It was late night in a kingdom ravaged by war and strife due to the heinous crimes of the djinn,a race with extraordinary abilities far exceeding that of the average human. This nation once stood as a bastion of hope and a shield against these off world invaders before they fell after a long struggle with that lasted for several generations . Back then it was known as the kingdom of Damestiya.
A wind blows over the decimated capital city of Ravan. The thugs all over the city look up after getting a weird feeling, but they just scoff it off as nothing more than a chill.
Then on the top of a partially broken tower under the light of the luminous cresent moon a figure appeared. He was well built and wore a white kimono with a black hakama and over the kimono was a black, sleeveless waist long robe. He had a head of black hair with a streak of white hair starting from the center of his towards his right eye.
The white belt on his waist held a katana with a white sheath, a white and black hilt and a white hexagonal guard which had a black pattern towards its edges. There was a symbol inscibed on the back of his robe. It was the kanji symbol meaning honor. His eyes were cold and his face expressionless as he took a step forward before suddenly vanishing.
On that same night three newborn children were set for execution. The first was the daughter of the princess of the fox djinn clan, Kara. Her father could not accept a daughter as his successor so he pinned an accusation on his wife that she had given birth to her child out of wedlock and then he pulled some strings to ensure the child was disposed of.
The second was the daughter of the princess of the wolf djinn clan, Maya. Unlike the first child this girl was born out of wedlock and to a human father no less. This alone all but ensured her demise for it was a frowned upon act to bear children with humans to the point that even being suspected of it brought great shame.
Finally was the son of the princess of the monkey djinn clan, Shiro and the heir of the dragon djinn clan as well as the crown prince of the djinn empire, Rozearion, the prince Draxon Dracon. This child's reason for execution was much more unreasonable than the previous two for he received his verdict due to the nature of his parents union. Among the djinn intermarriage between the clans was highly frowned upon especially among the nobles for it was viewed as tainting of the bloodline and so this disgrace could not be allowed by the imperial family.
The children and their mothers were being held captive in the remnants of a castle that stood at the heart of the city. They were to be held there until the execution of the children was carried out.
Other than the severity of the execution the other thing that stood out was the place were it would be carried out. Contrary to the expected site of the execution which was in the djinn realm the execution was set to take place in the Damestian city of Ravan which now served as the base of operations for the djinn's campaign to conquer the human realm.
This was due to a high ranking commander within the djinn forces who suggested that due to the severity of the execution it might result in riots, so he advised that the execution be held secretly in the last place where people would think of, which was on the front lines.
A wind blew open the window to the room where the mothers and their children were being held and without warning the man appeared in their room.
" Are you mad human, why have you decided to come her of all places," said Kara," just who the hell are you?"
" My name is Tsushiro Yamada and I'm here on a reconnaissance mission for the Ashura Samurai Corps," he replied," i sensed a strange spiritual energy from this location and i decided to come and check it out for myself, but this is not what I expected."
For a moment there was a brief silence as tensions rose in the room.
"So what now?" Maya asked breaking the eerie silence," Are you going to kill us?"
They all stared at him waiting for his response. After another moment of silence he said," I have been sent here to observe and report my findings not to kill helpless people."
"Is that so?" Shiro asked as she stood abruptly firmly holding her child in her arms," Then we have a request for you please take our children and run. Its only a matter of time before they sense you so please please take them and run. Your these children's last hope. I know entrusting our own children to a stranger we've never met is reckless but we have no other option."
He stood there silent for a moment then said ,"Its not as simple as that, I can't just forsake my mission in order to save your children and plus what makes you think I would do that?"
"Please we'll do anything just help us!" they cried out desperately.
" Fine fine I'll do it, just calm down," he said as he raised his right hand toward the three children," now stand back!"
The room lit up and marks appeared on the chests of the babies. They then floated towards him and three separate balls of light appeared in the arms of the three mothers. The light then turned into identical copies of the children.
" Now I'm sure your smart enough to know what comes next," he said as he held the children close.
" Don't worry, leave the rest to us," replied Kara. He was then about to leap out the window before he was stopped by Shiro
" Thank you, we won't forget this," she said as she wiped a tear off her cheek.
Tsushiro sighed then said," Don't mention it."
He then leapt out of the window and away from the castle and immediately started heading out of the city at a high speed. But unfortunately for him it was not long before his presence was sensed by the soldiers in the vicinity who quickly rushed to intercept him and it was not long before a group of at least a hundred djinn soldiers were on their tail.
In response to this threat Tsushiro stopped for a moment before checking on the children. He held two of the children in his robe and the other with with his left hand.
He then unsheathed his sword with his right hand before yelling," Release, Shinka!"
Then his once normal blade turned pitch black with a pattern of red flames on its edge. Then with a slow downward motion of his sword a cloud of smoke appeared from its blade. From the smoke emerged a man dressed in a red robe with golden embroidery. A large sword which seemed to be made of alloy that resembles stone was held loosely onto his waste by a large golden belt. The sword itself had no sheath.
"Don't let them get to us Shinka," Tsushiro said as he turned.
"You worry to much. Go, I'll take care of
the rest," he replied before Tsushiro leapt away.
It was not long before he was then intercepted by the mob of enemies.
"Stop right there!" he yelled as he took a battle stance," This is where your case ends fellas."
"You talk big for someone with a sword
that can't even cut a paper," said one of
the djinn.
Shinka smirked as he took a step toward him and then in the blink of an eye he was behind him . Before the djinn could react he noticed that his throat had been slit and he fell to the ground.
"Seems to me that it cuts just fine. Isn't
that right?" He said before he was
attacked by another djinn who he easily
cut down as well.
The rest seeing his terrifying speed stepped back trying to retreat but before they had the chance to Shinka enveloped himself with fire causing a massive explosion. This resulted in most of them being dead or severely burnt but one djinn was left unscathed. He was scrawny and malnourished but even after the explosion he seemed strong enough to fight.
The blood from his wounds then suddenly began glowing as it turned into an energetic state. This glowing blood then converged infront of and took the shape of a bow.
"It seems like I'm forced to stop you
all by myself now. How unfortunate,"
he said sarcastically as he pointed an
arrow towards Shinka," blood manipulation:Blood arrow rush!"
This strange ability that he used was known as blood manipulation. It was the extraordinary ability of the djinn that enables them to control their blood by converting the blood into spiritual energy. They can then use this energy for offence and defence through the use of techniques. The rate of conversion of blood to energy varies from user to user. There are also a variety of techniques which are used by the djinn but just like any weapon, individual warriors specialise in the techniques that they are adept in.
He fired his first shot and Shinka was barely able to dodge as he then began shooting several arrows at him simultaneously . This prevented Shinka from getting close so he decided to mess up his enemy's concentration long enough for him to get an opening.
"Quit firing arrows from a safe distance
and fight me like a man, or are you all talk," he yelled.
"As if I would fall for your tricks!" he
yelled back.
Shinka then suddenly appeared behind him before saying,"You just did."
He then stabbed him in the shoulder before he could jump back to a safe distance.
"Not bad kid," he said as he pointed his weapon at him,"if you were up against someone else you might have had a chance but I'm Shinka. One of master
Tsushiro's ikkion blade spirits and I never lose. Not to anyone!"
"Well that's unfortunate for you cause today you'll lose to me, Zagan! A mere foot soldier of the Rozearion army!" He yelled back in response.
Shinka went in for the finishing blow but Zagan blocked it just in time with his
bow. They kept fighting as their battle
tore buildings and set the surrounding area ablaze.
The two continued to exchange blows for what seemed like forever until they suddenly stopped after putting a distance between themselves. Both of them had run out of breath but it was clear that Zagan was more exhausted than Shinka.
His opponent now had the upper hand so Zagan had no other choice but to use his last resort. He jumped back and his blood formed a sphere of energy between his horns which grew out of the side of his head toward his forehead.
"Blood manipulation: horned rebellion!
he yelled as the blood shot out of
the sphere at a high speed and hit Shinka forming a large dust cloud.
As the dust settled there was the sound of blood pouring.Zagan looked up to see Shinka who had lost his right arm and part of his right lung due to his attack leaving a large gaping hole.
Shinka was in shock but before he could react he heard a ticking sound and smirked.
"I'll make sure I'll kill you next time. You
hear me. Shinka never loses." he said before his body or whatever was left of it turned back into a cloud of smoke that immediately flew away.
Elsewhere, outside the capital Tsushiro
stood under a large tree on edge of a cliff as the smoke returned to his sword.
"Only ten minutes. I must be losing my
edge," he thought as he sheathed his sword.
He then looked at the babies and said,"Now what should I call you guys? I wasn't exactly given your names and now that I think of it using your real names wouldn't be the best idea. So instead I'll give you some new names."
"I know why don't I call you Yuriko," he
said pointing at Kara's Daughter.
He then looked at Shiro's son and said,"
You will be Izumi."
"And finally you will be Takae," he said
to Maya's daughter.
The babies chuckled at their new names
as the rays of a new dawn shone on them.
Tsushiro then sat down on the grassy field of the hill and sighed
"It makes me sad to think of the cruel world you've been born into," he said as he removed his sword and placed it on the grass infront of him.
His expression then softened as he said," Don't you worry though, cause now you have me to take away the some burdens that have been placed on you. And I promise to keep you safe too till you can fend for yourselves in this godforsaken world."
"I can only imagine the chain of events that this will cause," he wondered as he looked toward the horizon to see the rising sun.
He then held onto the children firmly as he stared blankly forward. After a moment of silence in which he seemed lost in thought he said," You better be right about this you damn bastard or else the backlash will be too much for even you to handle.