Fan Fiction ❯ Chosen ❯ Sensei Shinbo ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chosen...
Author: Byakko Rei


Chapter 2
Sensei Shinbo

Yuriko tidied the house a bit, then left a note for Midori that stated she had an unavoidable appointment at Eight o'clock that evening and would be back as soon as possible.

She put on a pair of tight black leather pants, a gray tank top, and a heavy pair of black boots. She packed her gi and bokken into a gym bag, shrugged her jacket on, then rode to her appointment at the dojo.

Yuriko parked in the dark ally where the dojo's side entry was located, then pressed the doorbell and waited. She kept her senses on the alert for muggers, wishing the dojo wasn't in such a crime ridden location. She was relieved to finally hear the door unlatch.

The door was opened by a tall, silent individual dressed in navy-colored ninjutsu clothes and tabi boots. Only a glittering pair of large brown eyes could be seen of the face. The person stepped aside for her to enter. Yuriko bowed slightly and made her way towards the dojo where she expected Shinbo-kun to be waiting. The ninja seemed to melt into the shadows and disappear.

When she got to the room preceding the dojo, her eyes widened. Kishi, Mariko and Midori were kneeling on the floor around a table drinking tea! Sensei Shinbo was at the head of the table.

"Ah... Yuriko-kun, you have arrived! Now we can proceed with our meeting!" Shinbo poured Yuriko some tea and motioned for her to sit.

Yuriko settled next to Kishi and gave her a curious look. Kishi shrugged nonchalantly as Shinbo cleared his throat.

"Unbeknownst to one another, each of you were selected and given exclusive membership offers to join me for private lessons. All of you accepted and have been under my tutelage for quite some time now. You are probably wondering why you have been chosen," he said with a smile at the 'group nod'.

"I have a network of informants who look for potential warriors with specific abilities and report back to me. I then begin to follow the candidate's careers and abilities until I'm sure of their worthiness. I have several such students, but I need a crew assembled immediately who can work together as a team," Shinbo informed his small group shifting uncomfortably before him. "You are that team," he declared firmly. "It is no coincidence that you know one another and are friends... it was fate."

Shinbo held up his right hand. "All of you are familiar with Kuji-in." Then starting with his little finger he pointed to each finger in turn and recited, "Chi (solids), Sui (water), Ka (fire), Fu (wind) and Ku... the source of power," he finished wiggling his thumb. "Buddhists believed they could channel energy from each of the elemental manifestations represented by the fingers in the form of hand signals." His gaze swept around the table to take in each of the women. "I believe that philosophy can also be applied to individuals." Shinbo closed his eyes.

Slowly and deliberately he pointed to each student beginning with Kishi on his immediate right. "Chi!" Next was Yuriko. "Ka!" Shinbo's finger swept across from Yuriko to Midori. "Fu!" Then lastly rested upon Mariko. "Sui!" Shinbo opened his eyes which appeared to almost smolder. "I am Ku, the source of your power and it is I who drew your energies together. We form an elite force which can influence the currents of energy around us by the way we interact with one another... just as the hand symbols of Kuji-in are used to focus our inner power."

Yuriko spoke up then, "Sensei, what matter is so urgent you feel it is necessary to form a team of amateur 'warriors'?"

Shinbo gazed at her with a slight smirk on his face. "In this realm... the realm of light, I am known as the 'Blade of Patience'. However, in the realm of darkness I am known as Houmudaijin; the Minister of Justice. There is one there who is called Mami Tatsujin, or loosely, the 'Master of Deception'. In this world we call him Hakujou... the cold-hearted one."

Shinbo rose to his full height for dramatic effect. "Hakujou once walked in this dimension in physical form, but was banished to the realm of darkness by a Child of Light when he sought to overstep his boundaries. However, the realm of darkness could not fully contain his spirit. His spirit breathes through every human foible. Mami Tatsujin has gained in enough strength over time to now break free of his confines. I can not fight The Deceiver alone as this realm's Enlightened One... he has grown too influential. He especially delights in the perversion of women," Shinbo remarked dryly, "and that weakness is how we shall defeat him!"

Mariko blinked. "We are bait, then?"

Midori shook her head. "No... we will be a trap."

Shinbo nodded. "Hakujou will distort reality to torture you. He will search your souls to find an Achilles' heel. As he feeds on your fear and anger, he will become more tangible. That is when he is both the most powerful... and the most vulnerable. Unfortunately, I can only attack him in his materialized form.... " he trailed off.

Shinbo inclined his head slightly and called sharply, "Tara!" A woman with shoulder length black hair in a sunrise orange kimomo entered the room and cleared the tea away. Shinbo smiled brightly at her. "Thank you, most favorite daughter!"

She returned his grin with a mock scowl. "I am your only daughter, Father!" She bowed to their guests and left balancing the full, silver tray expertly on her finger tips.

Shinbo watched his daughter sashay out before he addressed his team a final time, "You will begin to train your spirits in the higher art of Ninpo and train harder with Kuji-in. Your fears will be our bait... and its control will be our trap," he finished as the dark ninja warrior materialized and bowed.


To be continued....