Kitsune Travel Record's

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Japan, Forest behind Ozunu Orphanage

Lucian was waving his katana so fast it became a blur cutting and slicing through the ranks of Kuroko. Now he was covered in blood, his clothes stained crimson but his face was still full of determination.

But the Kuroko didn't stop, they didn't seem to care about their casualties. They only focused on their objective that was to tire out Lucian, their movements was relentless as they keep coming replacing those who died trapping him in the circle.

He sliced through another Kuroko, his blade severing its head as it flew up before dropping on the ground with sickening thud as the body falls but another replace it's position.

Lucian with blank face He raised his katana, ready to strike again, when the Kuroko froze. They stopped, their movements halted, their bodies rigid, their eyes unblinking.

"Why did they stop? They shouldn't be like that." Cortana said, her voice a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. "You're about to tire out." Deep down she was worried she knew that changes, especially those sudden and unexpected, weren't always good.

Lucian didn't answer. He had no time for speculation, no time for pondering the strange turn of events.

He needed to get to the children. He needed to make sure they were safe.

He moved with a newfound urgency as this was his chance, his steps becoming longer, his pace was faster.

He had to use the momentary pause to his advantage. He slashed through the air,

his katana cutting a clean line through the immobile Kuroko as he slice their head off one by one.

He broke free from their encirclement,

his eyes fixed on the direction of the children. He glanced back at the Kuroko, seeing their motionless forms.

His brow furrowed before he shook his head. He didn't have time to figure out why they had stopped He needed to get to the children first.

'I don't have time to wonder why they stopped,' he said to Cortana through his mid as his focus was solely on reaching his destination as run towards the kids location.

Cortana mind was racing before she nodded. "I know." she said her voice filled with urgency.

She started analyzing the situation her knowledge of the Kuroko and the Najin fueling her analysis.

There had to be a reason for this sudden change.

•-----•-----•-----•-----•

While Lucian was fighting and killing the Kurokos, the children, having fled the forest clearing came to a halt. The older children stopped forming a protective circle around the younger ones, their bodies tense and their senses on high alert as they felt a presence, a threat approaching them.

"What do we do now?" a child about the same age as Violet and Garrett whispered, his voice laced with anxiety.

Violet scanned the forest, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow.

Her gaze searching for the source of the growing danger before she saw ninjas rushing towards them, She bit her lip, her mind racing, trying to come up with a plan.

"Do you think he's dead?" Garrett whispered his voice barely audible and his eyes were wide with fear as it's fixed staring on the Kurokos that were rapidly approaching.

"No, maybe there are just too many of them." Violet replied but the uncertainty in her voice was evident.

"Or maybe he already left on his own. We're not close to begin with." another older child whispered, his words laced with bitterness, his voice a harsh reminder of the precariousness of their situation.

Some of the other children heard him.

They frowned, their faces a mix of confusion and anger.

Violet glared at the speaker, her voice filled with a fierce defiance. "Yeah, and he should just have left us out in the orphanage to escape himself while we took a bullet!" she snapped. Her anger was justified. Lucian was the only reason they escape or even alive.

She took a step forward, her eyes blazing with a fierce determination. "Those who want to go, can go with the younger kids." she said, her voice ringing with a newfound authority. "Those who want to fight, we'll buy time." She bit her lip, hoping that some of them would stay.

Garrett stepped forward, his hand gripping Violet's arm. He smiled, his expression a mixture of innocence and courage.

Violet shook her head but couldn't help but smile back.

It was a smile that spoke volumes, a smile that acknowledged the bravery, the sacrifice and bond they shared.

The older children looked at each other, their faces a mixture of fear and determination. They had no weapons, no real experience of killing, they only have training and their raw courage.

"We stay together, we can fight." one of the older children shouted, his voice brimming with an unexpected boldness.

"We can defeat them, take their weapons." Making the older children look at him.

He scratched his head mhis words a sudden burst of courage. "Am I wrong?"

They all shook their heads. They were in this together. They would stand their ground then some of them knelt down, their faces etched with concern, their eyes filled with warmth as they spoke to the younger children who can't fight.

"You need to go by yourself this time, okay?" an older girl said, caressing the head of a little girl.

"I don't want to." the little girl said, her voice filled with a mix of fear and pleading. "Can't I just stay with you?" She had experienced the harsh realities of Ozunu training at a young age. She knew danger when she saw it.

The older girl shook her head but her smile was bright as she started encouraging the little girl. "No, you can't, but they'll come with you." she said pointing to the other younger children.

The little girl with tears on her eyes bit her trembling lips, She knew they were right.

"Go" the older girl whispered, rising and turning before walking towards Violet side. taking a fighting stance, her fist raised, ready to face the approaching threat.

"Name?" Violet asked, her voice a soft murmur.

"Julianne." the girl replied with a smile,

a fragile yet hopeful smile forming her lips.

Violet smiled back a silent acknowledgment of their bond a shared sense of purpose.

The other older children followed Julianne's example saying goodbye to the younger children their voices filled with a mixture of sadness and determination.

One by one, they formed a line, their fists raised ready to fight, as they started sharing their real names making their bonds more solidified.

The younger children, their eyes wide with tears as they looked at the backs of their older protectors or even siblings in the clan. their hearts heavy with a mixture of fear and gratitude.

They held hands, their small figures a stark contrast to the looming shadows of the forest before they started running, their footsteps echoing through the forest, their journey toward safety beginning anew.

Just as they were about to disappear into the dense trees, a rush of footsteps came from Infront of them.

The sound was a symphony of movement, unstoppable unyielding before they could take a look at the two figures cloaked in the shadows, the two figures passed the young kids.

When the older children turned around, their faces filled with a mixture of fear and surprise.

They saw two women their faces concealed by masks, their eyes glowing with purple and red light as the two women jumped upward landing in front of them facing the Kurokos.

Noshiko pulled out her katana on her back its blade gleaming in the dim light, as she wave it to her side.

While Satomi Ito draw the daggers on her waist, her weapon no longer the simple spikes like in the past gleaming with a sinister edge testament of the changes that happened of the passing years.

"No one said there would be another ninja clan." Noshiko said, her voice a low murmur, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Deal with them first." Satomi Ito whispered, her voice a soft hiss. "Protect the children before finding Lucian." Her eyes focus on the upcoming Kurokos while her mind wander towards the Ozunu clan children she was thinking of their determination that no normal child should have.

'Is this why the Arashikage clan wanted to keep the orphans of the Ozunu clan?' She thought, a profound sense of awe sweeping over her. 'if they didn't grow up being a killer they would be great people in the future,' she thought as her resolve to protect the children becomes stronger.

As Noshiko and Satomi charged toward the Kuroko, Satomi parried a curved weapon, while dodging another attack.

Though her fighting skill matched the Kurokos, her superior physique allowed her to evade their strikes with precise timing.

When she ducked the attack she waved her daggers extended with a flick of her wrist, slashed through the air, severing tendons and nerves in their arms and waists.

She didn't want to kill unless absolutely necessary, however something made her frown.

These ninjas were different they fought relentlessly, even with grievous wounds and limp limbs, they didn't care about their own survival they were driven by a single relentless purpose.

"Noshiko." Satomi called out, her voice tight with worry. She had to warn her friend.

She tightened her grip on the daggers, her red eyes burning with a fierce determination.

"I know." Noshiko replied, eyeing a Kuroko who'd lost a hand and leg but was still crawling towards the children.

Around them lay the bodies of other Kurokos, their limbs and heads severed. Unlike Satomi, Noshiko held nothing back.

Her superior weapon mastery and physique quickly revealed the Kurokos' abnormality.

It ignored the bodies of its comrades,

the decapitated heads and severed limbs that littered the ground.

Noshiko walked with a swift and almost silent graceful movement as she waved her katana with fast speed it separated the Kuroko's head from its body.

She then turned to Satomi.

"Looks like even fatal wounds aren't enough." Satomi said her voice a low growl, her expression grim.

She sliced through the air, her daggers cut the Kuroko's throat, creating a fountain of blood but it was no use.

The creature continued to attack, its hand though mangled still gripping the weapon.

"Cut off its head completely or maybe try attacking its heart." Noshiko suggested, her voice tinged with a hint of grim amusement. She knew Satomi, a devout Buddhist was now capable of far more brutal tactics than she normally employed.

Noshiko rushed forward, killing another Kuroko as she continues to reap their lives one after another.

Satomi sighed before her red eyes turned like a predator, becoming more intense.

She dodged the Kuroko's attack and with a precise deadly strike sliced through its nape a gushing wound opening.

She then kicked its head, separating it from its body The Kuroko's head rolled on the ground making the blood spread out.

Noshiko looked at Satomi with a raised eyebrow. "For a Buddhist, you're more ruthless than I thought." she said with amusement while a smirk appeared on her lips.

"You know I didn't have a choice," Satomi replied, her expression grim. She knew her actions were brutal but her daggers were not meant to cut heads off.

Noshiko laughed, her laughter echoing through the forest. "I know." she said, while her gaze fixed on the approaching Kuroko. She started cutting off their hands and her movements became faster severing their heads killing them swiftly.

Satomi shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips as she looked down at her daggers. 'Looks like I need to change my weapons again,' she thought. Her daggers, made for incapacitating enemies weren't meant for killing and this made her actions seem unnecessarily cruel.

She looked up and saw the children staring at the ground, their faces pale with horror. They took a deep breath, their cheeks puffing out as they gulped, Satomi followed their gaze as she saw the Kuroko's severed head rolling towards in front of the children.

When the Children looked up, their eyes meet Satomi's.

"Sorry." She whispered, her voice laced with regret aware of the brutality of her actions from their perspective. She knew she couldn't undo what she had done

"Okay, focus! More ninjas are coming," Noshiko said, drawing Satomi's attention. Noshiko had already killed the surrounding ninjas and was watching more approach from a distance.

Noshiko's purple eyes glowing with an intensit her gaze were fixed on the oncoming threat.

The katana in her hand, its hilt wrapped in a black fabric and its blade sparkled with a purple lightning signaling she was ready to fight.

Just as they were about to charge, they saw a red figure rushing towards the Kurokos from the back of the Kurokos.

He hurled a kusarigama, its chain whipping through the air with its deadly weight.

He then drew his katana, the blade gleaming in the dim light and began to kill. The Kuroko, taken by surprise were falling before him.

Noshiko and Satomi looked at each other, their faces a mix of surprise and curiosity. They saw the figure of a young boy whose clothes were stained with blood even his face was drenched in the blood of those who he killed.

Noshiko turned her gaze to the children who were staring at Satomi, their faces pale.

"Do you guys have another companion?"

she asked, her voice tinged with a hint of amusement.

The children's eyes widened in surprise as they started exchanging nervous glances before deciding to stay quiet and not to answer.

"I admire your loyalty, kids." Noshiko said, her voice softer now. She was impressed by their courage. "But there's a kid covered in blood rushing over here, killing this kind of ninja." she said, gesturing towards the corpses.

Then Noshiko started looking at their eyes,

"So do you know who it is? Otherwise, I'll have to take him as an enemy." She turned her head towards Lucian who was killing efficiently, dispatching the Kurokos easily.

"It's Lucian." Violet whispered, her gaze fixed on the battlefield. She took a quick glance at Satomi's red eyes, recognizing the signs of a werewolf of alpha. 'Werewolf,' she thought, a complex mixture of emotions swirling within her. She hated werewolves but they were the ones who had saved them.

Noshiko and Satomi looked at each other, their faces a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Isn't he supposed to be nine?" Satomi whispered, her voice laced with sadness.

Her red eyes filled with worry and concern, reflected the brutal reality of the situation.

What she saw was not a strong warrior but a child who had been forced to kill to survive.

"Looks like he didn't need any help." Noshiko replied, her surprise turning into a frown. She was impressed by Lucian's skills but concerned by what he had become.

The person they are looking for and the one they needed to find had become a killer.

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Next Chapter 41: Ozunu Part 2

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