The Making of a Hero Pt 2

**The next day.**

Kyani wasn’t able to get anything done yesterday. She had to stay near the roots and sleep to cope with the pain, sometimes waking up to throw up or scare away a scavenger thinking she was a corpse. And to her, they weren’t that far off the mark. Her conscious thought she’d be dead soon, so might as well wait, but her rationale didn’t allow such thinking. Turns out, she’s alive, even if she begged for otherwise.

The pain had numbed down and wasn’t so sensitive, so she could move to feed herself. She was also happy she could get out of the puddle of vomit she was sleeping in. She hadn’t eaten anything yesterday, except those damned berries, so she wanted to go fishing. After quite some searching, covered in puke, dried up blood, and feeling like all hell, she found a lake. A different one from before, but one that seemed to have loads of fish in it.

“Where was this yesterday?!” She complained, but was thankful she found it nonetheless. The first thing she did was wash all the puke off herself. She then took out the fishing rod, put on some bait, and cast it in.

After waiting quite a while, Kyani caught some fish. After casting more and more, she had enough fish to feed her for quite some time. Away from the lake, she looked around for some dry wood to make a fire. She knew how to since she had set up campfires at home for different occasions. After gathering enough wood for the initial flame and some for reserve, the fox surrounded it with stones, struck a matchstick, and threw it in. The flame started crackling and blazing. It got bigger and happily accepted some of the reserve wood, all the while dealing through the pain.

She started to think back to a few days ago. Just a few days, crap hit the fan, even though it felt like months or years. Kyani remembered when she thought about what she would become. She sure was doing more than what she was ‘supposed to’, but did it really count? Sure, she was able to survive by herself, even as only a teen, but her quality of life wasn’t the best.

Kyani stuck some fish on a stick and started cooking it. The fox was happy she was finally about to get something to eat, when she heard footsteps coming. She turned, and walking through the forest was a young jaguar, a few years younger than her. He had a bamboo hat on, and dirty white scraps of clothes sagging off his thin body. He had a sword and a kodachi and as he walked, he turned to her. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, but his eyes drifted to her fish. His eyes looked wild, instinctive, untamed. Her weapon was right next to her, but she took a cooked fish off the stick and showed it, “Do you want-“

Before Kyani could finish her sentence, he jumped at her. He wrestled for the fish, and despite being thin, he was pretty strong. He clawed at her for the fish, even though she wasn’t trying to keep it from him. He took it, ripped it apart, and downed everything but the bones in seconds. He then stared at the other fish, that instinctive look still in his eyes, “Woah, hey now, that’s mine.”

Regardless of Kyani’s warning, he dashed at her, and this time she fought back. The jaguar kept scratching at her arms, growling the whole time, as she held him back from her food. The fox found herself in the same position she was with the bear, and just like before, swiped at her gut, reopening the wound. She figured enough was enough, and she took the kodachi he had on him and sunk it deep into his chest.

She pushed the corpse off her - for the second time in two days - washed herself in the lake, and ate what was left of her cooked fish. Each time she swallowed, a shooting pain would go through her gut, combined with the severe stomach ache from the berries. Everything, quite frankly, felt like shit.

The fox needed to patch up her reopened wound, but she had no more bandages. It quickly dawned upon her that she needed help. “Maybe there’s an outpost around here somewhere,” she said aloud, but the fox knew that she was going to have to go back to the cave.

She ditched the rest of her fish and gear, except her weapon, and ran back to the cave. By chance or memory, she found the entrance and rushed in. Unfortunately, the tunnels were like a maze. As she continued to bleed profusely, she ran around randomly, swearing that each path led her back to the entrance. After a long time searching, the flames on torches on the cave walls seemed to dim. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell out unconscious in the middle of the cave floor.

The fox slowly woke up, groaning as she did. She then shot awake, seeing she was in a different environment. Kyani was in a straw bed now, still with her ripped clothes, but her stomach was no longer aching, nor did it have any shooting pain. Kyani looked at the bandages wrapped around her stomach, and up at her surroundings. A relatively small chamber in a cave, lit by torches, with an empty, decayed, wooden armoire dresser in the corner. Next to her bed was a small trash can filled with red, damp bandages.

Kyani climbed out of the bed and peaked out of the chamber, seeing the old hound eating a brea meal with the potcake dog. They were having a crust of bread with soup, and there was an extra serving sitting next to an empty seat at the table. She stepped out towards them, grabbing both of their attention.

“Hello,” the hound chimed, “so we meet again.” He motioned for her to take a seat at the serving. She just stared. “Your soup is getting cold.”

She hesitantly took a seat, and slowly sipped some of her soup. She expected pain as it went down, but felt nothing. They stared at her, the potcake blankly and the hound welcoming, as she consumed her food. “We found you on the cave floor when we were coming back in.”

“Hm…” She responded, a bit embarrassed. The raccoon walked in.

“Hey, you coming?” The potcake quickly finished and left the chamber. The raccoon stared at her, scoffed, and walked away.

“I think there may have been a reason you came back,” he told her, bringing her attention back to him, “except that you were uncontrollably bleeding and poisoned, of course.” She said nothing. “You know, he brought you in.”

“Huh?”

“The raccoon, he made the decision to bring you in.”

“You’re kidding…”

“No,” he smiled, “if you had stayed there for a few more minutes, you may have not woken up. He saved your life.”

“Patched me up and everything?” She asked, still not fully believing him.

“Eh…” he shook his head, “that was me. But only because he had no knowledge of healing someone in your condition.” There was a moment of silence as the fox took a bite of the crust of bread. “What is your name?”

She swallowed her food, “Kyani.”

“What a beautiful name,” she gave him a smile before sipping some more soup, “my name is Figi.” She nodded and kept eating. “You know, the offer still stands if you wish to join us.”

That caught her attention, and she thought about it for a few seconds. On one paw, she owed him and the raccoon for saving her. But on the other paw, she didn’t want to associate with someone like this. She felt that everything that they did went against her code of honor. As if reading her mind, Figi spoke, “We have a lot of the values you do. Even though we use guerrilla tactics and whatnot, there’s still integrity. There’s still honor, respect, and honesty. And then there’s some of our own.”

“Which are?”

“You’d have to join to know,” she ate some more, thinking. Figi got up from the table, “I’ll let you have a few days to think about it, a lot is happening.”

“No,” she told him in a rather humble voice, “I’ll… I’ll join.”

“Very good,” he patted her back, “you’ll meet the others soon. Get some rest, we start tomorrow.”

“Start what?”

“Training.”

**The next day.**

“Up! Up! Up! Come on!”

She slowly started to wake, but whoever woke her up impatiently and violently shook her until she was fully awake. “Get up, come on!”

Once she was awake, she saw the black clad raccoon, and shoved his paws off. “What the hell is your problem?!”

“You,” he shot back, “you’re my problem. Crawling back, are we?”

“Shut up…”

“Doesn’t matter, you answer to *me* now. Get up.”

“I don’t an-“

“Yes, you do,” he interrupted with a smug look, “other than Figi, I run things around here, Kyani.”

“How do you-“

“Like I said, I run things around here,” he repeated, getting annoyed she was still in bed. “I’m not gonna ask you to get up again.”

“Ok, jeez,” she hopped out of bed, the raccoon eyeing her the whole time. “Where are we going?”

“To meet the crew, come on,” he pushed her along.

“What about breakfast?!”

“You’ll survive.” They eventually got to another chamber with a matted floor, where the potcake and weasel stopped sparring when they arrived. “I’m Hanzo, and like I said, I’m your boss. Whenever we leave this cave, you do what I say, when I say it, and how I say it. No questions asked, understood?” She reluctantly nodded.

“Good,” he pointed to the weasel, “that’s Suzi. If you’re ever feeling high and mighty, bother her. She’ll kick your ass ten times over. Except me, of course.” She laughed.

“Sure,” Suzi teased.

“She’s the one that kicked you, matter of fact. If you remember.”

“Huh…”

“And that,” he pointed to the potcake, “is Fuma. He’s in training, but that doesn’t mean he’s not lethal. He’s probably the most dedicated out of us three.

“And everyone, this is Kyani.” He wasn’t as enthusiastic anymore. “A fox that was wandering around the forest who thinks we’re a group of mindless thieves… and then joined.”

“In my defense-“

“That’s all,” Hanzo interrupted, ignoring her aggravated gesture, “you can go get your beloved breakfast now.”

“I’m here now, might as well see what you’re doing.” Suzi and Fuma sighed and went back to sparring.

“Fine, I’ll show you around,” he tapped her on the back and left in a different direction than they came in. She followed him into another chamber of the cave with many alcoves in it. He started pointing at the alcoves, “Off limits, off limits, off limits, and off limits. Oh, and that one, too.”

“Why are all of these off limits?!”

“Because it’s my stuff,” he explained. “My weapons, and you’ll get your own. Weapons are your best friend, you treat them right, it’ll do the same for you.

“Oh… kay…”

“It sounds crazy now, but you’ll understand when you get your own.” Hanzo assured her.

“Sure… what’s next?”

“Well, there’s the bathrooms, you already saw the kitchen, and the quiet room.”

“Quiet room?”

“Yea,” Hanzo replied, leading her to a chamber with glowing critters crawling on the walls and in the crevices, “Fuma and Figi use it in their training, and it’s Suzi’s favorite place. I barely use it.”

“Hm…”

“Now leave me alone, I’mma go back to Suzi and Fuma. Figi should be awake by now.”

“Can I ask you something?” The raccoon turned around. “Did you really decide to save me?”

“Yea, I did, just to say this,” he kneeled down to her, “told ya so.” He smirked and left.

She stood there, a bit bitter, before going back to the kitchen. Figi was already having breakfast, a bread crust with tea, “Good morning, Kyani. I see you’re up before me.”

“Good morning, Figi.”

“Ah, right,” he walked up to pour some tea for her, “I don’t blame you for not knowing, but you address me as ‘Sensei Figi’.”

“Really?” She asked suspectedly, and he nodded with a smile, taking her tea and retrieving some bread. “Ok, ‘Sensei Figi’.”

“You’ll get used to it,” she scoffs, getting some bread for herself. Talk about kissing up to someone. “Anyway, first, what do you think being a ninja is about?” He asked, a friendly smile still on his face.

She figured she should think of some pros if she was going to stay with them, “Well, off the top of my head, lethality, first and foremost.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, no offense, but ninjas are kind of a bunch of backstabbers, literally and figuratively…” She didn’t really want to say that, but honesty is the best policy.

“Mmm… what else?”

“Of course, stealth,” she replied, “and I guess that comes with agility and speed,” she then thought of Hanzo and the others, “and strength.”

“All traits one would think of, I suppose,” he replied, “but by that definition, then anyone, with enough training, would be considered a ninja, yes?”

“I guess…”

“It doesn’t seem like you particularly agree with that.”

“That’s what you guys are good at…”

“Skills don’t necessarily define someone,” Figi pointed out.

“Touché,” she thought for a moment, “what’s your definition then?”

“Answer me a question, and be honest, what is the closest thing you compare a ninja to?” The hound asked, balancing his tone between seriousness and amiability.

“You might-”

“The other day,” Sensei Figi interrupted, “you said quite a lot, and I sent you on your way, by your decision, with plenty of supplies, did I not?”

“Yes…”

“I’m sure what you have to say won’t touch a nerve.”

“Well, to be honest, bandits.”

“Bandits and ninjas are two very different things,” Figi started, “one have no method to their madness, the other plan their every move. One wouldn’t hesitate to end their partner’s life for a bigger payoff, the other are loyal to who they associate with. One poorly trains for one thing and one thing only, and the other is trained not only to complete their tasks with efficiency, but is taught a way of life. One considers their weapon as their most reliable tool, the other’s most reliable tool is their mind. Do you understand?”

“So I was a little off…” Figi chuckled and got up for some water.

“Although illusion is part of the arsenal, it depends who it is used against.”

“That’s not true,” Kyani snapped back, “for example, flooding a village, may it be full of nice or hostile people, is still wrong.”

“True, but last time I checked, we don’t flood villages.”

“You know what I mean!”

“It applies to who, or what, the tactic is being employed against,” he explained. “You nor I would ever think about laying a paw on, let alone fighting, a child, but a full grown warrior with ill-intent would be deserving of such treatment.”

“Am I an exception?” Kyani replied bitterly, rubbing the bump on her forehead.

“You are very tough for your age,” he complimented, “and it isn’t that easy to tell someone's age in pitch black.”

“I guess so,” she finished her breakfast, “when are we going to start training?”

“We already did, follow me,” he left the kitchen, leaving Kyani puzzled for a moment. They walked outside the cave into the glowing forest. “We’re going to start with the basics. More specifically, combat.”

“Why not stealth?” The fox asked. “Isn’t that what you guys are known for?”

“Number one, if you’re found, what good is stealth if you cannot defend yourself?”

“Touché…”

“Number two, stop saying ‘you guys’. You are a part of the team, the family. It’s ‘us’, ‘we’. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, Sensei Figi,” she muttered, a little annoyed.

“Good,” he continued to lead her to a grass clearing on the edge of the forest, and in the distance, both of them saw the burnt village, but only one of them knew what went down there four days before. Seeing the place again… even though it was only a few days, it felt like ages because of how fast her life changed. Kyani stared, inviting Sensei Figi’s concern, “are you alright?”

“Yea, I…” she continued staring for a moment more, “...I’m good.”

“Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“No, I’m fine,” she deflected, wanting to keep her privacy for now, especially sharing a home with the other three. “Are we gonna start or not?”

“If you insist,” he took a step back. “Now, I assume you’ve trained in some form of martial arts, yes?”

“Yes,” she stated with confidence. The fox read the situation and figured she could take down an aging hound.

“So we are going to-”

“Yes, yes, we’re sparring, I get it, come on!” She impatiently shouted, entering a stance.

“If you insist…” Sensei Figi assumed a stance of his own, and after a few minutes, proved that the ‘Sensei’ before his name had meaning behind it. Despite Kyani attacking first, she was overrun by her own energy that she brought to the fight. Any and all blows were either pushed aside and countered rather than stopped in its path, or was caught and pulled, throwing the fox off balance, and leading to a variety of results from a knee that stung a bit more to ending up on the forest floor. Though, she persisted. It took her legs to be kicked from beneath her and being held to the ground for her to cut her losses. “Would you like some tips?”

“Mind letting me up, *Sensei Figi*?”

He ignored her bitter tone, “We have much to learn, Kyani.”

And learn, they did. Father Time stops for no one, but one would think otherwise after the result of only months of training. They worked hard to instill an appropriate fighting style for her size, spending most of the day training, if not resting or eating. Kyani began to grow comfortable with Sensei Figi. The way he taught just… clicked with her. She had her space, and Sensei Figi made sure to not totally abolish what her father taught her, even if he didn’t know it.

After a year or so, they moved on to weapons, and more time was allotted to let her talk to either the hound, or the other three she shared the cave with. She was first taught something he saw fit for her to learn, using dual kodachis. Nearing the end of their training, Kyani asked him if he knew anything about a different weapon, the one she brought with her. They spent a lot of time perfecting that craft, finding ways she could use it comfortably and effectively. It became clear that the weapon was something she held close, being it was a symbol of her father, so the conversation they needed to have eventually came.

Kyani had woken up and ate before Sensei Figi, and she was spending her time practicing what she had learned in the cave. As she was, the hound left the kitchen, walking up to her. “You’ve been very dedicated to learning to use that weapon.”

“Yea, well…” She sheathed it, “it’s my father’s.”

“Your father’s?” He repeated. “How come he’s not with you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” she made for the exit so they could start their training for today.

“No, do tell,” she turned around, and her expression told the story. She didn’t feel comfortable telling him. “As my student, and as your teacher, and eventually as teammates, we must know each other, understand each other. The first step is to know where we come from, and you can start by telling me how you ended up in the forest alone, with your father’s weapon.”

“I feel like you’re interrogating me,” she joked, walking over to a rock to sit.

“You don’t have to tell the others. You don’t even have to tell me,” he sat on a different rock, “but I strongly recommend you do if I am to help and teach you.”

“Well,” as she started, Hanzo happened to pass by, “I lived in a village, and my father was a samurai.” That got his attention, and he listened in. “He died in battle about a week ago, and a few days later, we were attacked…” she started choking up and looked down, “I lost my mom…”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She swallowed it down. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not, is it?” Figi asked, his voice softer than usual. “You miss her?” Kyani stayed silent, still looking down. “And your father?”

“It’s just… it’s not…” she faltered, tearing up as she tried to get words out.

“Come here…” the young fox hugged him, letting the floodgates open. She cried softly on his shoulder as Figi comforted her, “it doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

“E-Everything changed… so fast…” she got out through her tears, “why me?!”

“Shh, it’s not your fault,” he patted her back, letting her cry for some time. Hanzo watched for a moment, emotionless, before leaving.

Kyani cried for some time, and Sensei Figi continued to comfort her as she did. “My parents passed away protecting me,” he told her, “much like your mother, I assume.” She sat up, wiped away her tears, and nodded. “Who attacked you?”

“Other samurai. Enemies of my father, I guess,” she picked up her weapon to continue practicing. Now that she thought about it, what she just said was, in her eyes, strange, odd, fictitious even. Other samurai, warriors who are held to a code to prevent heinous acts, were responsible for an event that was the very definition of heinous. Enemies or not. The fox didn’t know how she felt about that. Helpless? Cheated? Lied to? Kyani knew she didn’t feel good, and her face and training showed it, even if she didn’t notice.

“We’ve had problems with samurai, a specific clan, for quite some time,” he added, on a bit more serious note, “I’m almost certain it’s the same one that attacked your village.”

She suddenly came to life. “Where?! It’ll get them off our backs, and most likely others’. It makes sense, we can fight back!”

“Kyani…”

“I mean… if they’re as bad as you say they are, we need to! It wouldn’t hurt…”

“Kyani.”

“I mean, it’d hurt for them... it would most definitely hurt for them… the point is, we can get revenge!”

“Kyani!” He hollered, interrupting her rant. She sat and looked at him, at attention. “Vengeance is not healthy for the mind. Especially with clenched fists connected to it.”

“But you just said-”

“Kyani?” Sensei Figi interrupted, quieting her again. “Selflessness should be your main reason, not an added bonus. Besides, you know next to nothing about them. Although attacking us is wrong, they may be helping others.”

“Yeah,” she felt damn near insulted, “‘cause an army-controlled society attacks innocent villages by day and feeds stray cats by night.”

“It’s just an example,” his tone was no longer soft, but serious and stern. “Taking them out may unleash a bigger problem. We don’t know.”

“Then let’s find out. We have the tools, a little reconnaissance, a little spying won’t hurt. No harm, no foul.”

“Who will do it? Because Hanzo, Suzi, and Fuma have been living here fine for many moons.”

“Moons? Really? Who says-”

“Let me talk,” he commanded, redirecting her attention for the second time. “Only the foolish ever enter this cave unwanted, so why would we provoke much more? There’s only four of us-”

“Five.”

“That’s not the point, Kyani! We only take what we need from them *because* of how little it makes a difference. Killing the leader out of cold blood, vengeance, would give whoever else is in charge over there, who I’m sure is itching for an event to pin on us, to wipe the floor with us!” He shouted as his voice echoed through the empty chambers of the cave. “I’m sorry, Kyani, it’s just not our way.”

“Fine,” she bitterly shot back, “if you don’t want to keep these guys from dominating the forest, you don’t have to,” she turned and stormed off.

“She’ll learn…”

She passed by the other three as she ran to the entrance. Hanzo and Suzi were sparring, and Fuma was beating up a dummy that was old, worn, and falling apart. The weasel was sitting on his shoulders, promptly choking him out with her legs. As they were fighting, Hanzo spotted the fox leaving, and he tapped out so he could talk. “And where are you going?”

“To get back at our enemies,” she responded, earning their attention, “you coming?”

“What makes you think you can take them on?” The raccoon scoffed.

“I’ve been here for a year now,” She reminded them, ”I think I’m better than I was before.”

“Look, princess-”

“I’m not a ‘princess’.”

“Sure… you don’t know what you’re jumping into. You’re gonna get yourself killed,” he pointed out, sounding a little sympathetic for once. “Judging by how much you run your mouth, you don’t know the first thing about being quiet.” There it is…

“Easy, kill whoever sees me.”

“You didn’t plan anything out,” he laughed, “and when you got the whole camp down your throat, whatcha gonna do? You couldn’t beat the three of us, let alone a whole damn army.”

“That’s because you jumped me!” Kyani shot back. “If it was a fair fight, I bet it’d be better.”

“And I can recite Hamlet off the top. You couldn’t touch me.”

“Oh really? Prove it.”

“I’m not fighting you, Kyani,” he stated, unwrapping the tape from his paws, “you don’t scare me.”

“You mean spar-”

“No, I mean fighting,” he interrupted in a serious voice, getting in her face, “if you lose, you die.”

“Bullshit.”

“Oh yea?”

“Yea, you’re bluffing!”

“Wanna find out?”

“Try me!”

“Cool it, you two,” Suzi shoved them apart as they continued staring each other down.

“Keep overestimating yourself,” he added, “you won’t last long out here.” Hanzo grabbed his water and wraps and left.

“Look, if you wanna spar so badly, I’ll spar with you,” Suzi offered, taking a sip of water. She was small and slim, and her voice wasn’t nearly as tough, bold, or quite frankly, offensive as Hanzo’s. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“Sure, sure,” the weasel looked unassuming, and not as intimidating as Hanzo, but since Kyani walked in on her choking that same raccoon quite literally black and blue, and she practically kicked the fox’s head in, there was no ‘cover-judging’ to be had. The fox didn’t know much about her, so all she could do was do her best.

“Hey,” Suzi shouted out, interrupting Kyani from her thoughts, “you ready?”

“Yep,” she got up, facing the weasel.

“I’m not going easy on you,” the weasel stated, not taking her eyes off the fox. Kyani knew that Suzi knew how to fight, but she didn’t believe that the weasel was as good as herself.

“*You* go easy on *me*?” Kyani cracked a smile. “*I’m* not going easy on *you*!”

“You mean I’m not going easy on you.”

“No, *I’m* not going-”

“Am I wasting my time?” Suzi threatened. “Because that’s what it seems like.”

“Then come on!”

The weasel rushed at her, catching Kyani off guard, and immediately sweeping her to the ground. Before she knew it, Suzi was on her back with a knee on the back of her throat.

“Ok, ok…” Kyani pleaded with her raspy voice as she constantly tapped Suzi’s leg. As she lifted her leg, she stared at the slightly embarrassed fox with a deadpan expression, “I wasn’t ready…”

“Sure you weren’t,” she let Kyani get up.

“I want a rematch!” The fox demanded, springing up from the damp cave ground. “And no dirty plays!”

“I don’t see how that was ‘dirty’,” Suzi denied as she walked over to her water.

“I wasn’t ready, and you knew it!”

“Right… Are you ready now?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Come on!” The weasel obeyed and charged at Kyani, leading with a hook kick. The fox ducked and responded with something similar.

Unfortunately, Suzi ducked and kicked Kyani’s other leg from underneath her, making her fall into a split on the rocky cave floor. The fox winced before rolling on her back to kick up at her adversary.

The weasel caught the kick to the chest, getting launched back, but still landing on her feet. Suzi blazed back at Kyani just as she was getting up. She sent a roundhouse at the fox’s side, striking it with a loud thud.

Kyani winced at the powerful kick, but managed to hug and hold the leg. Suzi was left with one leg, only to instantly hop up with the other and connect across Kyani’s jaw, forcing her to let go. The weasel fell on her front paws, pushed herself up, and landed yet another kick onto Kyani’s gut, pushing her back. “Are we done here?”

“Shut up!” She ran at Suzi, starting with a side kick, only to miss her quick target. Her attack was followed by a flurry of combos that were either pushed aside or evaded completely.

The weasel was always one step ahead of Kyani, who seemed to have endless bundles of energy. She pushed away a hook, surprised the fox by jumping up onto her leg via a follow up kick, and flipped over Kyani.

The fox whipped around to try and stop her momentum, but Suzi snatched her paw out of the air and maneuvered herself behind Kyani. From there, she easily forced the struggling fox down and pulled up in a kimura.

The fox’s face slammed into the cave’s floor, making it bleed. Despite the trauma, Kyani rolled over to avoid the pain of Suzi’s kimura, but her opponent simply rolled with her. Eventually, she fell victim to the weasel and tapped out.

Suzi got up off her. “And you expect to beat an army?” She grabbed her water and prepared to leave, not caring about Kyani’s bleeding face.

“Ok, ok,” she admitted, “maybe I need some help with our enemies.”

“*Your* enemies,” Suzi corrected. “They wouldn’t dare put a paw in this cave, so we stay in it.”

“But you guys steal food from them,” the fox mentioned, trying to keep her attention, “so they’re obviously not a problem. We wouldn’t have to be confined here.”

“Or have a source of food,” Suzi added, quieting the fox. “Now get out my face.” And the weasel started to leave again.

“Any tips or pointers?!” Kyani shouted to her, wiping some blood from over one of her eyes.

“Get better,” Suzi yelled back and left.

The fox didn’t like that, but couldn’t do anything about it. She stomped off in anger, later finding Sensei Figi in the kitchen for lunch, eating noodles. He was stunned at the sight of Kyani with a bandage wrapped around her head. “I assume you didn’t go?”

“You would be right,” she uttered, sitting down, “I didn’t make it outside.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Sensei Figi added before taking another bite of his lunch.

“Come again?”

“I said maybe that’s-“

“I heard what you said,” she interrupted, a little offended, “you just don’t make any sense.”

“In everything you do, everything you witness and experience, you can learn from. For example, you learned you weren’t equipped for your goal yet.”

She rubbed her stinging wound. “How about a way to learn without getting my ass kicked?”

“Try learning from a mentor who has more experience than you,” he wittingly replied with a smug look.

“Yea… my bad,” she fixed herself some bread and noodles. “Mind teaching me something?”

“Depends.”

“Could you teach me about stealth?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

**A year and a half later.**

The aging hound walked around the torch-lit cave, near midnight. His footsteps, and stalactites dripping into small pools of water, was the only thing echoing through the cavern at such an hour. An occasional bat flew around, but other than that, all was quiet.

As he continued to walk along the wet cave floor, the sound of some rock debris splashing into a nearby water pool grabbed his attention. Though it was insignificant, he quickly did a 180 and dodged a flying kick from a cloaked figure. He missed a fierce counterattack, forcing the figure to flee. “Too obvious, Kyani…”

In response, the fox attacked from behind, missing a sweep, then was denied a rushed punch targeting his body.

Although he had the clenched fist, she grabbed the same arm and threw him over her shoulder. Though out of position, the hound tightened his hold with his other arm and kicked her legs from under her, putting her on her back. With their arms locked, they stare at each other in a stalemate. “You can do a lot for an old dog,” Kyani huffed.

“Underestimating opponents, are we?”

She growled and kicked him off, got to her feet, and started throwing stars all over the cave. The torches, one by one, went out behind the shurikens, covering the cave in darkness.

Sensei Figi heard her flee again, and he started to slowly follow, but hesitated. “You wouldn’t leave foot spikes for your sensei, would you?”

No answer. He carefully slid his foot along the floor, unable to see what was in front of him, and sure enough, he felt a cold, sharp spike on the ground. Assuming there were others, he stayed right where he was. Since he saw nothing, his ears did most of the work.

He listened around, but it was quiet, until the sound of cloth brushing metal broke the silence. Despite not seeing anything, the impressive hound narrowly dodged the kunai flying towards him.

The fox followed, falling head first with both her kodachis trained on Sensei Figi. He snatched one of her arms, and nearly snapped her wrist disarming one of the blades.

She shrugged it off and started swinging with the other blade, but her sensei’s seemingly instant reaction time helped him evade every strike. It didn’t help that she was relying solely on her ears.

She sliced right, missed, and up, and still found nothing but air. She then felt him swipe something from her uniform. She swung her blade around and found something, not him, and that something looped and maneuvered the long kodachi around to her throat.

“Ok, ok, ok! You win!” She pleaded as Sensei Figi continued to pull from being her, the only thing stopping it from arranging the fox’s untimely departure was Kyani pushing back. “You’re gonna kill me!”

“If I wanted to kill you, I would,” he assured her as he stopped pulling. “Plus, these *should* be training weapons, correct?”

“You’re fine…”

“When will you mature…?”

“Eventually,” she replied.

“Eventually?” He scoffed. “Anyway, have fun picking up the spikes.”

“Right…”

“Meet me in the kitchen, I have news for you.” He walked off as she struck a match for the torches and started picking up.

After half an hour or so, she found Hanzo and Sensei Figi eating thick soup next to her empty chair.

“Take a seat,” she did as the hound told her, a little wary of the raccoon eyeing her down. “Hanzo and I have discussed, and we think you are ready for a test.”

“What about our trials?”

“Set that aside, that doesn’t matter,” Hanzo answered, getting straight to the point. “A ghost couldn’t stalk Sensei Figi if it wanted to. The point is you’re *temporarily* on my team, and you follow my lead.”

“You will be aiding the others tonight to restock on food,” he told her. “Any questions you have, I trust Hanzo can answer them.”

“And where will you be?”

“He’ll be staying here,” Hanzo answered, “but you won’t, so I suggest we start prepping you.”

“Sounds like a plan, I will see you two tomorrow,” Sensei Figi added as he got up to leave.

“It’s only noon…”

“We have a *long* briefing for you, Kyani.”

“As I said, I will see you two tomorrow, stay safe,” the hound closed out as he left.

“So you’re… fine with this?” Kyani asked, a bit skeptical of the idea.

“If he thinks you’re mature enough, I can put my opinions aside for one night.”

“That’s go-“

“That doesn’t excuse you from what you said.”

“Oh, get a life, that was months ago!”

“So was you joining, and it still affects us,” he pointed out. “Now come on.”

They walked over to a different cavern, and everyone was kitted up with their gear. Fuma was dressed in samurai gear, Suzi had regular ninja attire, and Hanzo was getting dressed into something similar as Fuma. Everyone had empty burlap sacks, to carry food.

“Everyone listen up,” everyone huddled around the raccoon, “the plan’s a simple Trojan horse.” He pointed over to a worn carriage with closed doors on the back. It had wood poles on the front for someone to lift up and pull along with wooden wheels on the back.

“When we go to the gate, the guards will check what we’re carrying. Fuma and I’ll take care of them and escort the carriage along. From there, Suzi opens the gate and keeps a lookout. Once everything is loaded, we get out. Suzi takes care of anyone who takes a closer look. Got it?”

“Yea, but one question, what about me?” Kyani asked.

“I’m glad you asked,” he pointed over to some dirty clothes in the corner. A straw hat with a ripped wrap-around jacket, muddy trousers, and sandals. “You’ll be pulling the carriage.”

She looked back at him in disgust. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Do I look like someone who ‘kids’ around?” She started walking as everyone finished gearing up.

“Maybe one in your mullet would help…” she muttered under her breath as she picked up the disguise and started putting it on over her uniform.

<-- Part 1

Part 3 -->