Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Poupuru Koukon ❯ Gaikotsu ( Chapter 1 )

(if you want to skip all my pre-story rambling, then scroll down until you see the text that's bolded, underlined, AND italicized, to skip straight to the story)

 

 

Hello, all! Welcome to my new story, Poupuru Koukon. I'd like to say, in advance, thank you for being here. You're either Star, Amy, or you looooooove my writing, or the character Liliha Doux. Well, and there's also the off chance that you're curious, but I doubt that. Any way you put it, I'm honored to have you reading this fic.

 

This is the third `fanfiction' I've ever composed. I know, it seems like I have had much practice, but I assure you, it's pure talent! ^_-

 

Ok, ok, ok… That was a bit too pretentious. But you know, I love the English language, and it's my greatest goal to master it fully, and indefinitely, and that's why I write.

 

This fic will revolve around an original character, a samurai hedgehog named Liliha Doux. (You can see a picture I drew of her in my artwork section)

 

Liliha was a triple-pitch effort by I, Watch For Stars, and Luv Shadow 14, all of which are excellent authors… ^_- oops, getting deluded again…. well, anyway, my point is I only own 33.3333333333333% of this character…. (I hate splitting things into threes, don't you?) the other percentages are held by the fore-mentioned authors. If you've read Watch For Stars's fic, “Welcome To My World”, (and you better read it, it has ME in it!!!) then you probably already know a deal about Liliha…

 

This fic will be the girl's life… and how her legacy as the Samurai of Sweet Anger unfolded, and how she was thought to be killed… It has everything you want to know about this delightfully mysterious character, and MORE. So, without further blabbering, I present to you…

 

Poupuru Koukon, Chapter 1: “Gaikotsu”

 

The night… it was a silent one. The kind of night that was much like the ninja—quiet, dark… and with many stars. Sakura blossoms seemed to glow in the moonlight, it's innumerable petals fluttering to the ground, daintily.

 

Tak, Tak, Tak…

 

The delicate quiet was broken, stirred by the sound of straw sandals touching the ground… That somebody was awake at this time of night, in a neighborhood like this…. well, let's just say that this individual… whatever her name, must have some guts… to walk straight through the territory of the notorious Dokuro clan…

 

The individual walked out of the shadow cast by a traditional Japanese-style building, and into the full ray of the moon. She was a hedgehog… and a beautiful one at that. Upon spotting the ornate katana, which hung upon her waist, you'd instantly know, she was samurai.

 

Samurai… it seemed like their weren't many left nowadays, and a FEMALE samurai no less… that was almost impossible to find in this era, or any. Most women in this area were peaceful, and became priestesses, or even gaisha, as opposed to treading a more violent path… Those that didn't became kunoichi, female shinobi…

 

Unlike most samurai, she hung her sword at the back, hilt facing her right. A lovely garnet glimmered in the moonlight, built into the hilt. The hedgehog girl's quills were a deep, royal purple, and, again, unlike many samurai, she didn't put her head-quills back, and the bangs of them hung freely in her face. She did, however have two strange, lengthy ponytails hanging at the back, bound by long bandages, making it look like a lion's tail… they blew freely in the wind as she continued to walk through enemy territory.

 

Tak, Tak, Tak…

 

It was miraculous that she didn't have a shuriken lodged in her skull at this point… the Dokuro shinobi clan was a irritable bunch.

 

She continued to walk, holding her body in that calm, `could care less' way. Beautiful as a setsuka bud, yes… but you could tell, just by looking… this rose had a mighty sharp thorn hung at her waist.

 

She wore a black sash, tied at the center, loosely holding her Japanese skirt in place. It was the samurai's alternation of open legged pants, or the lower part to the traditional gi, allowing for maximum movement of the legs. One thing easily noticed about the strange girl was an un-evenness in her upper attire. She wore a simple white tank top, that didn't seem to quite cover her tight, well carved belly… but upon her left arm, a large sleeve… of the type a priestess would wear. It was so big, if her arm hung all the way down, it would cover even her hand… As it went up her arm, it disappeared into a crest of raven black fur, which rested upon her shoulder.

 

Her right arm was, however, completely bare, except for her glove, of which many Mobians of the day wore… even in the eastern parts. Her legs, not entirely covered by the skirt had a thick bandaging covering her… more private areas, in a sarashi-style under garment, just in case her skirt didn't prove to cover it entirely. Upon her feet were the classic white Tabi socks, which were accompanied by simple straw sandals, of the type many eastern Mobians wore.

 

Tak, Tak, Tak… CHUNK!

 

The girl looked to her right, where the kunai knife had whizzed by her head… A warning. She grinned, as another went by, skimming her very cheek…

 

CHUNK!

 

The girl didn't even flinch. She turned around, and grabbed one of the kunai, and found a torn piece of parchment tied to it, with the signature kanji of the Dukuro attatched… next to it was a picture of a skull.

 

The girl was obviously invigorated by the heat of battle… as she looked up, you could see the love of danger sparkle within her dazzling, icy silver eyes. But… this was one of the base cities of an enemy clan…

 

The kanji on her fluffy sleeve was clear, and, around here, would be easily recognized as the symbol of the Giri-Goken dojo… headed by the legendary master of the katana, Hiroshima Masashi. Below the symbol was another kanji, Poupuru Koukon… the most respectable branch of the students of Giri-Goken. Just a look at that, and one could tell, this girl was deadly with a blade.

 

However, an honorable samurai versus a dozen sneaky assassins, despite her rank or school, was not a very fair contest… in extremely rare cases would a samurai gain the proximity necessary to cut down a ninja… much less one so prestigious as any the Dokuro had to offer… even so much as the lowly chunin would pose a fatal threat.

 

However, confidence evident in her honorable, possibly even over-confident look, the purple hedgehog took the most belligerent, brave, and foolish thing possible…

 

She just stood there. If that wasn't enough, she added to the `sitting duck' factor by folding her arms, and closing her eyes, the venomous smirk of battle-lust never fading from her visage.

 

Needless to say, soon stars were falling from the night sky… and they weren't the kind that twinkle and make constellations, either.

 

The girl's eyes snapped open, and her right hand flew to her blade, much drawing it from it's scabbard, ripping it out, and swaffing it through the air with such speed, such perfection, that one would almost swear that such a feat was some sort of illusionary trick.

 

The shuriken being tossed from the rooftops above didn't take their time in closing in on their target, so the samurai girl didn't hesitate, blade flashing and whistling as she sliced through the air, many times, repeatedly, and with an unfathomably rapid pace…

 

KLING KLANG KLINSH!

 

…With the noises over, the blade was already returned to it's sheathe, with style, and a well-practiced motion, as 6 pieces of metal fell to the ground.

 

Now, if one paid careful attention, they would notice that each piece of metal was a perfectly, almost symmetrical half of a ninja star….

 

The girl fwipped her quills out of her face, and folded her arms again, waiting. Now, after seeing such an impossible feat being performed… it was a wonder that ANYBODY, reinforcements or no, wouldn't be intimidated. The utter speed, accuracy, and perfection of the slices it would take to slice a flying shard of razor-honed steel… it was unquestionably something only a goddess of the katana could accomplish.

 

A long time passed, and the magnificently talented samurai began to look impatient, tapping her foot, shattering the silence into a million pieces.

 

Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak, Tak….

 

Nothing responded… and it seemed there was no longer anybody present but her… She persisted the tapping, nonetheless… a smile growing as she made such a simple noise increasingly irritating.

 

Tak, Tak, Tak, taktaktak, tak tak, TAK…

 

She bobbed her head left and right, composing a significantly frustrating little song, with horrible rhythm… Still, nobody answered… however…

 

TAK, TAK, TAK, TAK, TAK,TAK….

 

Despite how many minutes passed, she simply would NOT quit… She was doing it very loudly now, almost in a stomp, as she smiled, almost sadistically, as if KNOWING the torture she was causing…

 

“ARRRRGH!” Came a shout, after many more echoing taps, as a younger ninja leaped from the roof-top, a keen dagger raised in the air, as he descended quickly upon her…

 

She grinned, and swiftly dodged at precisely the right moment, throwing him off balance. She'd succeeded in exploiting the impatience of the Dokuro. She looked at the roof-top, and two more shinobi revealed themselves, cursing their comrade for revealing himself. The young ninja was quite feeble compared to her, and she dodged his taijutsu, and his kunai with great ease… her blade still in it's case. She seemed amused, as the other two leaped down, and ran to his aid.

 

She allowed them to surround her, and they circled her, threateningly, hissing. They all wore masks, so she really couldn't tell what breed they were… but she knew two were cats, because of their tails, and the other was likely wolf, which she could tell from the way it growled at her.

 

“Hahaha… Mad?” She spoke, her pitch average for a woman her age, but her tone nothing short of teasing. She appeared to be enjoying angering the ninjas. One held his kunai to her throat, and she looked down at it, then at him, grinning almost horrifyingly.

 

“… Put down the katana, samurai, and leave this place, while you still can…” The young cat hissed, threatening her. Her smirk got larger, and she walked toward him, not even being mindful of the blade, which, in order to preserve her life, caused the shinobi to back up. She slowly, ominously drew her blade, making a terrifying, metal scraping noise as she did.

 

“Hahaha… If you'd like to keep that pretty tail of yours… much less any other appendages, I suggest you lower your puny little butter knife, before I have to turn you into sliced sashimi…” She said, each word tipped with poison. The young cat, despite having his weapon at her neck, and backup, was intimidated… and he backed down, lowering the knife, his face in a shocked sort of horror.

 

The girl immediately took a defensive stance with her katana, and the other ninjas yelled at the younger, less experienced one.

 

“Taku! You fool! You cannot let yourself fear the enemy!” One said to him.

 

“She's only bluffing!” Said the low voiced, wolf-like ninja, letting out a small laugh. The purple hedgehog, for the first time, looked insulted… and her silvery eyes locked onto the hound, and she moved, quickly, seeming to walk straight through him…

 

Slish.

 

She stood at the other side of him, as all eyes turned to the veteran shinobi… suddenly, he dropped his weapon, which clanged upon the ground and he fell, a puddle of dark blood forming around him.

 

It was an instant-death strike… He made no sound, and h simply fell, showing that he was literally dead before he hit the ground…

 

The samurai turned around, and slung the red fluid on her blade into the face of the other two ninjas, making both jump, and seem horrified.

 

“…Who's bluffing now?” She said, raising an eyebrow, making the expression look ominous…

 

The young cat-ninja fell to the ground, on his rear, scooting away from her. There was no mistake, now he was completely and utterly terrified for his life.

 

“Oh… oh my god! N-n- Nanzu! Di-did you see that… the way she just… c-cut right through Inuyazu…!” He stammered, looking at her, shaking his head.

 

“… You… you filthy cur!” Shouted the older cat-ninja, making a pass at the goddess of battle, missing, and badly. She scoffed, and kicked him on the back as he went by her, knocking him down with the utmost ease.

 

“Lucky, you get another chance. Attack me again, and it's the last thing you'll ever do.” She said to him.

 

`Nanzu' as she'd heard him being called, picked himself up, and threw a cap down, making a smokescreen. The young chonin… Taku, she thought… leaped up, and shouted out at his peer.

 

“Nanzu!! Don't do it! She's… she's…!!!” He started… but his next words were muffled by a scream.

 

The girl had skewered the ninja, whom did an aerial strike, from behind… She didn't even bother turning around, as she held her blade in the exact right place to stab him. She quickly withdrew her blade, reflexively slung the life blood off of it, and sheathed it.

 

She turned around, and walked up to the dying ninja.

 

“…Idiot. You mustn't attack with anger… The likes of weaklings like you can't use it effectively… it only hinders your already weak potential… Anger… must be truly understood, before it can be used for anything but it's name.” She told him, as his eyes froze, and his body went stone limp.

 

She looked over at the only remaining ninja. He was scared, and he kept a difference from her. She smiled.

 

“Scared…? Of me…?” She asked, rather rhetorically. She shook her head. “…Smart boy.”

 

He pointed at her…

 

“You… are you…?” He trailed, seeming at a loss for words, as his heart raced. She nodded.

 

“I have many names, young one. You probably know me as the Samurai of Sweet Anger… or perhaps Purple Twilight… maybe even my real name…” She trailed, staring at him.

 

“L-L.. Li…?” He stammered, completely unable to pronounce anything. She smiled at him.

 

“Liliha Doux. It's not Japanese, but neither am I, so it shoulnd't be too hard for that little head to remember.” She said, walking toward him suddenly. He looked frightened, and he fell backwards, expecting a swift death… but…

 

Tak, Tak, Tak…

 

She passed him by, continuing on her merry way, like nothing had even happened. He couldn't let this happen…!! He turned around and called out.

 

“W-Wait! Why…? Why don't you… finish what you've started…? Is that not the way of the samurai…?” He asked her. She stopped, but didn't turn around.

 

“The samurai have many ways… it's too much of a hassle to follow them… I live by two rules… I do what I want, and nobody tells me what to do. The word `Samurai' means `to serve'… but, I serve only myself…” She told him. “If I am samurai, call me samurai, if not, then don't. I'm not sure I know myself, but life itself is a point of view. Any of us could be wrong about anything.” She said. Then she began to walk again, away from him. He didn't know what to do… he had nobody, now that Nanzu and Inuyazu were gone…

 

…The boy naively followed the purple hedgehog, not exactly knowing why himself.

 

End Chapter

 

Yay, I'm finally done! That was FUN. I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've always wanted to do a samurai fic, and it was even cooler than I'd hoped.

 

Anyway, if you've read this, and want more of Liliha, then you'd better review, because this is only a side project, and it can't be updated as frequently as Miles `Foxy' Prower.

 

For those of you who don't know ANY of these Japanese words, allow me to translate below: (My Japanese is HORRIBLY shabby, so please correct me if I'm wrong in any of these cases, which I probably am)

 

Samurai- A Japanese warrior, wielding a weapon called a katana, where abundant in feudal Japan. Samurai, in a literal sense, means `to serve'.

 

Katana- This is the Japanese word for `Sword/long blade'. It is different from the straight, double edged broadsword or rapier, or any other weapon you might be thinking of, and is a curved (generally) blade, single edged, and is made of a sturdy folded steel, to prolong it's sharpness and durability.

 

Shinobi- Japanese for `Ninja'. Ninja means `Assassin' (I guess) Ninjas actually originated in China, but were soon adopted in Japan, and it was considered an art form, involving sneaking, infiltration, illusion and of coarse, assassination techniques.

 

Shuriken- This is a Japanese term for those neato ninja-stars you see all the time. It can also be used in reference to a straighter, more knife-like bow-shuriken, or kunai.

 

Kunai- This is an all-purpose ninja knife, used for throwing, cutting, or concealed or unconcealed weaponry in the heat of close range battle. This is the weapon generally used by the Dokuro ninja clan.

 

Dokuro- No, I didn't make it up. Dokuro is Japanese for skull.

 

Pouporu- Japanese for purple (spelling is questionable)

 

Koukon- Japanese for twilight. (again, don't know about the spelling.)

 

Gaikotsu- Japanese for Skeleton.

 

Chonin- This is a lower rank of ninja, perhaps not even a full-fledged `Ninja' yet… the idea is they're in training.

 

Kunoichi- A female ninja.

 

Sarashi- A type of underwear that is like a consistency of bandages.

 

Sashimi- A Japanese fish dish. Best eaten with a lot of soy sauce… especially that cheap crap.

 

Sakura- A cherry blossom tree.

 

Setsuka- Means `Winter Flower'.

 

Gaisha- I'm not sure, but it's a woman who… is sort of like a… prostitute, I guess? I don't know… I'm not touching this one.

 

Tabi- It's a sock. It's like those neato ninja socks that have the big toe separate from the rest.

 

Gi- A samurai's general robe attire, complete with a sash, a lower skirt-like thing, and the top varies.

 

Kanji- Japanese symbol. Many look like pictures, and many are complex. There are thousands of them.

 

Giri-Goken- Giri is Japanese for `to slash/cut' and Goken is `Ferocious' I think… so the general idea is her school of swordsmanship is the dojo of the Ferocious Slash.

 

Dojo- A building. It's sort of like a school, most of the time… but generally the term `dojo' isn't used unless it's a place of teaching fighting arts. I'm not quite sure if this is Japanese or Chinese.

 

Taijutsu- It's fist or foot fighting. No, not Tai bo, you dummy… Taijutsu is the name of generally all fistfighting arts.

 

Liliha- This is not a Japanese word, but a Hawaiian word, meaning `Anger'.

 

Doux- This is French for `Sweet'.

 

All the other names… yeah, I made those up. ^_^; That's all… I know I provided a LOT of info on these words that EVERYBODY knows… especially on THIS site… but you'd be surprised how some people don't know these things… *cough* Star*cough*

 

Hahaha, well, that's it for now… REVIEW!

 

~YiffyOne