Ninja Wars: War For Kyoto [SS Mission: Zeno, Bobby, Heero]

Ryu crushed the shards of the jar that had imprisoned him for almost a century and stepped over the corpses of the puppets that had once defied his blazing power and sealed him away. Zeno imagined it must have been a quite a sensation for Ryu to have his revenge served so sweet. The ninja warlord looked at his opponents, his eyes narrowed in realization of the power that stood before him. He does not seem to be the underestimating type. Zeno remained focused as he glanced quickly at Hanzo’s corpse. Ryu did not seem fazed by the death of his grandson. Maybe he simply could not afford the distraction right now, or maybe his emotions would speak through his magic. The room was dark once again now that the magic that had been lightening up the room had died out temporarily. Zeno relaxed his hands briefly as he waited for the right moment to draw his cards. Ryu seemed calm as he stretched muscles that had not been used in seventy-seven years. Then, the ninja in black spoke as pressure commenced to radiate from his body.

“I do not know who you are. I do not care for your plans.” He said with a rough voice. Ryu cleared his throat and pointed his finger straight at Zeno. “But my revival and the death of my grandson will not be for nothing.” Ryu threatened as fire erupted from his hand. The fire ninja spun around quickly and sent out a ring of intense flames that expanded outward in all directions.

Zeno planted one foot back and took a stance for a brief moment, then rolled forward underneath the flames as they passed over his body. During the roll he had activated a card and prepared two others in his hand. When the flames cleared, a demonic creature had taken Zeno’s place. A draft carried away the ashes from the clothes burning off his upper body. Dark red skin was revealed on a more muscular body, covered by a cloak of dark brown fur that rested on his shoulders. The horns on his head pierced through the air as Zeno lifted his head to lock onto his target. With increased speed he pushed his hooved legs off the ground and dashed off, two tails whipping behind him, right claw ready to tear through flesh, left hand ready to activate more cards. Zeno swiftly moved through the air as a fiery red blur after which he lunged forward with his claw. Of course, Ryu moved to dodge and counter, but Zeno had expected nothing less. He extended his missed lunge into a corkscrew spin in the air followed up with a swing of his tails. Ryu had moved to the side, about to unleash a hell of fire on Zeno, but Zeno had wrapped his tails around the ninja’s arm and yanked it to the side as Ryu shot a massive flame from his fist. Zeno was now out of Ryu’s line of attack and had the only arm that could block his kick under control with his tails. With great force he pulled up his leg and stomped the hoove at Ryu’s jaw. Before the kick connected, a fireball out of nowhere collided with his foot and sent Zeno flying backwards. He adjusted his momentum and positioning mid-air so he could land on his feet, but as he did a flash of pain was sent through his leg. Zeno looked down and saw the fur on his leg smoking, even the flesh underneath. He gazed up at Ryu. The warlord gave hima a crooked smile as four more fireballs were circling around him. This fight was far from over.

The rain poured down on the foreign landscape as if the clouds were determined to drown it. The unknown mountain peaks rose out of the ground like dangerous dragon teeth forming natural barriers around the valley. The flora surrounding the tower was dead and the only natural sound was the rain. His hood cast a shadow on his face as his black cape was wrapped around him. Zeno’s eyes shifted from left to right, analyzing the area.

“Strange... I thought this place was supposed to be sunny.” He commented, looking at his companions.

A nightmare from the past was going to see the light of day once again, and they were going to end it once and for all.

As Zeno reassessed the situation, he saw Heero approach Ryu, lightning sparking from his body. He decided to let the situation play out, and would only jump in if it were absolutely necessary. In this phase of the battle, everyone was still testing one another, and analyzed how everyone responded to certain attacks and strategies. Bright flashes of light erupted from the fire master and the lightning eater, engaging in high-speed combat. A few blows later, the fight came to a halt in a test of strength. Heero used his blood’s powers to increase his physical performance, but he couldn’t best Ryu. The ninja blasted Heero away with a knee to the face and flames erupting as a result. While in the air, Heero took a direct hit from the fireballs that had managed to send Zeno flying for a moment earlier. The dragon slayer was clearly burned, but the adrenaline and frustration seemed to be numbing the pain.
This is going to be troublesome… Zeno thought as he looked at Ryu who seemed amused rather than challenged.

Zeno had planned his next move within seconds, but before he could act, Kairi tossed in an arrogant comment. “Whatever happens Zeno, Heero, do not kill him. Because if you kill him, this alliance will end.”

Zeno raised his eyebrows with an unimpressed look on his face. He knew what kind of man Kairi was, and he had never made himself any illusions. The Council member had discovered an opportunity, some personal gain. Whenever such an event occurred, he would abuse his authority to get it. He did not mind getting his hands dirty. Zeno had seen members of the Council come and go, and people like Kairi always caused problems. Most of them had been so corrupt they had caused their own downfall. Zeno wondered how Kairi’s story would go.

“Do you guys notice the three pathetic flaws in his fighting style? It is quite hilarious really.” The man continued with all-knowing confidence. Moments later, the man had lost his clothes, got his ass kicked, and was consumed by flames that sent him flying through the roof then back down a couple of stories.

That… Seemed like a suitable ending. Zeno thought as he looked through the hole in the ground. He had little regard for a man who thought mocking him with nuanced disrespect was an entertaining privilege. His eyes switched back to the fire breather, after making contact with Heero for a brief moment. The flaws in Ryu’s fighting style had become obvious to him after the ninja had exchanged close combat with Heero and Zeno himself. And there were more than three flaws at that, too many for such an infamous mage.

His flaws are planned. He’s waiting for us to exploit them and then surprise us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from experience, no matter how big your ego gets, never let it cloud your judgment. Never underestimate.

Nevertheless, Zeno realized they would have to exploit those supposed weaknesses one by one in order to push Ryu further and further to the edge of his capabilities.

Flaw one. He has to focus on one opponent at a time in order to be able to safely and effectively manipulate his magic. Flaw two. He relies on his fire magic to overpower the opponent. Flaw three. He engages in physical combat before connecting a fire spell, repeatedly.

It was a set of flaws that would draw out a specific offensive strategy from the opponents. Ryu had fought each of them individually, which gave him sort of an idea as to what kind of magic they were using, which allowed him to theorize on the possible combinations Zeno, Heero and Kairi could perform. Although it was still way too soon to tell, he knew at least something. In other words, he manipulated the trio into using coordinated attacks. Obviously, this was going to be required to take Ryu down, but that is where his second flaw kicked in. His second flaw would result in the mages trying to disable his fire with their magic. The stronger his fire is, the stronger the counter-magic will be. This way, he could predict the fighting style that was going to be used, as well as the power of their spells. The third flaw would tempt the mages into using magic before entering in close combat, allowing Ryu to assess the magic before it can take impact. Ryu’s flaws were no flaws, they were traps.

The true brilliance was that they would have to actually fall for his traps in order to get passed them.

This means we have to attach traps to our own moves as we tumble into his..
Zeno’s gaze briefly switched to Heero.

“Heero, Blizkrieg!” Zeno shouted after which he dashed off once more at Ryu.

His hooves, causing the ground to tremble in turn, then left the ground and Zeno actually flew forward. It wasn’t a jump, it was accelerated levitation. Ryu had not expected this so he prepared fire in his hands for the clash. Two cards appeared in his hand, and many more started to swirl around Zeno as he burst through the air, the cards dissolving into arcane energy that gathered around his fist. The fire mage shot out a stream of fire that connected with Zeno’s punch as he threw it. The fire flew apart and gold coins flew everywhere. In his confusion, Ryu flinched. As the first gold coin hit the ground and faded away, Zeno had already activated a card. The card had dissolved into energy which then had transformed into a spinning wheel of fortune. Zeno came down on the ground and ducked, waiting for Heero to deliver a shockingly fast surprise attack. The transition from the Suit of Coins to the Major Arcana Wheel Of Fortune had been clean and at eye-blinking speed. Ryu’s flinching would cost him.


Zeno disregarded Heero’s careless comments, because not even five seconds later Kairi had already pushed open the gate and engaged in combat with a squad of ninjas. With a sigh, Zeno hurried forward. The carelessness of the white-haired man already annoyed him.

Zeno was but a blurry cape waving violently from left to right as he redirected a ninja’s punch that was aimed at Kairi into the second one’s face with a strike of his left palm. The second ninja staggered back as Zeno punched the first one square in the face, sending him sliding across the floor. As the second one moved forward to attack Zeno, the guildmaster jumped up high and twisted his waist. The second ninja had already thrown a punch before he could alter his direction towards an airborne Zeno, who grabbed the wrist of the arm with both hands as he pulled his knees to his chest. He was hanging in mid-air horizontally, holding the arm directly below him and his backside directed at the second ninja’s face. This meant that his boots were in one direct line with the man’s face, which the ninja undoubtedly realized an instant later when both heels smashed into his forehead. Using the double kick as a push forward, Zeno followed the momentum to flip forward. In his flip, he switched the grip on the man’s wrist and rolled his shoulder underneath the man’s arm. Zeno now landed low to the ground on both feet, arm still locked in his hands, elbow of the ninja’s arm angled at his shoulder. All he had to do now was bring the force of the landing down on the arm which would launch the ninja over Zeno’s shoulder and send him flying straight into the path of a third ninja that wanted to get involved. Both ninjas came down hard on the ground, the shoulder-thrown one came down onto the third ninja’s head with his entire weight. Neither of them got up.

Within 8 seconds after opening the gates to the tower, the floor counted three knocked out ninjas, one bleeding badly from the nose, one with a dislocated shoulder and a third one with probably a bad concussion. Kairi was in the middle of an interrogation and was not to be disturbed, and the other two ninjas were Heero’s to deal with.