The Tome Tussle

Wearing a white t-shirt and desert camouflage shorts with boots, Leona carried her backpack of supplies and wore her Argent Gloves. She carried her ram dao because she had heard this job would involve combat. That was right up the blonde's alley. She entered the outskirts of Shirotsume, a town that was reminiscent of Hosenka, only it was located in a mountainous area. She paused in front of a large mansion with an old-fashioned "torii" gate and old-fashioned stone walls surrounding it... inside were numerous cherry blossom trees lining a paved pathway to the mansion doorstep.

Standing just inside the gate was a young woman wearing a white kimono with a delicate pink floral pattern. Leona had never seen a kimono before, but her father Samuel had told her about them. They were old-fashioned garments popular in this region. Leona made eye contact with the young woman, who wore white makeup that made her look almost like a doll. The latter noticed Leona and began walking towards her... not sure what else to do, Leona walked to meet her.

"You are Miss Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf, yes?" The young woman asked. She had jet-black hair hanging down to her waist and had brown eyes.

"Yes. I'm Leona Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf." Leona replied in the affirmative, showing her guild tattoo so that the young woman would have proof of her identity. Once the young woman saw it, she nodded and Leona rolled up her sleeve. The dark-haired woman then gave her a small bow.

"I am Kumiko, a humble servant of Mister Burke. He is a prosperous merchant with business dealings across all of Earthland. He is also a scientist who focuses on designing armor. Perhaps you have heard of him?" Kumiko asked.

"I'm afraid not. Sorry." Leona admitted to the young woman.

"Oh? Do not worry, for there are more pressing matters to discuss. You see, he has hired you and a Miss Eventide of the guild Fairy Tail for a special job. Mister Burke will tell you the details himself. Please, follow me." Kumiko requested. Leona wordlessly complied. She wondered where "Miss Eventide" was.

-Inside Mister Burke's mansion-

Leona had taken off her boots at the door and had left them there on a special mat. Leona had also handed her ram dao and knife to a muscular male servant in some kind of red high-tech armor who requested that she leave her weapons with him and assured her that they would be taken care of. Leona complied and was escorted into the presence of Mister Burke, a blond man with quite a bit of muscle. He sat at a low table and wore a three-piece black business suit. Standing in each corner were men bearing polearms who were clad in the same high-tech armor as the one who requested her weapons.

"Mister Burke, I present to you Miss Leona Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf. She is one of the mages you hired." Kumiko announced Leona's presence to the man, then bowed slightly at the waist. Leona followed suit.

"Ah, Miss Jarnefeldt. I have heard much about you and your exploits. My sources tell me that you helped save the village of Wolfsmane in the Cursed Lands from a werewolf invasion. I was also informed that you killed the infamous serial killer Jacob Goodnight in Hargeon Town and stopped some cult activity in Beanstalk Village. Furthermore, you helped save the daughter of a dear friend of mine from Bladdi Maccoi and Mutura of the Sands in Desierto." Mister Burke listed but a few of her adventures.

"Yes, Mister Burke. What your sources told you is true. I completed all of those jobs." Leona confirmed.

"You were recommended by Mr. Wainwright, a friend of mine who lives in Lycan Woods. He said that you went to extraordinary lengths to retrieve his flesh-eating mares from a barbarian rabble and protect them until you could bring them to his home. You even braved Lycan Woods in the middle of the night. That is commendable." Mister Burke continued. Leona was surprised. Mr. Wainwright knew Mister Burke?

"Do not worry, my dear. All of what I have heard about you has been good. That is why I have requested your assistance in this matter. As my faithful assistant Kumiko said, I would like to discuss details of a job with you and Miss Eventide of the guild Fairy Tail." He said to her.

"Would you care for a drink, Miss Jarnefeldt?" The man asked.

"As long as it isn't alcohol, I'd like something to drink, please." Leona replied.

"You do not drink on the job? A professional, I see. I like that. Kumiko, please bring us some green tea." He requested. Kumiko bowed and went to get the drinks. Leona remained standing.

"Please, have a seat. We will wait for your partner Miss Eventide before we discuss the details of my job." Mister Burke requested. Leona sat on the cushion that was provided for her by another young woman wearing a kimono. While waiting for the tea to arrive, she looked around the room they were in. Beautiful ink paintings decorated the walls and a suit of old armor was on display. Next to the armor was a collection of antique swords in their black scabbards.

"I am a collector of antiques. I like to collect art, weapons, and armor from abroad. I find that old armor can inspire the new generation of personal protection." Mister Burke informed Leona.

"Is the armor your guards wear part of the new generation, Mister Burke?" Leona politely asked him.

"I see you have an eye for armor, Miss Jarnefeldt. To answer your question, it is the new generation and it is still in the prototype stages. I am working to improve it before I clear it for mass production." He replied. Moments later Kumiko came in bearing a tray with two small porcelain tea cups. Leona removed her Argent Gloves and set them beside her. She did not want to break her cup by mistake. Leona received her cup and carefully sat it on the low table in front of her.

"Now, Miss Jarnefeldt. Please, share tea with me." He requested before taking a slow sip. Leona followed suit, slowly sipping the tea and being careful not to slurp. Drinking tea in such surroundings was a new experience for the blonde.

[Word Count: 1,064] [Total Word Count: 1,064/6,000]

Leona had finished her tea and carefully sat the tea cup down on the table when a blonde girl with a distinctive red ribbon in her hair came in and commented on the red armor of the guards. She was dressed in a dark green sweatshirt with a black shirt on underneath and wore a pair denim suspender shorts and dirty knee-high socks. Since she had a magic signature, she must have been Althea Eventide. Leona moved her Argent Gloves aside so that Althea could sit down.

Leona took the extended bandaged hand and shook it. Althea looked delicate, but her magic signature indicated otherwise. She was at least as strong as Leona. Leona also heard that the Fairy Tail mage was a "Rising Star." From what she had read back in Silver Wolf Guild Hall during a lull in between her adventures, Leona learned that Rising Stars were mages who had served Earthland by performing numerous good deeds and were rewarded with the title by the Magic Council.

"I'm Leona. Leona Jarnefeldt of Silver Wolf." Leona introduced herself to Althea. Since they were going to be working together, it was important to start off on the right note. Just because their guilds were officially allied with one another did not mean that the members of each guild were best friends. As Silver Wolf's Ace, Leona was willing to bridge the gap and try to get on good terms with members of each of the other two guilds that formed the alliance. Besides keeping the alliance going, it was good practice to make friends or at least good acquaintances who were willing to help her if the job went south.

Leona did most of her jobs alone because she was used to working alone. However, she had started to take jobs with other mages to expand her list of contacts. Doing so was how she met Aura Sparks of Crystal Swan. Now she had met two Fairy Tail mages, Naomi Hana and Althea Eventide. As time passed Leona planned to expand her contacts even more.

Right now she had to focus on the task at hand, and that was getting details from Mister Burke. Now that both the mages were here, perhaps it was time to ask him what it was they were hired to retrieve. She did not want to go charging into the wilderness without at least something to work with.

"Mister Burke, what are the details of the job you hired us to do?" Leona politely asked their client and host.

[Word Count: 424] [Total Word Count: 1,488/6,000]

Leona listened carefully to the client as he explained the details of the job. They were to find and exterminate a clan of ninjas who were determined to be responsible for the theft of a secret tome that belonged to the Burke family. He had spoken to the authorities and was assured that no crime would be committed when killing all the ninjas the pair of mages could find. Leona was interested in the reason why that was the case. She suspected that Mr. Burke either had some pull with the local government or that the ninjas posed a threat to everyone in Shirotsume and that the normal laws governing murder were relaxed when dealing with a clan of trained killers.

"I can almost sense your reluctance, Miss Jarnefeldt. Do not worry about any legal consequences attached to killing them. The ninjas pose a threat to us all and thus the local government will not press charges, especially after a few officials were killed a year back. They also killed eight of my men and five innocent household staff when the tome was stolen. That thieving, murderous ninja rabble deserves nothing but death." Mr. Burke started off calmly before revealing a barely contained fury. Leona declined to press him for further information on the matter since it was clearly a sore spot with him. She would content herself with the knowledge that Silver Wolf would not get a black eye from her actions on this job.

"I don't have any problem with killing. I've killed bandits in Desierto and in the Unknown Lands. They're just as murderous as these ninja, just a lot less subtle about it. Also, they don't just limit themselves to stealing books. Some bandit gangs are in tight with slavers." Leona said to him.

"Then you know precisely how to deal with the ninjas. Do not try to reason with them because you will only be wasting your time. Let your weapons and magic do the talking. Force is the only language they understand." Mr. Burke encouraged her.

"Do we need to know anything else about these ninja before we set out?" Leona asked. She had heard of ninja before because legends about them had spread far and wide, reaching even Nebdoui, Desierto. Her father told her fantastic stories about their use of abilities such as being able to walk on water or turning into animals to escape capture or to more easily gain entry into where they needed to go. Some were even masters of elemental magic, but they did not rely on magic and trickery alone to do their work. If pressed into combat, they could more than hold their own with combat styles specifically designed to take on multiple opponents.

"Yes, Miss Jarnefeldt. Do not get complacent. You may be fighting their least experienced members at first, but do not think that all of them are so easily dealt with. You will also be fighting against ninja who are masters of both elemental magic and of the sword, to say nothing of more mundane weapons like kunai and shuriken." Mr. Burke warned the pair. Leona paid attention to this information. This would be the first time that Leona was going up against the legendary shadow warriors.

"There are no stipulations on how you kill them, just so long as you do. Kill all of them you can find. If even one escapes, they will form a new clan and the problem will inevitably repeat itself." The client urged them. He was adamant about getting rid of them by any means necessary. Leona was glad that Aura Sparks was not here for this job because of her view on killing. Aura's viewpoint was not wrong because killing was not the answer to every problem, but some threats just could not be reasoned with. The ninja were one of them.

They had already killed city officials and defenseless household staff, so no one was safe. Leona and Althea would make the area safe. The pair had been given carte blanche to kill ninja without fear of legal repercussions, so there was no need to worry about that. Althea had already stated that she had no problem with killing when it needed to be done. Now all that remained would be to find the ninja camp and clean it out, then retrieve the tome.

[Word Count: 728] [Total Word Count: 2,216/6,000]

Leona paused for a moment as Althea seized a map of the area and sprinted off with it. How did Althea get a hold of such a valuable item? She realized that the client must have specially prepared it for their use. He was a wealthy man if he could afford to dole out detailed maps like candy. She also could not rule out revenge as a motive... he seemed like the type who would not spare any expense to destroy an enemy, especially one that had threatened his family.

"You can count on us!" Leona said before hastily putting her Argent Gloves back on, reclaimed her weapons from the guards, and raced out the door to follow Althea before the enthusiastic mage left Leona behind. The taller blonde left the client's house and did her best not to bowl over anyone as she followed her partner. Her partner had the map, so Leona had better not be slow.

"Hey Althea. What if the client's right and the ninjas are using magic to conceal their hideout? Shouldn't we be able to pick up on that?" Leona asked her companion.

"You know what they say. The cover-up's more revealing than the crime. Or something like that. The point is... if they try to hide it with magic, it should stick out like a sore thumb to powerful mages like us." Leona added an explanation of her reasoning in asking a question with such an obvious answer. The Rising Star had probably already considered that possibility and was on the way to find the ninja lair. Leona might have been slow on the draw again. At least she could still aid the Rising Star by drawing away some of the ninjas once the fighting started.
Or maybe there was another way to be of service.

"Jackal Summon!" Leona called out while raising a hand. Seconds later the jackal appeared at her feet and sniffed the ground. She was not sure if it had already picked up something or not.

"Hey Leona, are we gonna kill some necromancers today?" The jackal asked.

"Not this time. We're looking for ninjas. They're hiding in the mountains around here. Can you find them?" Leona asked him.

"I'm not sure. So many people have been walking through here that my nose is confused, but if I can get out of the town limits I might be able to pick up something more easily." He answered. The pair would have to leave Shirotsume in order to try tracking by scent. That was an easy request to fulfill... their journey would take them out of the town anyway.

"We might wanna be careful. The ninjas probably set up traps along the trail leading to their hideout. They'll also be watching us, so we'd better be ready to fight at any time." Leona suggested as the jackal sniffed the ground and pawed at it.

[Word Count: 484] [Total Word Count: 2,700/6,000]

Leona listened to Althea express amazement over the former's ability to summon animals to her side. Wind Summon Magic was certainly a blessing. Being able to summon creatures allowed Leona to survive the necromancer lair and make quick time to Capital Crocus after accidentally going to Oak Town. It was certain to save her bacon today when it came time to face off against the ninjas.

The pair had just arrived in the woods, a journey which did not take very long at all. The jackal asked about Leona's partner.

"Hey Leona, who's the girl? That red ribbon makes her look like she has rabbit ears!" The jackal asked of Leona.

"She's Althea Eventide, a mage from Fairy Tail. She's also a Rising Star, which means that she's kind of a big deal." Leona explained to her canine companion. He looked at her and blinked.

"OK Leona, if you say so. Anyway, I've detected a few scents, but nothing that really stands out. Animals and people, but not too many of them. I don't get it. Animals should be all over the place in the daytime." The jackal explained to the pair. Again, the cover-up was more revealing than concealing. They might be on the right track, but they would not know for certain until they found the hideout. Leona's attention was drawn to rustling in the trees. Was it a squirrel, a ninja, or a ninja squirrel?

"I don't like the sound of that, Althea. We might need to get ready for a fight." Leona quietly suggested to Althea. Maybe she should recall the jackal before it was too late. It was not like it could die permanently, but Leona did not like for them to get hurt any more than they had to. Maybe now would be a good time to bring out the harpies.

"Hey Leona, I'm kinda smelling something-" The jackal called out while sniffing the ground before it yelped in pain. Leona panicked. What had just happened to the jackal?

"Pepper! THEY PUT DOWN PEPPER!" The jackal complained, pawing frantically at its nose. Now Leona understood what had happened. The ninjas must have observed her using a tracking animal and laid down pepper to take it out of the hunt. Leona had to admit that the tactic was kind of smart. She would still get them for that.

She might have to use an eye in the sky, but Ramses was not made for combat. The harpies might do. They could fly and fight without much direction from Leona. Still, she did not want to use her trump card too soon. Leona would wait and see what happened from here before calling in the harpies.

[Word Count: 450] [Total Word Count: 3,150/6,000]

Leona was more than a little miffed about her jackal summon being treated like he was. Those ninja were making nuisances of themselves. She cooled down and focused on the present. To get revenge on them their cover would have to be taken away. How could she do that without destroying the trees?

Shaking the sturdy trunks would not be enough. She could use her harpies to drive the hiding ninjas out, but she was still saving them as a trump card. Climbing into the trees was suicide because the enemies were watching and waiting on them. What to do?

Suddenly the wind blew and rustled the trees. Leona observed the branches swaying in the breeze and noticed how the trees were rustled without outright destroying them. Perhaps she could use her own power to do the same thing. But first she needed to find a tree with a ninja in it. That would not be easy because they had likely anticipated that tactic like they had with the jackal.

Leona looked around for a tree that was shaking. When she spotted one, she fired a Wind Blast as it. It shook a few leaves loose, but no ninjas came falling out of it. Undaunted, she stuck to her plan and fired a Wind Blast spell each time she saw a tree limb shake. Eventually she was rewarded with a thrown kunai striking her right Argent Glove.

"Well, at least we know they're in the trees. Trees don't normally throw sharp objects at people. They might in the Cursed Lands, though." Leona commented to Althea. Her companion stated her readiness for a fight. That was good because once the ninjas were uncovered there would certainly be a fight. They were on ninja turf and would be seen as intruders. The shadow warriors also knew that they were being targeted for elimination, so they would give no mercy to the blonde mages.

Leona was startled by the projectile clanging off of her gauntlet, but her search was beginning to bear fruit. She kept going with the plan. Every shaking tree limb was hit with a Wind Blast until eventually a white-clad ninja dropped out of one. So did seven of his friends. Her search had borne ninja-shaped fruit at last.

"OK Althea, here they are!" Leona declared to her companion. Two of them charged Leona at once. She fired a Wind Blast spell and knocked one of them down, but the other cartwheeled out of the way and threw kunai at her. Leona blocked them with her gauntlets but almost ate a shuriken to the face thrown by a third ninja. The blonde ducked just in time.

The second ninja jumped at her with sword dawn. Leona rose to block the swing with her gauntlet and felt the clash of metal against her left Argent Glove. The surprised ninja quickly recovered and kicked her in the side, then brought his sword into a ready position and slashed diagonally. Leona blocked it with her ram dao but was attacked by the first, who had recovered and threw a spread of three kunai at her. She was forced to disengage and dodge the projectiles.

"You are no match for us, outsider!" The sword-wielding ninja taunted. Leona was going to prove him wrong. She just needed to hit the elusive targets first. That was not easy because the warriors worked together to cover each other and minimize moments of vulnerability. Leona used a Fast Ball spell that the man easily dodged.

He countered with a leaping downward slash that Leona blocked with her own sword. Again she was forced to disengage by his teammates before she could retaliate. Maybe now was the time to call in the harpies and fight fire with fire. Calling in the harpies would have to wait because Leona was being targeted by multiple shuriken and she was having to dodge for her life. Still, forcing the enemy to fend off attacks from both ground and air could be what the two mages needed to turn the tables.

Leona took advantage of a break in the projectiles to fire a Wind Blast at a pair of ninjas who had tried to close in on her. They rolled backwards like tumbleweeds. A third ninja quickly threw down a small black orb that produced a small smokescreen that concealed his teammates. Leona knew that the two ninja had relocated and were going to retaliate very soon.

"Watch out, Althea!" Leona called out to her own teammate.

[Word Count: 754]
[Total Word Count: 3,904/6,000]

Leona was still surprised that her spur-of-the-moment plan had worked. She could pat herself on the back after the ninjas were all gone. Althea's water-based attack had knocked the ninjas hiding in the smokescreen down for the count. Now six more remained.

"Nice work, Althea!" Leona complimented her partner for flushing out the ninjas hiding behind the smokescreen.

Leona decided to go on the offensive because staying on the defensive would not help them win. She cast a Smashing Crescent at one and staggered him, then hit him in the head with a Fast Ball while he was dazed. He fell down and did not move. Five more left.

Two leaped at her with swords at the ready. Leona blocked their attack with her ram dao and she cast a Wind Blast to knock them down. They tumbled like dice and Leona rushed into to finish them before they could recover. She stabbed one in the chest and was about to stab the second when a kunai grazed her right elbow and drew blood. She was getting careless.

The remaining four grouped up and made a simultaneous attack from all four directions on Leona. The blonde waited until they got close, then used Storm Impact's expanding dome of wind to stagger them. Leona killed two with her sword and barely blocked a kunai throw from a third. The fourth made a series of hand signs and raised his hands to the sky, where they began billowing smoke that clouded the area. When the smokescreen disappeared fifteen seconds later twelve more white ninjas were standing behind the remaining two.

"Your death is near!" One of the ninjas taunted.

"Great." Leona muttered. She quickly set down her backpack and whipped out her antibiotic ointment and roll of gauze. She dried off the remaining blood and quickly wrapped the wound. She was surprised that the ninjas let her do that instead of attacking while she was distracted. They might have figured that the blondes were dead anyway and let Leona treat the wound as a courtesy.

"Looks like we've got company!" Leona declared to Althea. The remaining two ninjas from the first batch leaped at Leona and she stabbed one through the chest but was forced to drop her sword as the second swung at her. The blonde jumped backwards and suffered a cut on her shirt collar that could have cut her down the body if she had not moved. That was a close call. As it stood, her white shirt had met the same fate as most of her shirts and she would need to put on a new shirt at the next available opportunity.

Never one to let wardrobe destruction interfere with her mission, Leona stepped to the side punched the offender in the face with a Mach Straight when he closed in for a lunging stab. He went down and did not move. Now Leona and Althea were faced with twelve more white ninjas. Althea had accounted for two and Leona had accounted for six. There were plenty of targets for the both of them.

[Word Count: 516]
[Total Word Count: 4,420/6,000]

Leona watched Althea dispose of her ninjas without undue difficulty. She was much more agile that Leona, who relied on the defensive strength of her Argent Gloves to make up for her simplistic fighting style. The blonde mages made a good couple. Leona brought strength and durability to the table and Althea was the quick and powerful fighter who could easily take the fight to her enemies.

Leona saw that only a few of the white ninjas were left... they should be easy to handle. Suddenly more ninjas arrived on the scene. The new arrivals were wearing crimson, which was an interesting choice for ninjas. White made some sense... they could attack from the cover of smokescreens without being easily spotted. However, the blonde saw no logic in red.

"Get ready!" Leona said to Althea as a storm of shuriken came in. Leona dodged them all but had a couple more holes ripped in her shirt. Of greater concern was the fact that two of them immediately jumped in and swung at her with their swords. Leona blocked one of them with her Argent Glove and narrowly dodged another stab... she had no real way to retaliate. They quickly jumped back before she could even think of striking back.

Another one jumped in as the first two retreated and punched her in the stomach. A second one leaped in and threw a spread of kunai that just barely missed her head when she ducked. A third reached to grab her arm to throw her, but she punched him in the chest with a Mach Straight. He rolled backwards and came up throwing a spread of kunai. Again Leona ducked just in time.

A pair of crimson ninjas leaped at her with blades ready. Leona used a Wind Blast to knock them down... out of the corner of her eye a third one had taken advantage of the distraction to close in and was beginning the horizontal swing of his sword. Leona was too late to stop the blade with a glove. She stepped back, but she was already too late. The tip of the blade grazed her stomach and cut her shirt, streaking it red.

"Damn!" Leona complained as she clutched her stomach. These ninjas were better than the first batch. They showed the same teamwork as the white ninjas but were better-coordinated and more willing to take risks to hit her in return. Unlike the white ninjas, they did not let up... another pair was already coming in for another attack.

Leona fired a Gale Cannon that struck one in the chest and sent him flying until he dropped head-first onto the ground. His colleague did his best to exact revenge with a leaping downward slash that missed her right arm when she pulled it back. He dropped and did a leg sweep which Leona jumped over, then followed up with a roundhouse kick that hit her in the chest. He draw a kunai and stabbed at her repeatedly in an effort to score a hit.

Leona drew her knife and began parrying each stab, but he was too fast. She missed a parry and her right forearm was grazed by the sharp blade. He leaped back and out of harm's way while a storm of kunai forced the blonde to retreat. These guys were good.

[Word Count: 558]
[Total Word Count: 4,948/6,000]

Leona finally managed to retaliate against the ninja when one crimson ninja made the fatal mistake of trying to cut her with a held kunai. Leona grabbed him and jammed the knife into his chest, then spun him around to use as a shield against thrown shuriken. The pointy stars lodged in his back instead of in Leona. She withdrew her knife and dropped the hapless ninja.

She saw that Althea had taken care of business in her inimitable way. More of the ninja lay defeated, including some of the newly arrived and tougher crimson-clad ones. Leona had the feeling that the ninjas wore clothing that denoted their rank and prowess. That feeling was only reinforced when five more ninja entered the fray. These warriors were wearing gold.

Leona finally reclaimed her ram dao from the ninja she had left it embedded in. She had a feeling that she was going to need it against these guys. One of them immediately rushed her and Leona performed a downward diagonal swing that cut him down the chest. The upper right half of his torso came off and slammed into the ground at Leona's feet.

"He was too reckless, but the rest of us will not be so easy to defeat!" One of the gold ninja vowed. The remaining four gold ninja then dispersed; two went after Althea and the other two engaged Leona. They were more dangerous than their brethren because they did not leave Althea alone to do as she wanted. She had helped Leona defeat the first two waves, so they were going to try and take her out of the equation.

"Watch out, Althea!" Leona warned her companion before the two gold ninja were upon her. They both started swinging their swords with precision, easily bypassing Leona's attempt to block with her sword and almost hitting her arms. Only the Argent Gloves saved her from injury. They could not save her from being attacked from two different directions.

One ninja attacked from behind and the other attacked from the front. Leona slashed at the ninja in front of her and inflicted a superficial wound on his chest but was kicked in the back by the ninja behind her. Leona's sword was dropped as she fell to the ground and dodged a spread of kunai by rolling to the side. She then had to roll to avoid having her face kicked in.

Leona jumped up and used a Wind Blast to knock them back, buying herself a bit of breathing room. She ran to retrieve her sword when shuriken embedded themselves in the ground near its handle, keeping her from reaching it without running the risk of becoming a human pincushion. The fight was back on.

[Word Count: 458]
[Total Word Count: 5,406/6,000]

"They have poison? Thanks for the warning!" Leona called out to Althea. The two gold ninjas attacked again, but the blonde was ready. This time she knew what to do.

Leona fired a Gale Cannon and hit one in the chest, sending him flying backwards and landing on the ground neck-first. The second one landed on his feet and cut her across the stomach just below the chest, drawing blood. He twirled his sword around and did a shoulder charge that knocked her back. Next came a strong diagonal downward swing that she barely blocked with her left Argent Glove. He kicked her hand up and stabbed down towards her arm.

Leona drew it away just in time. She countered with a Wind Blast that knocked him down. She stabbed downward and caught him directly in the chest. As he yelled he threw a small dart that caught her in the right forearm. He laughed while coughing up blood, then clutched his chest and fell silent. The blonde pulled out the dart, but it was too late.

Leona's vision momentarily wobbled and pain coursed through her arm. She had been poisoned like Althea! She had gotten careless and was now paying the price. She picked a bad time because three ninjas wearing platinum had showed up. These guys were the heavy hitters of the ninja clan.

"Damn it." Leona muttered. No wonder the gold ninja laughed. He had handicapped her before the fight with his clan's toughest and most skilled warriors.

"This is where your journey ends!" One of the trio declared to her. Leona frowned. Fighting them while under the influence of the poison would be difficult. It had to be done. Since these guys were the last of the ninjas, there was no use holding back any longer. Leona fired a Wind Blast that knocked the trio down.

"O FABLED HARPIES, O SISTERS THREE! LEND YOUR STRENGTH UNTO ME!" Leona chanted with her hands above her head. A kunai whistled by and grazed her right shoulder, but it was too late. The harpies had already been summoned. They immediately took to the air.

"Leona, are you OK?" Sylvia the redhead asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Go after those three platinum ninjas!" She ordered. The ninjas looked momentarily impressed.

"Since you have shown us your secret art, now permit us to show you ours!" One of them said to her. They simultaneously performed a series of hand signs and began glowing different colors. One glowed blue. Another one glowed yellow. The last one glowed silver.

"Get ready to face magic!" Leona called out to Althea. The ninjas were staring Leona down. Leona was staring them down. Someone had to make a move soon.

The ninja glowing blue thrust a hand at her and fired a beam of ice that narrowly missed her left shoulder but chilled the air so much that she got cold despite the miss. The ninja glowing yellow thrust his hands fingers-first towards her and emitted arcs of lightning that caused her to drop her sword and activate Ruby Dome. The lightning bounced off harmlessly. The ninja glowing silver clawed the ground and five claws of wind raked the area around Leona, leaving visible gashes in the dirt.

Leona was surprised by the degree of their control over their magic. These guys were pretty good mages on top of being skilled ninja. It was no wonder that they were at the top of the ninja threat pyramid.

[Word Count: 580]
[Total Word Count: 5,986/6,000]

Leona's vision wobbled as she dispelled Ruby Dome. The harpies began to harass the platinum ninjas that had come after her. She had to reclaim her sword if she wanted to finish the fight. The platinum ninja glowing yellow had foreseen that move and electrocuted her sword just as she moved to pick it up. She backed off before she accidentally electrocuted herself.

"You are nothing without your sword!" The one glowing blue taunted before he fired a beam of ice that froze Leona's feet in place and froze her up to her knees. She retaliated with a Crescent Cutter that gashed his chest while he looked above to fend off Sylvia's dive-bombing attack with her talons. The ninja cursed and clutched his chest.

The ninja glowing silver leaped in and clawed at her with claws made of wind. The attack clanged off of her Argent Gloves, but he only shifted focus to punching with his fists. His glowing silver fists moved faster than Leona could track. They impacted against her Argent Gloves without inflicting harm, but each impact wore her down until her aching arms dropped and he got an opening.

"This is the end!" He declared while drawing a wind-infused fist back. Leona took advantage of his delay to strike back with Mach Straight and hit him in the face. He got up and staggered backwards. Daphne grabbed him by the shoulders with her talons and lifted him high into the air. She dropped him and the ninja plummeted to his death, landing on his back with predictable results.

The lightning ninja fired another bolt of lightning at her, but she managed to cast Ruby Dome just in time to avoid electrocution. Her feet were still frozen in place, so the blonde was still vulnerable. He hung back and cast a ball of lightning at her which exploded and cast out electric arcs that made contact with the metal in her Argent Gloves and numbed her hands to the point they could not be used.

"FALCON SWORDSMAN SUMMON!" Leona thought as the harpies dove to her defense, harassing the offending ninja to buy their mistress some time. The Falcon Swordsman appeared and threw off his cloak, which vanished into thin air and left a brief green afterimage. He immediately engaged the ice ninja in sword-to-sword combat.

"You will not harm her any further!" Falcon Swordsman declared as he deftly parried the ninja's every attack. He tried to keep up with the ninja's footwork, but he was hampered by walking on ground with avian feet. Still, he kept the ninja at bay and even got in a few hits of his own. He performed a flourish and brought his sword up in a "present arms" gesture. The lightning ninja suddenly showed a bleeding horizontal cut across his torso and dropped his sword.

"What? How? Your sword did not even move!" The astounded ninja exclaimed as he dropped to his knees. He soon toppled over and blood stained the ground.

"My sword technique is simply better than yours." Falcon Swordsman answered his dead opponent. That left one platinum ninja to deal with. The swordsman awkwardly jogged over to Leona and began to carefully chip away at the ice holding her legs in place. The harpy sisters were still fighting the ice ninja, who was slowly bleeding out from the wound Leona's Crescent Cutter inflicted.

"USE TRIPLE THREAT!" Leona called out. The sisters formed up and fired a beam of energy that slammed into the ninja's head and killed him. It was over.

"Althea, are you all right?" Leona called out to her teammate. Leona's vision was still blurry and her hands were still numb. Her legs were also numb and she was getting cold from being imprisoned within the ice.

[Word Count: 630]
[Total Word Count: 6,616/6,000]

The thawing Leona managed to make it to safety thanks to her harpies and the Falcon Swordsman, who lifted her up into the air and out of the way of the Water spell Althea used to uncover the hidden ninja camp. That was a genuinely clever idea. Leona certainly could not have thought of it. Her Wind Blast did not have quite the width of coverage that Althea's Water spell did.

"Nice going, Althea! That was a good idea!" Leona complimented her job partner after landing safely on the ground. They needed to find the tome that belonged to the Burke family in order to finish the job. Hopefully it was not swept away or otherwise irrevocably damaged by the water. Leona walked up to the wooden double gates that had once protected the camp. She used the power of the Argent Gloves to push them in so that the two mages could enter.

Inside the camp Leona found training dummies riddled with shuriken and kunais, a forge used to produce new weapons, and a grindstone with which to sharpen them. She also found simple huts made of wood for the ninjas to live in. What attracted Leona's attention was a sturdier longhouse made of wood that had wooden steps leading to an open doorway.

Leona entered the longhouse and gently opened decorative screens that served as partitions to create rooms. She walked past old armor on mannequins and weapons placed on display racks and found a large book with a brown leather cover sitting in the middle of the "room" on a low table like the one Mister Burke had in his home. Leona slowly and carefully approached the low table, looking around for traps in the floor or ninjas waiting in the rafters to drop down and attack. The blonde approached the table without incident and sat down to examine the book.

Leona carefully opened the book to the first page. On the first page below the title was a handwritten note that confirmed that the book sitting in front of Leona was the one they had been hired to retrieve. It was a note to a Solomon Burke. She wondered if Solomon was Mister Burke's first name.

"This tome has been passed down in the Burke family for five generations. It has always been passed down from father to son. It contains wisdom that has withstood the test of time. Do your best to keep it in the family. Sincerely, Anthony Burke" The note read. That was good enough for Leona. She closed it and waited on Althea to enter the longhouse. Leona stretched her cold legs out in front of her and took a few moments to relax. She was glad that all the fighting was finished and that all they had to do now was to take the tome back to Mister Burke.

[Word Count: 478]
[Total Word Count: 7,094/6,000]