Shadow of the Night

Chapter 22

"Yes Mom, stop fretting, I know the plan!" Aki slapped my hand away from his hood, where I had been attempting to make adjustments. Today was the day we would finally go after Raiden. After all these years, I was anxious something would go wrong. Things usually did at this point. 

"Make sure they don't get a good look at your face. You may have the hair and eyes of your father, but Raiden will notice you have the same facial structure as me... and what if he gets suspicious and captures you two instead? Maybe this is a bad idea-"

"Moma, Teiko and I will be fine. The plan is a good one." My son tightened the heavy traveling cloak around himself. The deep hood concealed his face well enough, but didn't hinder his eyesight. 

I sighed "Well at least walk me through the plan once more. I need to know you've got it."

Aki rolled his eyes. "Teiko and I will go to the clan hideout and request a private audience with Raiden. We will then be escorted to his private chambers, where we will 'discuss' a business deal. You and Aunt Kat will come through the window facing the forest and take him out. We will hold him in our special jutsu, and Kat can finish him off. It's a simple plan Mom, no need to freak out. I can handle this."

"It's not your abilities I'm worried about. I'm worried about the very real possibility that Raiden will have a fair amount of tricks up his sleeve. I doubt he will recognize Teiko, but what if he somehow recognizes you? You could be in danger." I ran my fingers through my hair, but stopped as Aki grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, hey, it'll be fine. We will all be fine. Once we take care of the bad guy, we can go home." Aki's dark eyes lost some of their focus "I can meet Dad."

I smiled sadly at the boy, wishing he could've grown up differently. And more slowly. I stood, pulling my own cloak around my shoulders. "I'd be happier if Yuro were here. Then I could send him with you too. But, it can't be helped." Kneeling, I pulled Aki into a tight hug "Whatever happens, know that I love you."

Aki hugged back, snuggling his face into my neck like he always does. "I love you too Moma. Don't worry though, nothing will happen; we will all be fine."

Teiko entered our room, smiling at us. "Hey kiddo, ready for an adventure?" Aki grinned back. "You bet grandpops!"

Teiko's POV

Aki and I walked slowly along the forest path, our passage lit only by the setting sun. The Shizuka Clan compound was about 20 meters ahead of us when we heard a noise. The whisper of fabric as a sentinel shifted to my right. I pretended not to notice: If the enemy thought I was less inept, they would underestimate us. Finally, we broke through the trees, only to be greeted by kunai pointed at us. Ten Shizuka Clansmen melted from the shadows where they had been hiding.

"Who are you? What brings you here?"

Aki and I raised our empty hands. "We are here seeking an audience with a man called Raiden." I call to the man who spoke. "We hear he is looking for Intel on the shinobi who goes by the name Yuro no Kage. In exchange for information, we ask for protection from this ninja!"

The man who spoke walked forward, shunting people aside until he stood in front of me. "And what are your names?"

"I am called Takashi, and this is Miki. We offer our services to you in exchange for protection." The man was silent for a few moments. He seemed to be staring at the hooded Aki.

"So this is the little demon child?" My blood ran cold at that. This man had recognized Aki? How? "Your charade would've worked, if I could not identify Shizuka chakra. This boy is the son of Shizuka Hikari. He possesses the same kekkei genkai abilities as his mother. I am Raiden, the strongest Shizuka, and I will not be fooled by such a pathetic ruse."

In a flash, I moved in front of the boy. Aki might be strong, but he has no battle experience. Also, his mother would probably castrate me with a rusted spoon if anything happened to the kid. I had to contain this before Raiden decided to attack.

Well, this isn't going as planned, I thought. Kari is going to flip.

Hikari's POV

Katsumi and I were hidden in the forest, shrouded in my shadows. We could watch Aki and Teiko walking, almost at the compound.

My concentration was interrupted by a familiar buzz of power in the back of my skull. Yuro was nearby. I rose, standing, and took a tentative step away from the Katsumi.

Yuro? Are you there? 

...

Good lord girl, where the hell have you been? We've been looking for you for years, and now you pop up? Kakashi has been out of his mind with worry!

Just then, a commotion catches my attention. I watch in horror as Raiden recognizes my son's chakra. This is very bad.

Yuro! I need your help! Are you near the Leaf?

Yes, but-

No time to explain! Go and get Kakashi! Tell him whatever, but he needs to get here fast. You can sense where I am right?

Yes, but-

Go!

I felt Yuro leave the vicinity, and turned my attention back to Katsumi. Or at least, where Katsumi had been moments before.

"You too, Hikari-san." A shadow as black as the dark side of the moon wrapped around me, forcibly pulling me from my hiding place. This shadow was heavy, solid, and impermeable. My shadows, however strong, were no match for it. I flick hair out of my eyes, uncovering Asaki's sharingan. I'd removed the covering before Aki even left our hideout. "Oh, I'd forgotten about that eye." Raiden laughed. "No matter, you're still weaker than me." I struggled against his shadow, but to no avail. The other Shizukas around Raiden were looking terrified, edging away from Raiden.

"Leader-sama! What is this power?"

"I thought we were hunting the girl for this kind of shadow prowess!"

"You have been deceiving us this whole time!"

Raiden ground his teeth, rounding on the clan members. "Shut up, all of you!" In his distracted state, Aki broke away from behind Teiko and charged at Raiden. The boy sent a powerful punch straight into the man's stomach, winding him. That was all fine and dandy, until Raiden wrapped a dark shadow around Aki, encasing the kid in darkness. All four of us were now imprisoned.

Raiden grinned manically, rubbing his midsection. "Now, what should I do with you pesky intruders?"

I fought against my bonds, glaring at Raiden's smirking face. If Yuro were here... what could he do? I'm not sure. The only way we could possibly defeat Raiden would be to combine Aki and my shadows in our special duo jutsu. This information was null and void if we were both trapped in these powerful shadows. I couldn't even move my hands to form hand signs...

Raiden seemed to listen to my thoughts "Can't have you trying to do any hand signs, so..."

A scream ripped through me as Raiden's shadow twisted my arm behind my back, snapping the radius, ulna, humerus, and dislocating the shoulder joint. He laughed as his shadow threw me against the side of the compound building, cracking the wall and three of my ribs.

Staggering to my feet, I glared at Raiden. 

"You hurt my son." I said in a deadly calm voice. My left arm was completely useless, and pain was flaring throughout my entire body. So I did the only sensible thing:

I ran at him.

*AN

An exciting chapter I hope :) 

I feel like I'm getting worse at writing as I go along. Thoughts?

see you next time

-Hanna