Falling In

If one were to look over Kyoto's skyline, they wouldn't have much motion to see; the bright lights shining out of buildings that mixed the traditional with the modern. To the north, a quaint, elderly feel, with curved rooftops, bow-sided triangles and slanted pyramids abound upon small plaster boxes, mystical, peaceful and serene. The further to the south one looked, the more the machine took the city, the less dust and more grime, less wood more metal, less plaster more glass, the buildings not small boxes with traditional roofing but great, towering, flat topped monoliths pawing hungrily at the sky. Despite the contrast, however, it was a gradual change; it all seemed to meld together, as if simply being in a silhouette created harmony. And in the middle of it all was the Imperial Palace, sleeping in the bask of the moonlight, in a state of peace. A state of calm. A purest serenity.

A serenity that was shattered as easily as the roof-tiling as a huge metal weight slammed into them, swiftly followed by three more of a similar size, and finally the woman who was connected to them all; the Kunoichi Cloth.

She rolled with practise elegance against the roof of the House of the Shogun, first onto her hands, then landing her feet as close as she could. Her assailants quickly followed, but when they did they simply sailed over her head. Five in total, all of them ninjas. The worst kind of ninja, too; the ones who only knew about ninjas from movies. None of the disguises or the quick assassinations, just a black bodysuit with eyeholes cut into it and a flurry of martial arts. Plus, given they didn't know that she'd simply stop in her tracks, Ayako guessed that they weren't even that well trained; whoever was sending out these guys after her was getting sloppier. She turned to face them as they unsubtly ground to a halt, sending the pottery of the roof tiles cracking and shooting off in all directions. She smirked.

"Amateurs." She remarked. The closest ninja to her responded with anger, charging at her with sai in hand. The Kunoichi Cloth rose an eyebrow, her lips curling into a smile, before she spun to the side, her distinctive Kibarashi furiko swirling around him and locking him in a network of scarves. As she stopped, the pendulums stopped, springing him out of their grip and off the edge of the building. One down, four to go. The next ran straight to her in a similar fashion. With a pirouette, the scarves flowed straight in front of him, making Ayako impossible to see. When the scarves parted, all he saw was the banded fist smacking straight into his chin with an almighty CLAP! He rocketed straight up into the air, though when the Kunoichi Cloth looked up to observe his air, she saw the third bearing down on her. She dodged out of the way gracefully, and the roof gave away with a creak and a shatter. She grinned, before looking back to the other three ninjas, two looking extreme nervous and one clapping down on the tiles in front of them. With a crack of her knuckles, she was ready for all of them...

YANK!

Before she could react, the ninja who had fallen through got a lucky tug on one of her scarves, pulling her down with him. On cue, the other three ninjas leapt into the room, fists bared in rage. The Kunoichi Cloth gasped in surprise, then looked around; she was seemingly falling into a very tall dojo; given that this was the Imperial Palace, this might have been the Shogun's own. Without a second to lose, her eyes darted from corner to corner; a rafter! She swung herself around, forcing one of her pendulums to wrap around the rafter, and she then swung herself to the next, repeating the motion. The ninja who had grabbed her Kibarashi furiko was now pulled straight into her foot as she dropped back down to the dojo floor, crushing him under her foot. She stood to the side, a smirk on her face. She then threw her elbow out, knocking out the ninja approaching her cold without having to see him.

"The other two are probably running around the rest of the palace, looking for loot." The Kunoichi Cloth explained to whoever it was who was in the dojo as well, not really knowing who he or she was but simply hearing their breathing. She stretching her arms up to the air, her belly bulging and her back arching, until she heard a loud, satisfying crack. "Ah... that felt good." She remarked, before turning to look on whoever it was she had rudely interrupted; probably some handmaiden, or a bodyguard getting in some late night practise.

The night had seemed pleasant enough. Izanagi had been training as was his usual down time. Breaths rolled up inside of him and out in waves, while he swung his sword about the dojo. Naturally his servants had once protested, but he would always curtly remind them he hadn't cared for servants to begin with. They learned to allow the warrior his training. How else was he to harness such overwhelming emotions? Showing them was no choice. Rage and confusion was often channeled into the blade and released back into the air. Even lately, a new emotion- one of.. desire was pushed through his body and unleashed from his blade. It had been working well. In fact, his whole life was etched into the very being of the blade; it was a part of him and yet a simple katana at that. His wrist flicked and the blade returned to its sheath and a noise reached his ears.

Crashing through his training time was quite the sight. A group of ninjas it seemed had decided to wreck the equivalent to his home... the shogun was not pleased. Nothing was more sacred to him than his dojo, so for a while, he stared. Rage washed over his body, but his breathing was all that could keep him from unleashing it upon the unsuspecting person. He was quite sure the insult was unintentional, but that didn't stop it from pissing him off. In his head, he could hear her voice; his sister. Gently she called, whispering for him to calm and slowly he did. His hand moved to lighter grips upon the hidden metal, before those stern eyes stared hard at the intruder.

"I find that hard to believe. Plummeting through the roof of my dojo does not sound pleasant in the least." The words were spoken with only slight venom. He didn't mean to sound that way, but when Izanagi was upset, it was often hard to hide and the natural twitching in his right eyebrow was what gave it away. "But, I suppose you are unharmed and that is something." He was a little confused about his own words, but they weren't spoken out of COMPLETE bitterness.

The voice was bitter. The voice was chilled. The voice... belonged to the Shogun. The Kunoichi Cloth was surprised, certainly. Then, she paused to think about it; why wouldn't the Shogun use his dojo, whether at night or day? Ayako certainly spent more hours of the day in her own private fighting space than any other place. Still, she tightened her mask, making sure that he couldn't see her face beyond what she chose to expose; her left eye and her mouth. Nothing more. The pendulums lie lazily on the floor as she looked back to the lord and master of all of Aerugo, who just... stood there.

"You did hear me, right? The other two ninjas?" The Kunoichi Cloth said, a little taken-aback at how lackadaisical the shogun seemed about stopping the other intruders. It was as if he had only eyes for her. Granted, she was very distracting, but surely he had something to say? Something to do? Her brow furrowed as she gave a frustrated huff. "Right, I see I've got to do it." With that, she simply walked by the shogun, her pendulums dragging behind her. She went to the door of the dojo, looking through. To the left, nothing. To the right, nothing. Above. Nothing. She inwardly groaned. The darkened corridors of the Imperial Palace were not the ideal fighting place for the wide space needed for one of her own creations, "Furiko Janpingu". Her pendulums were essentially worthless now. However, she had practised and even invented multiple martial arts for a reason. She looked back to the man she had so rudely crashed in upon. "Where do these corridors lead? They'll go the same way until they find bedrooms, either yours or your servants, and start looking for stuff to steal, so we can probably catch them one by one." With this statement, she took one of her four scarves in her hands, and experimentally swung her pendulum, the red weight spinning dangerously.

Other two ninjas? Oh. He was supposed to be concerned. It wasn't something that worried him. The two of them might try to knock him down, but he doubted their abilities. If in the end he was meant to die, then it was time, but that did not mean he couldn't fight back. The rage in his ears calmed to a soft flickering flame. "I see." He responded as if it fit the conversation. Yes, he did see, but that wasn't the point. This was such a hassle. His hand remained upon the hilt of his weapon, while he readied himself. A breath later, he discarded the thoughts of his destroyed dojo. Sure it would take months to rebuild.. but.. he would live.. if he could call it that. He'd need a new area to meditate, likely and-

Right. He was supposed to be helping this woman. Izanagi could not comprehend why people assumed that the people in big houses had a lot to steal. As far as Izanagi was concerned, the only thing he had with worth were his swords and family heirlooms. A slight twist of detest knotted in his stomach at the though. What if someone was defiling his things? Those were priceless and he would not stand for it. "The corridors lead to the 'throne room'. There is not much in there, but in the room to the left is my vault. Such valuables would be within." He looked at the ninja with a sort of angry stare. He was no longer mad at HER, but he was still annoyed at the thought of people daring to near such items as his uncle's sword. "We can cut through the room over here." He motioned, while walking towards it. "It should let us reach the throne room with ease."

His fist tapped twice on a block and the door moved aside. Hand clenched along his blade, he ran through. "We must make haste."

"The corridors lead to the 'throne room'. There is not much in there, but in the room to the left is my vault. Such valuables would be within. We can cut through the room over here, it should let us reach the throne room with ease." The Shogun explained, before walking to a door to the other side of the room. He rapped on the door and it slid away. The moment it opened, the Shogun was gone, and Ayako ran to catch up. The pendulums dragged a little on the padded floor before rising into the air as they followed her. "We must make haste."

"No need to say twice." The Kunoichi Cloth remarked, in hot pursuit of Izanagi. She tailed him, allowing her Shogun to lead her to the throne room, and when they got to it, she slid open the door by a crack, peering in before Izanagi could. She scanned the room once and twice, her trained eye desperate for motion. "Hmmm... ah. One at the door at four o'clock, one at the far end. I'll go in first, distract both of them, and you can take the four o'clock one. We'll see if you're any good with that sword. Remember, they smashed your dojo up."

The Kunoichi Cloth leapt out of the room before she could say "Well, technically I did." Both ninjas found her difficult to NOT see; a barely dressed woman with a face mask and four huge scarves, each with a weight on the end, a bright end and flowing all over the place, almost taking up the room, made them both turn away from their business; Ayako passed the one at the door, who had been trying to break in but now drew his weapon, but she left him to Yoshida's mercy. Instead, she went for the one that now began to charge towards her. The twirling tailor stopped in her tracks, letting all four pendulums simply fly by her. The ninja managed to duck under them, drawing his sword and sending it in a great stab to Ayako's stomach. In response, she spun to the side, leaving his arm stretched out next to her. She grabbed it with both her arms, and very suddenly leapt upward and slammed both her legs to his ribs at once. The ninja buckled, screaming in pain, but Ayako wasn't done; she leant forward, grabbing his head and smacking it into her knee. When his temple connected, he dropped his sword and staggered back. Ayako somersaulted off of him with a practised ease, dragging his pendulums back to her. They trailed along the ground, sweeping the dazed ninja off his feet and he slammed on the ground, completely unconscious. Ayako grinned.

"Yeah, these guys are losers." She remarked confidently, before she looked back to see how Izanagi was doing.

"Remember, they smashed your dojo up." Yes. That HAD happened, hadn't it? Izanagi caught sight of the person and he nodded. His posture shifted and his eyes narrowed. "Yes."

The woman charged in. He wasn't paying much mind to her and in fact it was as if he had tunnel vision for the time. His muscles felt like springs, when he took of towards the opponent. He had pulled a blade to strike his opponent by surprise and certainly it was efficient. His opponent was startled and barely moved out of the lethal blow. Blood sprayed across the floor and his clothes cut open like paper. The blade twirled in his fingers. The movements Izanagi made, were always an extension of himself.

The ninja looked shocked, likely because he was being confronted by the shogun with blade in hand. His body staggered and a couple blades pulled out, before the man returned. The ninja seemed to vanish, but by the blood in his ears, Izanagi could hear him. A breath out and the blade was pulled again. His foot stepped and his body turned to catch two blades on his sword. Silent as ever, Izanagi pushed the man on his blade, who was in mid air at the time. He fell backwards; knocked into sloppy flips. A soft curse word was unleashed upon the air, but Izanagi dismissed it. Not an emotion showed on his face while his stance went back to being bent at the knees, one foot angled. "I suggest you stand down now. Persistence shall earn you death."

The ninja simply snorted. "Like hell I'll be killed by a diplomat!" His body charged again. Yoshi simply stared, then closed his eyes and as the body came towards him, his blade switched position in his hand.

"Another sneak attack? Predictable." The hilt of his sword knocked hard into the man's chin and knocked him backwards. Despite what he had said, he did not kill the man, but the man DID fall unconscious. His body turned to the woman, her own opponents were fallen. "You handle yourself well."

"You handle yourself well." Under the headmask, the Kunoichi Cloth blushed a little. She knew she was good, of course, but hearing it from the Shogun himself felt a little more special than from a groan of someone she had beaten to a pulp.

"Oh, shucks, it wasn't nothing I couldn't handle. As I said, these guys are losers." She replied, looking back to the downed ninja by the Shogun's feet. "Besides, you didn't do too badly yourself. Maybe I could've done it faster, but still, credit where credit's due." She walked closer, yanking the ninja closest to her over, dumping his unconscious body next to his friend. "Any idea of what we're going to do with them? There's these two and two in your dojo, and there's a fifth one who I knocked out on the roof..."

The first Ayako heard was glass smashing. Her head wheeled around; a black shape slammed into the brightest spot of the room, shards of glass stabbing the ground around him. The moment her eyes were cast on him, he had disappeared into the shadows. No noise emanated for a second. She growled a little. "I can't stand it when they do that."

"... there's a fifth one who I thought I'd knocked out on the roof." She corrected herself, peering into the darkness. However, the more she looked, the more impossible it was to find him. This was the same idiot who had lost his nerve and charged at her right away; he wasn't all that smart so why couldn't she see him? Why couldn't she hear him, either? He wasn't making a sound. Nothing. It was like he was the real deal when it came to ninja-ing.

A soft whistle, almost impossible to hear.

The Kunoichi Cloth very suddenly stamped her foot onto the ground, her four pendulums leaping into the air. One of them was right by Izanagi's head, and the glass shard that was sailing towards him harmlessly shattered against the red weight. She smirked a little, looking back to him. "You're welcome."

That was when the kick hit her.

Almost as if the shadow itself had grown a limb, a foot smacked into Ayako, forcing her to sail right into Izanagi. Shogun and kunoichi tumbled over each other once, twice and thrice, head over heels, until they crawled to a stop. Ayako had her back to the floor, and felt a hefty weight on top of her chest. She looked down. And right in the netting, face firmly planted in her cleavage... was the Shogun.

The Kunoichi Cloth let out a most uncharacteristic, high-pitched yelp, and then her teeth gritted in rage. She brought the back of her fist against Izanagi's head, before using her legs to kick him off her. "YOU'RE NOT THAT WELCOME, PERVERT!" She screamed. She didn't care who he was; NO ONE touched her there without prior knowledge, will and consent. Luckily, as the Shogun was pushed back, he also was shoved straight into the oncoming last ninja, his blade primed for stabbing the two while they were on the floor. However, with the Shogun crashing into him, he simply stumbled back, clumsily trying to regain his balance before Izanagi did. When he finally came to a halt, he raised his hand once again, ready to deliver a killing blow on the Shogun. Ayako growled, flipping onto her feet and looking right to Izanagi.

"Behind you! Get him!"

Izanagi wasn't sure how to respond. For once, he was dumbfounded. His eyes wide when he found them placed in the cleavage of this woman. Th-that had- he had- His face was scarlet and before he could move, the woman bashed him on the head and knocked him off. Then, he went spiraling into another assailant. Bodies clashed and Izanagi was not quite on the ball. For a moment, the shogun was disoriented and stunned. A useless lump on the ground with nothing but utter shock on his face. His head ached dully, but his muscles fought it and he was back on his feet. His hand sloppily grabbed at his blade.

It was only by instinct that Izanagi had ducked and spun, effectively cutting down the enemy where he stood. The adrenaline faded, but his breath shook only a moment. "Is that the last of them?" He would apologize later, when their lives were NOT in danger. The shogun's eyes wheeled around with curiosity and sternness. He dared not be caught off guard, again.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The Kunoichi Cloth was slightly taken aback. The Shogun was fast. For being stunned both by Ayako smacking him on the head and the tumbling into the ninja, he had managed to duck under the oncoming strike and slash across the ninja's stomach. The black-clad ninja didn't scream as he fell to the floor, just passing out and dropping. Possibly a death blow, but it wasn't as if there was much more choice in the matter. "Is that the last of them?"

"I'm sure of it. Unless the two from the dojo have gone wandering." She said, scratching the back of her head.

A pause.

Very suddenly, she drove her elbow back, breaking the nose of the man behind her with a very loud 'crack', and she slid her foot back, hooking around the attacker on the other side of her, before she tripped him up and sent him sailing onto the floor with the other ninja collapsed, nose bleeding profusely and groaning in pain. "Which they're not." She added for emphasis. She then looked back to the Shogun, bowing a little. "It's been an honour fighting alongside you, but what do we now?" She asked, genuinely not sure about what to do now. Do they fight each other now? Do they start fixing the dojo? How do they get rid of the bodies?

"Urrrrgh... bea'en ub by a pen'bul pub-hing diplomat and a whore in her pyjamEEERRRK!" The ninja with the broken nose had began, before the Kunoichi Cloth stamped onto his neck, her eyes still on Izanagi.