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The Spanish Ninja in Japan: A Sequel (book 2)	By : lilwitch Category: +S through Z > Street Fighter Views: 834 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: STREET FIGHTER and characters such as Vega are owned by CAPCOM. I make no profit in this work of fiction. For entertainment only.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Prologue
As I sat on the plane and stared out the window, I tried not to think of the events of the night before I left. I had a little anxiety going into a new country, a new world so different than my own but there was an excitement also building like a knot in my chest.
"Are you ready to start your new life?" asked Marc Antoní, nudging my shoulder as he sat next to me. I did not look at him.
"Go to hell!" I growled.
"One of my favorite places." he grinned. "You know, your hostility won't change anything."
I sighed; my head still whirled as much as I tried to ignore it.
"But I know you're not angry with me. She was a wreck when I saw her this morning..." I felt a sharp pang in my chest at the mention of my once beloved mother.
"Mention her again and I'll slit your throat, old man."
Marc Antoní chuckled, "Fair enough. When we arrive, you must listen to everything the master has to say. Your life will depend on it. There are no second chances among assassins."
I looked at him.
"I can handle myself."
"Your swaggering confidence can be so irritating sometimes but, I'm glad to see you are not afraid."
"I fear nothing!"
"That is obvious." said the older man with another of his grins. "But I swear to you that if you mess this up, I will make you regret it." his grin faded and his eyes darkened.
"You don't frighten me, Marc Antoní."
"Maybe not; but whether you do or not, I will make you regret it regardless if you miss this chance."
"I don't care." I growled, resuming staring out the window. My mentor sighed heavily. I could sense his exasperation and he seemed to hone in on my pain, rubbing the salt in my still-bleeding wound.
"She will be taken care of, I swear it." he assured me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
My jaw set and my shoulders tensed just thinking of her, and I shrugged him off.
"You know, there comes a time for you to stand for yourself and yourself alone. You can't support her your whole life."
I swallowed a growing knot in my throat and my breath hitched.
"She is all I've ever known...and I left her...like that."
"You did as you must do. You are not responsible for her emotions. Now, I cannot say what you were fighting over but I know Victoria and I know you. She is a powerful woman...I have no doubt you know this. You cannot deny her."
I rolled my eyes at him. Of course I knew what she was like! I alone knew the depths of her soul, her very being.
I thought of her passionate, gleaming eyes that night before I left, and the hunger that shone in them, threatening to destroy us both. She possessed a power so hard to deny and I stood so close to the abyss, willing myself to fall in and yet, I did not.
I exhaled, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to banish her image from my mind—I could never admit to him how deeply I cared for her, how much I still needed her—and how deeply she had hurt me that night—but just the idea of trying to shut her out made my chest hurt even more.
"You are young and eager, I understand. Your emotions are raw and so close to the surface now and I won't judge you for it. You may hate me but you must understand that you are not alone here; I will take care of you now."
"You cannot possibly begin to understand us, old man. You will never understand me and you only pretend to understand her—you don't even care about her!"
I could feel something warm coming to my eyes; a sensation so foreign that I had not felt it since I was child. I willed it with all my strength to stay where it was, not to fall.
I clenched my fist tight and shook my head, clearing my throat.
Uncle Miguel forbade tears when I was growing up; they made me weak, he said, and I knew Marc Antoní would say the same. I had no intention of being weak—not now, not ever—and not especially in front of Marc Antoní Gauldera.
"Do you hear me, Vega?" he said into my ear as I focused on my thoughts. "I will watch over you now. I do not care that you hate me; it won't change anything. You are my charge now and you will listen to everything I say." I did not look at him, steeling myself further. "Do you understand?" he asked and there was crispness in his voice that made me look at him. I nodded silently.
Chapter 1
I arrived hours later in Japan. Where I could not be sure however, it appeared to be a large city. I could scarcely read the signs that appeared before me in brush script on paper lanterns, neon signs glowing in a rainbow of colors.
It was Spring and the cherry blossoms rained from the cherry trees in the parks like soft, white snow, a light scent wafting through the warm breeze.
I found the weather to be pleasant; warm and inviting like my beloved country. A slight ache grew in my heart as I read the instructions Marc Antoni had written down.
Before I knew it, I found myself walking towards what looked to be an abandoned building in downtown. The brick was dark and fading, tarnished over years.
I walked inside, the light from the day streaming in through dusty rays. The air was a bit chilled and instead of bare concrete floors, I looked down to see tatami mats.
"Hello?" I said in Japanese, the sound echoing across the expanse of the room.
I heard a soft thud just behind me and I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shadow. I barely had time to register movement as I dodged a metal claw coming towards my head.
I rolled forward, away from my attacker and slowly stood to face him.
"Nante koto da yo?!" a Japanese voice hissed. "Omae..."
"W-what? Geki...san?" I said, cautiously.
"What the hell do you want?" he drawled again in heavily accented English.
He stood in the shadows, while I stood safely in a beam of light. I watched as his figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
Geki, as I understood him to be, was a slender Japanese man of average height; slightly shorter than my own. His figure was lean and agile as mine, however, which I knew would make him a swift fighter. He wore a black suit, as I expected of ninjas and from beneath his vest was a fishnet shirt, which I found curious. A strand of long brown hair poked out of his cap and his mask hung around his neck. His eyes were dark and fierce and he stood before me with his arms folded.
"Marc Antoní Gauldera sent me." I replied.
He chuckled with a nod.
"Aa, yappari ne...the Spaniard?"
I nodded and he sighed.
"You want to become ninja?"
"I want to become the best."
Geki sat crossed-legged in front of me suddenly, drawing a knife from his belt, twisting the tip idly into the palm of his hand. He spoke.
"Shadowlaw?"
"What?"
Geki smirked and threw the knife towards my head, and it landed squarely in a wooden beam behind me.
"Are you Shadowlaw?"
"No...look, Marc Antoní said I would train with you—that you were expecting me—and I can speak Japanese!"
"A gaijin who is not from Shadowlaw wants to learn from me?" he snickered.
"Gaijin!" I exclaimed. "I am not gaijin! I am a Spaniard—from Spain—like Marc Antoní Gauldera! I am from Barcelona, Spain, and I am of noble birth. Do you dare to mock me?" I exclaimed in Japanese.
Geki laughed at my redundancy.
"You are not Japanese; you are all gaijin to me, Gaijin." he continued to speak in his accented English.
I growled in frustration; I knew my Japanese was not perfect but I knew he understood me. In my studies, I learned that while gaijin was not necessarily an insult, it meant "foreigner" and in some context, this was seen as a bad thing.
"So your master sent you, did he?"
"Master?"
"You are his protégé, are you not?"
"I suppose I am." I replied, taken aback by his comment. I had never really thought of myself that way, regardless of how much Marc Antoní had taught me.
He nodded thoughtfully and stood up.
"Well then, if I train you in the art of ninjutsu, you have to listen to every word I say. Disobeying me could mean your death."
"What? Will you kill me for disobeying you? Will you pursue me to the ends of the earth if I decide to leave?" I snickered.
Geki gave a hearty laugh. The first time I had heard it.
"You have been watching too many movies!" and then as to be expected, his face grew grave again. "I have neither time nor resources to waste it on you. It is a fact that we ninja are put in many dangerous situations; if you do not heed my instruction, I cannot be responsible for what may happen to you."
I folded my arms.
"Fair enough." I conceded.
"But—I will kill you if you ever reveal my secrets."
"Yes, yes. I understand."
"Put your things over there." he pointed to a corner of the room and I dropped my bag there. Before I returned to face him, I took out my claw and mask.
"Ah...he's taught you to use my claw?"
"Yes...did you teach him?"
"Yes... but that is for another time..."
I nodded, doing my best to tolerate his enigmatic answer.
Putting on my mask and claw, I took my stance.
"Why do you wear a mask? Do you think your face is ugly?" Geki smirked and I saw an impish gleam in his eye. I knew he knew the answer.
"I wear it so I do not get your filthy blood all over my precious face."
Before I could react, he came whirling towards me in a succession of kicks. I barely had time to block it with my arms before the force knocked me back.
Blocking him, I leapt over him, bounding off the wall, my arms outstretched and ready to take him with my claw. To my shock, he vanished before my eyes and I landed on my feet to see him standing behind me. He knocked me in the back of the head before I could react. The blow was not quite enough to stun me and so I swept my leg under him, knocking him over before he could land another hit.
Using my claw's long reach, I swiped at him when he rose again. His skills were adept and he flipped backwards, away from my grasp.
I tucked my body and rolled forward, finally able to make a swipe at his chest.
With a cry, he began to spin, his kicks barreling towards me like a whirlwind. I took to the air once again, hoping to evade his attack. As I fell upon him, he jumped into the air, throwing his knives at me. I was able to dodge most them. One nearly nicked my precious face, if it was not for my mask, and another scraped against my shoulder.
Again, he came at me and I smirked. Clothed in black like the bulls I killed, I knew he was no different. With a dramatic spin, I evaded him. I punched at him, and quickly made another kick. He blocked but I could see his footing slipping as I barraged him with my attacks.
With a final sweep of my leg, he fell on his back and I held my claw at his throat, grinning beneath my mask.
"Do you yield?"
"You did well...for a gaijin." he said with a smirk, panting.
In one solid motion, he backflipped and knocked me back as he rose. I sat up on my arms and blinked in surprise.
I could see a hint of playfulness in his expression gleaming in his mysterious dark eyes. "You must be very tired from your journey. We can continue tomorrow. For now, you may rest."
I had barely noticed it was nightfall by the time we finished our fight. The building was almost pitch black except for the moon showing through the dusty windows.
"Sensei, why are you in a building like this?" I said, my hesitation filling me as I thought of sleeping on the floor.
"You are expecting a doujo, maybe?" he chuckled, "a ninja goes wherever. I have no need of such lodgings."
I chewed my lip and looked at my small alcove with the tatami mat. There was a small pillow and some blankets. I was told that the Japanese slept in beds on the floor, however there was no mattress to be seen.
With a shrug and a sigh, I resigned myself to the location he had assigned me. I sat cross-legged on the floor, going through my bag. I had lobbied for a nice suitcase but Marc Antoní assured me such a luxury was not necessary here.
At the bottom, I found a picture of my mother and pulled it out. I intended it to be there, for as angry as I was, she was all I had; but as I held it, I could feel the bitterness welling up inside me and it spread to my hand, crumbling it in my grasp. I felt my jaw tense and exhaled through my nose as I stared at her. Maybe someday I could look at her again but...not now.
"I will not let you consume me, Victoria de Cerna. Not now, not ever. You will not stop me. I won't let you." I could feel hot angry tears welling in my eyes but I knew they could not fall. It did not matter now; I could feel everything burning up inside me, my guilt transforming into more anger. I was powerless to stop her and powerless to save her from herself but I knew I was the one person I could save.
Quickly, I buried the photo under some clothes before I tore it up.
"Vega," said Geki and I looked up.
"You seem angry. Why?"
It seemed an obvious statement but since he was one of the few people I had ever met not aware of my situation, I realized he truly did not know.
"It is nothing. Family matters, that is all."
He crossed his arms and looked down thoughtfully at me.
"I have seen that anger before...but not in you. There are warriors here that harness their emotions like a weapon and it has nearly destroyed them, destroying those they love in the process. It is like a dark energy and it possesses them. Some call it the 'Satsui no hadou'."
I furrowed my brows.
"In order to be an effective assassin, you must master your emotions."
"Yes, Marc Antoní has told me as much."
He smiled.
"Then, he has taught you half as well."
"Indeed. I suppose I will learn meditation then?"
"Naturally."
"You know, he also told me that if I use those emotions, they are very effective in fighting."
"Indeed they are! But if you do not control them, they will control you. No doubt he has also told you this?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Many times. I wanted to wipe that smirk of his right off of his face!"
"And did you succeed?"
I sighed.
"Occasionally, but he always got the better of me."
"That is because he knows."
"Knows what?"
"That your emotions are your weakness and as long as you continue to display them, they will continue to be so."
"Then what shall I do? Turn them off?"
He chuckled.
"No! That would be far worse. You must find balance within yourself. That I can help you with; you can use your emotions to your advantage when you can control them but not before."
I gave an exasperated sigh and laid down, tucking my hands behind my head.
"Very well."
He nodded and turned away from me. I felt a sharp pang under my rib as he threw a knife at my direction, narrowly missing my abdomen and nicking my shirt and embedding itself in the mat.
"And Vega, you must always be prepared." he said before vanishing in the darkness.
I waited for him to leave and sat there in the silence. I knew out there the city was alive. I saw only a small portion of it; the exotic signs written in Japanese, which I could barely read, the shops.
Creeping out of the building, I lept to the roof.
A cool breeze blew through my hair as I looked upon the twinkling lights of the city. Above, a full moon shone bright, the stars shining all around it.
The same vexing signs as before lit up the town; Japanese held some mystery to me; the curve of each character, the stick straight lines written in an exotic code. I had only studied Japanese for a few months and it was rudimentary at best. Though I spoke many of the languages of my neighboring European countries, including being a native speaker in both Spanish and Catalan, I could not fathom that of the Asian tongue.
"Doumo..." said a gruff voice and I whirled around to see Geki standing there. He greeted me in a rough manner, seemingly typical among the young Japanese men, despite my assurances how polite their society was. Given the casual manner he possessed, I inferred that he must have liked me to be so informal so quickly.
The breeze blew through a strand of his dark hair that hung in his face. His dark eyes sparkled like the stars around us. He gave me a wry smile.
"Konbanwa," he said.
I bowed slightly with my arms to my sides.
"Konbanwa, Sensei." I replied.
"Did you think I would not find you?"
"Was I not to leave?"
He chuckled.
"Not at all. I was wondering when you might go out."
"It is too quiet in there, Sensei. I cannot think, I cannot sleep..."
He nodded silently; he seemed as thoughtful as I was at the moment.
"I have never seen fighting like you. How did you create it?" Geki asked after a moment.
I smirked and my chest swelled.
"I was a matador...you know, a bullfighter...'olé'?"
"Olé?" he repeated the Spanish phrase in his Japanese pronunciation, sounding queer to my ears—something closer to "Oré". I laughed with a nod.
"Something like that, yes."
"Naruhodo ne..." he said and it trailed off as if he was lost in thought again.
"Bullfighting must be very dangerous! I have heard of it."
"Yes, it is—but I have never been hurt! Not once." I grinned.
"You are...very proud of yourself, aren't you?"
"But of course! Why shouldn't I be?"
Geki was silent, his mouth twisted into a sort of grimace for a moment, his brows furrowed and still I could see a thoughtfulness in his eyes.
"You are so young. How did you discover such a thing?"
"Well, bullfighting is quite popular in Spain. My 'step-father'…" I could feel my mouth cringing as I formed that word and I swallowed down the disgust rising in my throat, "He used to take me when I was very little to the fights. My mother did not like it, but we did. When I was around 10, I decided I wanted to become a famous matador and so, they enrolled me in a sort of school for bullfighters to train. At that age, you don't fight bulls of course. Rather, you practice on a dummy with another person. A couple years ago, they decided I was ready to participate in a fight and I joined a cuadrilla—a squadron of bullfighters. I possessed great skill and agility, something needed to outwit a large beast. I am something of a celebrity back home because of it."
Geki nodded again, with his hand on his chin.
"And what about you? Have you been a ninja for a long time?"
"Since I was a child. I was raised in a village near Iga, at the base of Mount Fuji."
"Is that why you can vanish and reappear so quickly?"
He chuckled.
"It is not all knife throws and kicks. Ninja are skilled in the ways of diplomacy and espionage."
"Oh, you mean you manipulate people? I am a skilled liar; that my mother taught me, for she is the biggest liar of all."
"Then I am certain she taught you well." he replied, seemingly unmoved by my emotions.
"She betrayed me." I said, my bitterness welling up inside me again.
"Women can be very shrewd."
"The sharpest knife of all."
"Vega—look out there. Do you see the city before you? That is your training ground."
"The whole city?" I exclaimed and he nodded.
"It is yours for the taking but you must not get caught. Ninjas do not get caught."
"Oh I won't." I smirked. "I never do."
GLOSSARY:
Nante koto da yo? - What the hell?!
Omae - You...
Yappari ne... - That's what I thought (informal)
Doumo - Hello (informal)
Naruhoudo ne- Is that right?
Konbanwa - Good evening
TO BE CONTINUED...
- 1
- 2
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The Spanish Ninja in Japan: A Sequel (book 2)