explosion, and the roof, directly above where the barrel was, collapsed onto the black-burnt stone floor. The rest of the ceiling still intact rained loose pebbles and dust, giving the four warnings to get the hell out of there.

Kyani motioned them to leave out of a back exit. The mother and the older pup made it out, but as the younger one tried to join their family, the ceiling began collapsing over them. Without thinking, the fox jumped onto the pup, shielding them as the debris came down on the two of them.

…

Her ears ringed and her *many* wounds were numb as she moved the rubble from off of her and the pup, holding her breath as to not inhale dust, smoke, and ash. So much for a quick talking-to. The last piece of stone was removed from atop them, revealing the smoke that masked the night sky. She lifted the kishu, who looked like a dalmatian with all the soot on her fur, out the rubble before pulling herself up.

She got to her feet, looked up, and lo and behold, Donte held the pup with a blade to their neck. “I *will* do it.”

“To civilians?” She weakly protested.

“This is the Shogun’s family,” he stated a bit too cheerfully. “He’ll know what it feels to have everything ripped from him in a blink of an eye.”

“They have nothing to do with this, Donte.”

“This isn’t in your paws,” he shot back, “just walk out that door behind you, and *maybe* the pup will be spared.”

“I’m not stupid,” as she stared intently at him, the bobcat noticed her slowly going for something behind her back.

“Watch the paws,” she put them in sight again. “Mommy’s behind you, and I’m sure you know more than anyone that life without a mother isn’t fun.”

“Like you’d know anything about that.”

“I’m getting impatient, Kyani,” he gently slid the blade against the pup’s neck, who was looking at the fox with tear-ridden eyes. “Don’t test me.”

“Fine, fine…” she muttered, eyeing the rebel restraining the older kishu as Kyani took a deep breath and mustered all the energy she had left.

Taking a kunai in one paw and a kodachi sword in the other, she flung the blade towards the bobcat's paw holding the dagger and took out the second rebel’s legs from the knee down with her sword, being very cautious of either kishu. The younger one, unfortunately, dropped onto the rubble and went unconscious.

She threw two more kunai at Donte, one for each of his knees. In response, the rebel behind her threw a dagger at her leg as his dying action before he bled out, hindering her to a limp. On top of the rubble, Donte was groaning in pain next to a dagger and a knocked-out kishu. Her mother started to come over to get her pup, but Kyani motioned her to stay back.

The fox limped over, when Donte turned his gaze to the knife. “Reach for it, and you die.”

“Y’know,” the bobcat casually chuckled, turning his gaze back and forth from the wounded ninja and the weapon, “Sarah told me you’re too merciful.”

“Don’t do it, Donte…”

He went on, “I thought that was bogus, honestly. ‘The great Blackpaw, ruthless in her efforts, cutting down every samurai that stood in her way’.” He continued eyeing down the knife just in arm’s reach.

“I’m warning you, Donte. I’m sure your cousin wouldn’t want you doing this.”

“My cousin? Oh, I can’t wait,” he smiled an eerie grin, turning back to the knife “I can’t wait to watch Sarah hunt you down when she finds out you killed me.” He gazed at Kyani one final time. “Good luck.”

He reached for the knife, essentially ending his own life with a blade to the neck. With his death, the mother ran over to get her daughter. “Thank you so much.”

“Anytime,” she went over to the dead bobcat and treated herself with his first aid kit before laying there for a minute. She knew her night wasn’t over, since the Shogun was still on the run. As much as the tired, banged up fox who was betrayed by her best friend wanted to sit there and sleep until the next day, she couldn’t let the Shogun walk free. So she hauled herself back up and snuck past the rest of the rebels into the forest.

The Shogun, now running down a beaten path in the forest, stopped to take a breather. With explosions going off far behind him and the time he’s been running alone with no sign of Blackpaw, he felt safe to go at a walking pace right now. He took out a map he had on him, and tried to navigate the forest at night. Deciding on a direction to hike, he folded the map back up, when a kunai zoomed past him and through the map, pinning it in the dirt and rendering it useless.

Almost instantly, the Shogun drew his katana and kept his eyes peeled, but most importantly, listened for the sly fox. Holding the blade in front of himself with both paws on the handle, he turned to any slight sound, ready to parry an attack. This tension-filled moment went on for some time, before Kyani finally decided to strike. She threw a smoke bomb which erupted on his face, making the Shogun swing his katana aimlessly.

He was promptly disarmed, so the samurai ran out of the smoke, coughing. He turned around to a kunai heading towards his head, and with short notice, it hit him in the face, with only the iron mask to protect him. The flying knife bounced off and took his mask with him, as he clutched his face in pain.

“You made a mistake running into the forest,” Kyani averred, walking out the smoke, rage that was all too familiar painting her face. She held both kodachi swords at her side. “This is *my* world.”

“Cowardly swine!” He cursed, turning around and pulling out a second long sword. “You ambushed-.” They both freezed, finally getting a good look at each other’s face.

“...Dad?”

“Kyani…” he muttered, when the realization hit him. His daughter was hunting him, “Kyani, I-”

“You were dead… they told me you died in battle. You died a hero, Dad…”

“Kyani, you don’t understand-”

“They lied to me, *you* lied to me,” then the reason why she was here came back to her. “How could you massacre a whole village like that?!”

“Kyani, it-”

“You taught me all about honor, and you sit back as a school is burnt down? Children, taken and put to work?!”

“Don’t you speak about honor, look at how you turned out!” He hollered. “I never wanted to fight you! None of this would have happened if you just *died*!”

“None of this would have happened if *you* didn’t turn your back on your family! On everyone you know!” She shouted back, beyond pissed off. “In a world where *my own father* made me watch my mother die, and *my own father* made me live alone for God knows how many years is a world *you* made me live in! The hell *you* made me live through is unspeakable, and it was because some rat with a title he doesn’t deserve was power hungry?!”

“I kill to accomplish a goal of unity,” he shot back, “you kill under the dark of night.”

“I think ‘honor’ depends much less on how one kills than it does *why* they do, Daju,” she divulged, “I’m killing you for everything you’ve done!”

Kyani attacked him head on, paying barely any attention to her father’s blade, if any. The fox sent attack after attack at him, driven by vengeance and a desire to bring the Shogun down. She hit him with yet another smoke bomb, tackled him through the back end of it. He pulled a knife, his only weapon, and slashed her face, ticking her off even more. She jammed his paw onto the dirt and started cutting it off in a gut-wrenching display. He screamed in pain, and went for Kyani’s eyes in retaliation, only to lose function of his arms thanks to a kodachi sword in each shoulder.

Once he finished cursing black and blue, he looked at her, defeated, but with anger in his eyes.

“So, Daju,” she unbuckled the wakizashi’s sheath off of her back, “when I was forced to leave my home, I needed something to defend myself with, and something to remember your ‘legacy’ by.” She unsheathed the long sword and admired the blade. “I made sure not to let any blood that was spilled ‘dishonorably’ touch the steel, or at least what *you* would call dishonorable, just for you.” She threw the sheath to the side and glared at her almost dead father. “I have no need for this sword anymore, Daju. Goodbye, Dad.” She took the wakizashi and stabbed her father directly in his heart. She watched with a stone face as he squirmed in pain for a few seconds, his screams inaudible through the blood, until his body became motionless and life left his eyes.

When he finally died, she fell to her knees and mourned the tears she had saved until after he wasn’t there to witness. Alone in the forest once again, there was no getting around the fact that she had just killed her father. No child should have to watch their parents pass in the fashion that she did. Yet, it still happened to her. Was it worth it, she thought? Thinking about it only made her weep more, and she couldn’t come up with an answer.

Interrupting her from her moment, she heard a group of rebels trekking through the forest with their torches, took her swords, and leaped into the trees again, leaving the wakizashi in Daju’s body. With nowhere else to go and Sarah hunting her, the forest wasn’t safe anymore. Kyani knew she had to leave. Hidden in the trees, she looked over the horizon, and over a mountain range, smoke was in view. The fox decided she would leave over the mountains, in hopes of finding a village much like the one she lived at. The smoke seemed hopeful, but it was early to tell.

Just as she left one warzone, little did she know, Kyani would enter the aftermath of a second, in the jungle.

The End.

*“Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge.” -Patricia Cornwell*

Written by: MrCJNinja

Edited by: JoshlyPoshly, Kings420XD

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Oh... my... god...

So y'all remember 'The Making of a Villain'? Well, a lot of ppl liked it, so i decided to make a sequel... ish. It's the introduction to a new character that will soon be butting heads with cuji. but for now, wow. This was started in May (not april, checked the doc history). Though there is something that i have to address.

The two names at the end of the story does not do these two close friends enough justice. They helped me BIG TIME when it came to proofreading, revising, and editing the rough draft into something that is fairly presentable to someone to read and enjoy. Again, big thanks to those two, please go check them out.
I hope you enjoyed the story, thank you for reading, and have a good day!
P.S. Get vaccinated. :)