Snow fell softly from the hazy, gray
sky and lay around the farm in a heavy white blanket. Thick flakes
swirled through the air, but other than that all the world was still.
A scream suddenly rang out. “No!” She cried in terror, but the
scream was quickly silenced. A shadowy figure staggered out of the
barn, and blood dripped upon the new fallen snow. He fell to his
knees and coughed up blood. The pure white snow instantly became a
pool of crimson all around him. “I'll never tell.” He muttered.
“No one will ev--”
But his sentence instantly ended as a
tall stranger knifed him in the chest. “Don't be too sure about
that.” He whispered in the poor man's ear. He then pulled his knife
from the body and it collapsed to the ground. The stranger then
quickly disappeared into the dark menacing forest as it swallowed him
up. The snow continued to fall and the world was again eerily quiet.
Crouched atop the building, Kynsai
surveyed the city below her. She knew this place like the back of her
hand, from its rooftops to the maze of alleys and streets, even
though she had only been there a year. The city was still sleeping
and all was quiet as Kynsai stood up and squinted as she tried to
make out the faces of the two figures who were approaching the city
gate. She leaped from roof to roof, spinning and flipping as she
went, and ended up at one of the gate towers. As she gazed out over
the horizon, the two cloaked figures had almost arrived at the
entrance. Laying flat on the roof, Kynsai watched as the guards
prepared to meet the travelers.
There seemed to be no trouble and
the travelers entered the gates of the city. Kynsai turned and
watched them walk away, their robes flapping in the breeze. As she
watched them go, Kynsai couldn't help the suspicious feeling that
rose up inside of her. Grabbing an electrical pole, Kynsai slid down
to the ground. As Kynsai walked through the streets, she saw the
other orphans who lived, like her, among the alleys. A few made eye
contact, but then quickly looked away. Though they never said it,
Kynsai knew they were afraid of her, for she was different from the
rest. Her hand instinctively rose to make sure her mask covered her
face. Her mask began at the middle of her nose, and hid the rest of
her face from there, and it was really more of a piece of cloth than
a mask.
Even though the orphans were
afraid, she was always welcome among them. She was guaranteed
protection, able to beat up any unwelcome visitors that came their
way. No one dared mess with Kynsai, the Shadow, they called her.
Kynsai was tall and lithe with
golden skin and vivid green eyes. Her hair was caramel-colored with
the tips of her hair edged in black. Her hair was long and layered,
so the black tips fell jaggedly all around. Her dark brows were a
striking contrast to her light colored hair, and only intensified the
green in her eyes. A white strip of cloth hid the bottom half of her
face, and she wore a silver chain around her neck which disappeared
under whatever shirt she would wear.
“Kynsai!”
Kynsai turned to see Maji running
towards her, so she stopped and waited for her to catch up.
“Thanks for waiting.” Maji panted,
coming up alongside her.
Kynsai nodded. “Is everything
alright?” She asked.
Maji shrugged. “Oh, yeah.”
Kynsai had to smile. Maji was always
like that. She always acted like she had something to tell you when
it was really nothing at all.
“Two strangers came into the city
today.” Kynsai remarked.
Maji arched an eyebrow. “Did you see
them?”
“Mhmm.” Kynsai said with a nod. “I
couldn't see their faces well because they were robed in black.
“And you don't think they're just
ordinary travelers, am I right?” Maji asked, knowing that Kynsai
always seemed to know when something was off.
“I didn't think so.” Kynsai
replied, brushing her caramel-colored hair from her face.
Maji tossed her dark ponytail and
studied Kynsai with intelligent gray eyes. “Then who were they?”
Kynsai shrugged her slim shoulders.
“I'll find out eventually.”
“Maybe they're Saosin.” Maji
suggested, referring the the first class ninjas.
“I don't know,” Kynsai said, “could
be.”
Maji could tell by the tone of voice
that Kynsai wasn't buying it. Maji merely shrugged. “Hmm. Well, I
have to go. I'll see you around.” She called over her shoulder as
she bounded off.
Kynsai watched her go. Maji was one of
the few orphans who tried to talk to her, and even though Kynsai
never mentioned it, she was grateful for that.
A sudden shadow passed over
Kynsai's face and she instantly looked up, but she saw nothing except
for the clear blue sky above. The streets had begun filling up with
people as the sun rose higher. Not being much of a crowd person,
Kynsai darted into an alley nearby, escaping into the city's maze.
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