Red Crow

Chapter Three

  _____________________Kiba______________________

  It has been a week since Ryun hasn't returned. We have already followed her secret trail that she was taught to leave, in case situations like this, happen. We follow her trail until we come to the Capital. We sneak into the palace and look around. All of us split off in different directions. I had chosen to take the underground levels while the other two look up there. I was rounding a corner and that's when I heard something I never want to hear ever again, that scream- Ryun's scream. I used my mana to shadow travel to the room that held the screams.

  In the room was a chained up Ryun and two women, one holding a burning knife that was cutting into Ryun's skin, the other with a dark veil over her face. Ryun was screaming from the pain of the burning knife making strong contact with sensitive parts of her body. Right now, the woman was cutting her inner thigh. The woman with the veil started to speak. "Now, tell me who sent you to kill me. I have asked you politely once and used this method twenty-eight times while asking the same question, I will not ask again. If I have to, I will use another technique. So, you better answer this time girl," the woman warned.

  Ryun was breathing heavily, tears running down her face. "I will...... never..... tell you...." she rasped, her voice hoarse. The veiled woman pursed her lips and snapped her fingers. The other woman nodded and grabbed something from her obi. The woman had pulled out a pointed cross. She walked over to Ryun and placed it on her skin. Ryun's skin started to sizzle and burn. Ryun screamed and struggled in her restraints. I wanted to do something- anything, but this is a rescue mission that required us to be silent and not to come in contact with anyone. This mission is to get Ryun out of here without anyone noticing until morning.

 

  After the two women had tortured Ryun, they left without any of the information they had wanted. Ryun was crying silently and still bleeding. As soon as the women had closed the doors, I ran to her. I touched her face, but she seemed to flinch. "Ryun," I call to her. She looked up to me, her eyes dull until she saw my face. More tears started to fall from her face as she silently called my name.

______________Ryun____________

  Kiba-sama was in front of me! And it isn't an illusion! His long hair was tied back into a ponytail with only ribbon tying his hair. A black cloth mask covered the lower half of his face. He wore a black uniform similar to mine. As tears fell from my face, I leaned into his hand, the warmth radiating from it. Kiba-sama put his hand down and stood up. He took out his blade from it's sheath and cut the chains that hung from the ceiling. Before I could hit the ground, Kiba-sama caught me. He picked me up and shadow traveled to the roof. I then heard two familiar voices; Ga-Ju and Jan-yu. As Kiba-sama carried me while traveling through the trees, I had passed out.

  ________________Kiba________________

In a span of two hours, we made it back to the base, the Red Crow Palace. It was called that because of the infamous rebellion that was made up of assassins and skilled healers unhappy with the royal family rule. The rebellion was called The Red Crows.  I was called this because of the superstition of crows along with that the red will represent the blood of our enemies. The rebellion group had all started ten years ago by a fourteen year-old boy. I was that boy, but I had not done it by myself.

   I had came to this house that had housed a family of three. The parents had looked nothing of the child, herself. The child had long, unusually, light blue hair that had draped to her waist at the time.  Being able to see clearly, she had silver eyes. It was quite unusual due to silver eyes meaning blindness. Scars, fresh and old, adorned her small petite body. A long, deep scar laced her neck. I had met her when the parents had taken me inside and her door was slightly open, since she was peeking outside. I winked at her. She was startled and instantly closed the door.

  That night while trying to sleep, I heard screams that had came from a child's mouth. I had jolted up, taking my sword with me and ran to the screaming. There, I saw the parents torturing the child with a knife. Anger had exploded in me and had taken control of me. That anger caused me to kill the child's parents. Their screams were loud enough that the neighbors woke up and started banging on the door. I look at the child looking at me in complete surprise. I raised my sword towards her. "I will give you two options, child. The first is to come with me and become apart of my rebellion or to stay here and be killed by my sword, for I do not want any witnesses," I had told her. She still looked at me, her eyes wide.

  She had stayed silent for a while before I could hear the front door collapsing on the ground and the screaming villagers. "What is your decision?" I asked her, my voice sounding husky and wanting to leave immediately. She looked at me and said only one word.

  "You," she pointed at me. I stared at her confused.

  "Me, what?"

  "Me go wit you," she said. I sighed and picked up the small child with one arm. I used the other to put my sword back in it's sheath.

  From then on we stuck together and with her help, I had collected a band of friends that helped me build what is now known as The Red Crow. From there, I had built a school in there for the assassins' and hearlers' children. Since Ryun had not had the proper education from a young age, I decided to put her in the school. With that, I trained her to become deadlier as an assassin. Ryun had still been my second in command but she didn't abuse the power as she saw it useless as I had taught her when she was younger about the Emperors and their ambassadors that abused their power. She had learned and never abused the power unless it was for good reason.

  I had saved her from the torture and by sending her on a mission that could lead her to be curious enough that she had pushed aside the adjective and ask the victim before killing her. That resulted her to be tortured once again. I won't let that happen again! The mission that was supposed to come after she had returned was simply a mission to catch up with each other, but now, it will be to ensure that she doesn't get caught and hurt again.